Many EE organizations struggle with being culturally relevant to the communities they are supposed to serve. They might have had little contact with people who hold different world views. They might assume people are the same everywhere and overlook significant cultural mores. Or they might feel constrained by their agendas for program delivery and so bypass the time it takes to listen and to learn from the community partner.

Yet cultural relevance, or inclusiveness, requires time—to build relationships, reflect on one’s own behaviors and values, and willingly shift personal and organizational practices to serve the community rather than the organizational agenda.

Two new reports, “Building More Inclusive Organizations” and “Lessons Learned from the Inclusiveness Initiative,” examine the two-year journey of three organizations that committed themselves to becoming more inclusive. The organizations agreed to work toward five outcomes—(1) developing a strategic plan, (2) understanding perspectives, (3) identifying strengths and weaknesses, (4) shifting communication and decision-making strategies, and (5) shifting affective and behavioral practices. With EETAP and Intercambios, they formed a learning community focused on capturing the concerns they encountered and the problem-solving processes they undertook in achieving each outcome.

The Learning Community’s insights about what moves a group forward, what holds it back, and what lessons can be learned in the process of becoming culturally relevant break new ground in our understanding of how to work with diverse populations. These reports are important reading for any organization that wants to learn more about how it can become more inclusive and do a better job of working with its community partners.