DEI Workplace Innovation Challenge

Presented by New Hampshire Businesses for Social Responsibility

“Inclusion and fairness in the workplace... is not simply the right thing to do; it's the smart thing to do."
~ Alexis Herman

In thriving workplaces and communities, everyone contributes. Understanding the circumstances and dynamics that create true diversity, equity and inclusion is crucial to developing workplaces and communities that excel and thrive.

The DEI Workplace Innovation Challenge seeks to speak to all levels of the organization from the individual contributor to management because lasting change involves all of us. We're expanding the scope of diversity, adding new resources and more actionable workplace ideas. So whether you've taken the Challenge before or are new to it, we have you covered!

This online learning experience offers an expanded focus from previous years, with an updated format and new resources. The 8-week program is designed to be more accessible - reducing the emails to two per week, including a summary email that allows participants to stay involved even when time is short. This year’s Innovation Challenge will focus on:

How to create cultures that support creativity and flourishing rather than ‘othering’, exclusion, and unhealthy power dynamics.

How patterns of exclusion or inclusion play out for various experiences such as race, gender, religious affiliation, ability, and cultural differences.

Stories and case studies of how organizations are taking action.

Leading beyond the organization by taking collective action with others in the community to have greater influence locally and at the state level.

The NH context, resources and leaders working on these issues, to understand how best to support, amplify, and/or complement this work.

We are excited to offer the DEI Workplace Innovation Challenge in 2023!

8 Weeks of emails (January 31 - March 24th)

Facilitated Online Dialogues (12:00 - 1:00 PM):

January 25th (Kick-off dialogue)

February 15th

March 1st

March 15th

We encourage you to engage a team from your company to take on the challenge together and support each other in creating a more inclusive and diverse workplace!

Outline of the Challenge

Week 1: Creating Thriving Workplaces. This week we explore the ways we work with differences and the dynamics of othering and belonging.
Week 2: Patterns of Oppression and Othering. Here we'll explore how cultures and group dynamics can create environments where people are unable to thrive and grow.
Week 3: Patterns of Belonging and Thriving. Learn from examples of how this can look and in places where it is happening.
Weeks 4 & 5: Workplace Focus. See the range of ways that workplaces are going beyond “performative DEI” to create organizations that prosper, thrive, and engage.
Week 6: Community Focus. Explore what it means to carry forward DEI commitments into action in the community; how engaging with the larger community culture can help companies attract and retain diverse staff.
Week 7: Collective Advocacy Focus. How businesses or cross-sector partnerships can influence legislation and create larger scale change.
Week 8: Ways to Take Action and Continue Learning.

Weekly email prompts

With all new content, but slower-paced than previous years’ Learning Challenge, the Innovation Lab will offer one main email every Tuesday, followed by a shorter highlight/summary email on Fridays. Each email has a theme, with links to articles, videos, podcasts or other resources, while questions encourage both personal and team reflection.

Four online dialogues

In online meetings, participants can join facilitated dialogue sessions with other organizational leaders to reflect and consider how to take action and invest resources for change in the most effective ways.

Online Discussion Platform

In addition, there will be an online platform within Google Classroom for comments and questions. Allowing participants to further the discussion and inquiry.

The DEI Workplace Innovation Challenge is FREE for all NHBSR members.

Non-member organizations can sign up for an organization-wide subscription fee of $500 (unlimited employee registrations).
Individuals can subscribe at the individual rate of $125.
Interested but undecided? Sign up and preview the first week for free!
Please reach out to zeina@nhbsr.org for scholarship requests.