Policy & Practice | Winter 2024

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By Jessica Elm, Sandra Killett, Kirk O’Brien, Robyn Robbins, Julie Collins, Jana Woodiwiss, and Peter J. Pecora

The Equity Assessment and Improvement Tool for Research Teams

W hile special commissions, research reports, systematic reviews, and paper series have identi fied needed policy change, program reforms, and necessary research, a comprehensive national research agenda for a transformed child welfare system for the 21st century was thought to be needed. Since 2020, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Casey Family Programs, and the William T. Grant Foundation have partnered with a broad array of experts, national associations, and people with lived experience to develop a transformative 21st Century Research Agenda 1 for a child and family well-being system. The Agenda identifies pressing research gaps in community-based maltreatment prevention, child pro tective services and prevention of foster care, out-of-home care, and workforce. The two-year review and consensus-building process included development and use of a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Framework for supporting the identification and assessment of research gaps and questions to include in the National Research Agenda. The DEI experts developed four key principles to support building a research agenda: 1. Recognize, assess, reassess, and respond to the internal biases (implicit and explicit), assumptions, and privileges that we bring to iden tification of research questions. 2. Avoid further harm, marginaliza tion, and oppression. 3. Contextualize differences across groups when analyzing data. 4. Scrutinize policy, programming, and services through a DEI lens.

Professionals across human services expressed interest in how to apply the DEI Framework and its principles used during the development of the National Research Agenda. In late 2023, in response to requests, a user friendly tool (the Equity Assessment and Improvement Tool for Research Teams 2 ) was developed by the National Steering Committee, which includes a team of six lived experience experts. Using the original DEI Framework as a basis, principles from the Framework helped guide development of the tool. The overarching goal of this tool is to build the capacity of research and evaluation teams (which could include researchers, evaluators, planners, program developers, administrators, and individuals with lived expertise 3 ) to take actionable steps toward bold and transformative systems change through increasing equity in their research

and evaluation activities and at key decision-making points. The actual tool contains (1) a set of operating principles, background, and context, (2) intended use of the tool, (3) a list of key terms to facilitate use of the tool, (4) guidance on preparatory efforts (including a suggested phase of work to occur before bringing on individuals with lived experience), and (5) the tool itself. In addition, a list of complemen tary resources is provided and includes a reference to an expanded glossary. Operating Principles and Invitation to Use theTool The tool was developed with the fol lowing operating principles in mind. The statements reflect values and beliefs that encourage active engage ment among all team members across various phases of research and evalu ation. Tool users are encouraged to

Illustration by Chris Campbell

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