R6 Systems Approach to Civil Rights
Project Description:
Outcome: A deep understanding of the points in the system that need to change to reverse the
20 year decline in diversity employment numbers, and bring parity with the Civilian Labor Force.
This is key to future relevance of the Forest Service.
Scope: The scope of this work is the Pacific Northwest Region; it may also include other
entities as needed to fully depict the system.
Process: The process is outlined here in general; it will evolve based on what is learned.
Involvement of key individuals in the process of building a systems view of civil rights will in itself
build understanding of opportunities for change.
Phase 1 - A Journey to the Center. The project will begin with the executive leadership team
and a small number of others exploring and clearly identifying the region’s desired identity and
tone around civil rights.
Phase 2 – Understanding the Whole System. Through interviews, focus groups, literature
review, and other methods of discovery, the parties will develop a comprehensive systems map
that depicts the path from agency/natural resources awareness to the point of interaction with
the agency. Further along the employment lines, the map will address agency outreach and
recruitment to potential retention. The map will also show the relationship between related
variables. It is anticipated that the enterprise team will need to convene diversity leaders and
scholars outside of the agency to attain portions of the map. Through the process of developing
the map, managers will better understand the positive and negative relationships between
various components of the system that bear significance on civil rights.
Phase 3 – Identifying Strategic Leverage Points for Change. Working with the systems map,
the parties will identify the few key points for change that would have the biggest potential
payoff for results.
Step
Description
Key Players
Approximate Date
1
Design and guide the process.
A. Review existing information.
This will include a review of numbers
and trends, regional and forest civil
rights strategies as well as any other
related information.
B. Key question development.
These questions will be used
throughout the project to guide
conversation.
C. Steering committee engagement.
This will include the formation of the
Steering Committee and at least two
face to face meetings.
Overall: Sherry
Wagner, Laurie
Thorpe, Toni Stafford,
with coaching on
development of the
process and facilitation
of the steering
committee by Dialogos
September through
December 2010
2
Collect Information.
A. Focus group design and execution.
Laurie, Sherry, Heidi B,
Toni S, Dialogos, and
Fall 2010
The use of focus groups or small
group dialogue will be a key piece of
gathering input to understand the
system.
B. Interviews.
C. Develop the draft map.
members of the RO
CR team.
3
Identify key leverage points. Session with
RLT where we use much of what we’ve
learned to get their perspective and final input
for the map, as well as gain understanding of
the system and key leverage points
Laurie, Sherry, Toni
maybe Audrey P
March 2011
4
Deliver Final Products. The final system
map, report and Power Point.
Laurie, Toni
Summer, 2011
Deliverables:
1. A Causal Loop Systems Map.
2. A written Report of the process and key leverage points, which can lead to actions and
change strategies.
3. A Power Point slide show summarizing the findings.