Physical and Health Education (PHE) Canada
Physical and Health Education (PHE) Canada hired D&D Inclusion Consulting to conduct an equity, diversity, and inclusion assessment. PHE Canada is a national organization that champions healthy, active kids by promoting and advancing quality physical and health education opportunities and healthy learning environments. The organization was interested in centering equity, diversity and inclusion in their strategic planning, programs, resources and services. PHE Canada’s network of education partners is extensive and reaches all levels and educational jurisdictions in Canada.
Dipal implemented a five-step process with respect to the equity, diversity and inclusion assessment.
Step 1) A customized assessment framework was developed based on leading research and promising practices in EDI. The framework had key indicators under the categories of: leadership and governance, human resources, stakeholder engagement, granting, communications, advocacy, and awards.
Step 2) A document review was conducted of PHE Canada’s governance policies, including the board and advisory committee terms of references, PHE Canada’s policies and procedures, strategic plan, and human resources documents - including job descriptions, selection and hiring procedures. The documents were evaluated against the assessment framework to understand the organization’s current state of EDI.
Step 3) A communications document was sent out to internal and external stakeholders explaining the intent of the assessment and how stakeholder input will help in the analysis and recommendations of the report. Meetings were also set up with the Chair of the Board, the Council of Provinces and Territories and the Research Council to explain the intent of the consultations.
Step 4) Consultations were held in the form of focus groups with the Board, the Council of Provinces and Territories, the Research Council and PHE Canada members. Interviews were also held with each staff member. Dipal strived to create an environment of safety and trust to solicit insightful feedback and ensure confidentiality of input.
Step 5) An assessment report was provided to PHE Canada containing a current state analysis that detailed areas where the organization was currently doing well, an analysis of the gaps and practical recommendations to address the gaps through structural changes to organizational policies, procedures, and practices in order to advance equity, diversity and inclusion within the organization and with the broader PHE community. The report also included a detailed action plan with timelines to help guide the organization forward.
Results:
PHE Canada Board has created an EDI Committee.
The report was shared with the Council of Province and Territories (comprised on the Presidents of each Provincial/Territorial PHE teacher associations) and the PHE Canada Research Council (comprised of researchers and university professors from PHE teacher education programs across Canada) which has led to EDI becoming a standing discussion at all meetings. This has quickly led to a consolidation of all EDI research within Canadian PHE and a dedicated EDI edition of the PHEnex Journal.
“Physical Health Education (PHE) Canada hired Dipal to conduct an equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) assessment of the organization. Dipal conducted focus groups with our Board, Council of Provinces and Territories, Research Council, membership and interviewed our staff. In her repot to us she provided practical recommendations on how we can create a more diverse, equitable and inclusive organization and build on the initiatives we were already good at. One of the results coming out of the assessment is that our Board will be creating an EDI committee to move the recommendations forward. Dipal also provided insight to help us craft our strategic directions on EDI in our strategic plan. We valued Dipal’s engagement style tremendously and trusted her professionalism and sensitivity to the difficult nature of this work as she worked with our stakeholders across the country. Her insights and recommendations on how we can take our organization forward on EDI lay the foundation for change on a national scale.”
