A peer network that promotes race equity in government
Race equity initiatives in government have the potential to actively address systemic racism on a large scale, especially when practitioners in the public sector are connected, aligned and collaborating to implement a common set of field-tested strategies. The Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE) at Race Forward is the primary racial equity network for government in the United States, driven by the active participation of more than 13,000 racial equity practitioners, working in more than 400+ local, regional, and state jurisdictions.
In the Spring of 2024, Network Impact partnered with GARE to co-create and administer a survey to race equity practitioners that asked about the different types of value that they derive from their participation in the network, as well as practitioner priorities for peer learning and collaboration. The Network Impact team is currently supporting GARE staff in an exploration of how results of this research can inform the network’s next strategic plan. GARE envisages a shift from a model that for many years has put a primary emphasis on delivering frameworks and tools to practitioners, to a social impact network model that preserves this function but places increasing emphasis on mutual support among peers to help them navigate key challenges, including DEI backlash, and connecting participants to actively collaborate in a larger movement for race equity in government.
Network Impact’s Network Purpose Framework has proven useful to many network organizers who are contemplating where to focus network resources across a continuum that includes investments in Connectivity to ensure an efficient flow of ideas and information combined with investments in Alignment around a common set of values or standards and, ultimately, collaborative action or Production for increased social impact.
Assessing existing capacity against what’s needed
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Build community among members to share information and resources
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identify and group around shared priorities and interests | Help community members collaborate on joint projects | |
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| Membership | Few eligibility rules | Some eligibility rules | Stricter eligibility rules |
| Key tasks of community staff | Weaving - help people meet eachother, increase ease of sharing and finding information | Facilitating - help people explore potential shared identity and value propositions | Coordinating - help people plan and implement collaborative activities |
| Enabling infrastructure | Web platform with tools for communicating, sharing | Capacity to analyze, compare and synthesize frameworks, definitions etc. | Project management and project budget capacity, performance and accountaibility mechanisms |