Transforming transform the sector

Reflections on Equity and Inclusion at a National Conference - Summary Report

Organizational Context and Overall Approach

Like many nonprofits, Powered by Data functions as a small team. In deciding to address barriers to inclusion as a part of organizing Transform the Sector 2017, we knew we would require additional resources. We were fortunate to receive financial support from The Carold Institute and Stanford’s Digital Civil Society Lab without which this work would not have been possible.

As an organization with relatively little experience in
equity and inclusion, we hired a consultant to lead us in this work. Beyond adding capacity to our team, this ensured a consistent focus on inclusion that could have been lost in the face of other demands on our time and resources.

Our overall goal was to make Transform the Sector 2017 an event that included the perspectives, skills, and expertise of groups that experience social marginalization. We approached this as an ethical response to social injustice, as well as a strategic opportunity to increase the impact of our conference.

“Bringing people in” is an important step to making
events more inclusive. However, participants from
groups that are typically excluded can face many
additional barriers. Our goal was to support the
full engagement of participants, so we aimed to
address both barriers to attendance and barriers to
participation.