A Community Compass: Embedding JEDI Principles and Community Agreements From The Beginning
Incorporated from the outset, community agreements and JEDI frameworks remain central tenants of the Building Bridges Community and related Umbrella Working Groups.
The Building Bridges to Use-Inspired Research community has been hard at work since the in-person workshop in Boise to continue crafting innovative approaches to use-inspired research.
In the process of fostering multi-sector community around use-inspired research and education through the projects of Umbrella Working Groups, additional cross-cutting initiatives are also being developed within the community to support equitable community engagement.
Below are recordings of presentations from Microlab #4, where a representative from each initiative shared their progress, future goals, and how community members can get involved in the future work of the group.
Crafting Community Agreements: Frameworks for Successful Collaboration
The Community Agreements team focuses on a unique aspect of use-inspired research—how collaborators function. Emphasizing the importance of democratically- decided community agreements, this team provides support for UWGs in fostering transparent decision-making structures, preventing conflicts, and building trust. Community agreements, rooted in social justice, take time to form but are crucial for equity.
Sharing their findings in the presentation, the Community Agreements team surveyed working group leads, finding representation gaps and variations in implementing community agreements. They share benefits and challenges of implemntation, as well as their next steps include sharing an organizational template, creating a white paper on decision-making structures, and exploring success metrics.
Interested in learning more? Reach out to Kathe Todd-Brown (ktoddbrown@ufl.edu) and Chloe’ Vorseth (cvorseth@fiu.edu).
The Path to Justice, Equity, Diversity, Inclusivity
This presentation introduces a Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) toolkit aimed at fostering broad participation in various areas of use-inspired research work. The toolkit is compared to a 100-level course, providing basic instructions for inclusive and equitable engagement, with emphasis on reducing "othering" and promoting a sense of belonging for all. The importance of establishing a feedback loop for continuous improvement, sustainable engagement with clear objectives, narrative storytelling, and related outcomes are stressed. Through a tiered approach, the toolkit also addresses the need for long-term funding and outlines the progress made in supporting Umbrella Working Groups to date.
To learn more, reach out to Quincy at quency@lighthousesv.org.
Want to learn more about the innovative approaches and tangible outcomes emerging from the Building Bridges Umbrella Working Groups? Click here to read Showcasing Our Progress: Summaries and Presentations from Umbrella Working Groups
Microlab #4 was held on October 3, 2023 and funded under NSF Grant # FAIN-2309541.