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Leadership and Organizational Performance

Evaluating the Design and Implementation of DEIA Strategies in a Federal Health Agency

Saturday, October 14, 2023
8:00 AM – 9:00 AM ET
Location: Room 209

Location: Room 209

Abstract Information: While widely considered an operational imperative and proven to positively influence organizational performance, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) can often be a complex function to develop sustainable strategies for, let alone evaluate effectively. In the context of DEIA, there may be a high level of nuance involved in measuring progress and efficiently garnering the most informative and actionable data to inform policies and practices within an organization. For the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), DEIA has continued to be a focus of the Agency, demonstrated by the issuance of four Agency-wide priority areas. During this roundtable, we will discuss the process for developing a DEIA Action Plan addressing those four Agency-wide priority areas, a complementary evaluation plan, and the metrics identified to evaluate the process and outcomes of the DEIA action plan. An interactive discussion will follow to engage the audience further and explore lessons learned and promising practices for developing an evaluation as action plans are simultaneously being created and implemented. The purpose of this roundtable is not only to discuss the operationalization of the evaluation but to engage in discussion on how and why we evaluate DEIA in the workplace, stressing the importance of the individual and organizational culture and not only focusing on meeting metrics. This facilitated discussion aims to create a collaborative, learning-intensive environment for everyone in attendance, allowing the collective to exchange ideas and best practices regarding an increasingly relevant topic for supporting and sustaining DEIA initiatives in the workplace.

Relevance Statement: In November 2021, President Biden signed the Executive Order, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in the Federal Workforce [1], calling on federal agencies to strengthen DEIA in their workforce policies, practices, and culture. As part of this EO, agencies must also analyze agency data to assess the extent to which employees, including members of underserved communities, face barriers in accessing employment, leadership, and advancement opportunities within the federal government. Though frequently overlooked as a strategic asset to programmatic efforts, evaluation evidently plays a critical role in not only identifying career growth opportunities and enhancing organizational efficiencies, but also uncovering structural inequities that contribute to these barriers. Evaluation helps to tell the story of under-served and under-represented voices in the federal government to enact change to advance DEIA in the workplace. Evaluation uncovers how systems, not people, must be changed to support and sustain DEIA initiatives. [2] Evaluators, have a critical role in providing an evaluative lens in DEIA action planning development so that the information gathered from the evaluation is used. Storytelling is interwoven throughout our evaluation presentation: this roundtable will present our process for identifying DEIA and evaluation champions on understanding their why for engaging in DEIA initiatives; discuss the role champions have on developing and implementing the evaluation to tell the story of their organization; and also examine the application of systems thinking in evaluation as part of evaluating DEIA initiatives to get a sense of the entire situation or story that is being told. Applications of AEA’s program evaluation standards of utility, feasibility, propriety, and accuracy will also be discussed as part of our evaluation planning and implementation process to ensure that evaluating DEIA initiatives holds up to AEA’s standards of evaluation quality. During the facilitated discussion portion of the roundtable, storytelling techniques will facilitate the conversation to have the audience apply a systems thinking lens to share out their own experiences in evaluating DEIA by telling stories about how they apply the following concepts to their evaluations: 1) understanding the interrelationships and perspectives of key actors; 2) describing the relationships between various DEIA initiatives and metrics; 3) how the review and analysis of the already existing relationships and dynamics helped inform the evaluation; [3] and 4) examining governance structures that adequately support and sustain efforts. The information gathered from this session will help inform the presenters’ evaluation efforts and allow attendees to reflect on the role of systems-thinking in evaluating and enhancing DEIA's organizational performance and culture. The discussion will also facilitate thought and conversation on providing a systems-thinking lens to all DEIA, leadership, and organizational performance evaluations, with perhaps some promising practices that can be shared via a future AEA365 Blog post. [1] White House, The. (2021, November). Government-Wide Strategic Plan to Advance DEIA in the Federal Workforce. https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Strategic-Plan-to-Advance-Diversity-Equity-Inclusion-and-Accessibility-in-the-Federal-Workforce-11.23.21.pdf [2] Zheng, Lily. (2022, September 21.) To Avoid DEI Backlash, Focus on Changing Systems, Not People. HBR. https://hbr.org/2022/09/to-avoid-dei-backlash-focus-on-changing-systems-not-people [3] Systems in Evaluation TIG. (2018, September 9). Principles for Effective Use of Systems Thinking in Evaluation. https://www.betterevaluation.org/sites/default/files/SETIG-Principles-FINAL-DRAFT-2018-9-9.pdf