public better participants in technical decision-making.
Equity is not documented in risk management plans, so equitable outcomes are not understood as critical to the project’s success.
• Identify the risks of inequitable outcomes to the project and document them. With each project phase, update the level of risk and reasoning based on actions taken to avoid the risk(s).
MID STAGE At the middle stage of a program lifecycle, agencies are reviewing and approving plans, concepts, and alternatives. The vision for equity communities or equitable outcomes captured in the early stages should come to fruition on paper. This stage may also have its challenges like expedient timelines or prioritization of some voices over others. Common Gaps Bridge the Gap
Unplanned budget and timeline constraints arise, and equity and public engagement scope are the first to be reduced.
Review the entire program scope to identify all places costs or time resources can be reduced; do not rely solely on equity and public engagement to make the math work. Consider what equity and public engagement work is connected to the business case and risk management for the program.
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Equity is compared head-to-head with costs, operational, and technical considerations, which can foster one-or-the-other thinking, as opposed to those conversations integrating equity.
• Consider cost in context. If costs in equity communities or for equitable outcomes are higher, that is an appropriate response to previous underinvestment – not a lack of cost efficiency. • Consider operations and technical decisions in context. If there is a conflict with proposed equitable infrastructure, identify tradeoffs and discuss with the program’s audiences. • Identify and separate fear of the unknown from calculable risks. If actual risk can be measured, document and discuss. • Consider a pilot plan approach to reduce perceived risk. • If there is an internal capacity concern, explore partnerships to share the lift. • Initiate a brief literature review or peer agency interviews to understand how the concept has been managed by others.
Innovative equity policies or programs may not garner the confidence or support needed to move forward to implementation.
LATE STAGE At the late stage of a program lifecycle, agencies are planning back from a goal build date to finalize design and construction plans. Equitable approaches and decisions from previous stages should be retained as public anticipation peaks. This stage may
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