The Situation
The City of Savage was in need of a qualified facilitator to lead its newly launched Race, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (REDI) task force that consisted of community members, business members, city Council and Leadership in the creation of an action plan for the City to address key issues and needs. The Word Applied, Inc. was selected to be the consultant responsible for learning about the City and its population, guiding and facilitating the community task force. This included leading community sessions and guiding the task force in the development of recommendations on policies, practices, and strategies that would identify and address racial disparities through a City action plan that would be action-based and impactful.
The Work
In July 2021, the Race, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (REDI) Task Force was formed to assist the City in developing recommendations on policies, practices, and strategies that would identify, address, and eliminate racial disparities. The Word Applied, Inc. facilitated the REDI Task Force work for 14 months as they engaged with key external and internal stakeholders, including residents, businesses, elected officials, and city staff in an effort to inform the creation of actionable recommendations.
Results
Working with the REDI Task Force, we utilized collective harvesting sessions to engage the community and learn about the lived experiences of specific groups of individuals living (and working) in the City of Savage. The task force also reviewed best practices of other communities and met with key leadership staff to better understand current practices and processes. The result was through the collection of data, input, and feedback, the task force narrowed in and built consensus for actionable, detailed recommendations categorized into five themes: 1) Community Experience, 2) Sense of Safety, 3) Diverse Representation at all levels of the City, 4) Connection to Community, and 5) Support of BIPOC Businesses.
The report of the task force work was presented to, and accepted by, the Savage City Council; and will be implemented by City Department Leadership.
Linda’s expertise and guidance were crucial to the success of our project
The city hired Linda Garrett-Johnson (The Word Applied, Inc.) to facilitate a newly launched race equity task force and the creation of an action plan. Linda was very organized, a good meeting facilitator, and easy to work with. But her greatest strength was implementing a community engagement process to learn about the lived experiences of specific groups of individuals living in our city. This data, input, and feedback helped inform the action plan’s actionable recommendations. Linda’s expertise and guidance were crucial to the success of our project. – City of Savage