The 2023 ICMA Equity Summit Weaving Equity into the Fabric of Local Government is a virtual gathering of local government professionals and diversity, equity, and inclusion officers (and those doing the work without the title) designed to cover best practices, foster relationships with like-minded professionals, and create solutions in the DEIB space and local government management profession.

Over two days and through two tracks, attendees can discover tools and expect inspiration and encouragement to help weave the fabric of equity into their local government operations. The summit is a valuable professional development opportunity for anyone working in the field of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Here are the top 3 things you will learn at the summit:

1. Strategies for Advancing Equity and Inclusion

Are you new to the work in local government or new to an organization and not sure where to start? The summit provides educational sessions that cover a range of topics related to equity and inclusion. Attendees can learn about strategies for advancing equity and inclusion in their organizations, including data collection and analysis, developing coaching, mentoring, and professional development programs, and more.

The session Embedding Equity into Local Government Budgeting uncovers the perfect combination of better budget development plans and readily available resources to fund proposed solutions to yield programs that meet equity goals.

Lessons learned from Operationalizing Equity: Navigating Diverse Perspectives and Identities in Implementing an Equity Lens Toolkit provides attendees insight into adapting the toolkit to the local context, using change management practices to bring people and ideas along, and making it accessible to every department by removing barriers to use.

2. Best Practices for Promoting Racial Equity

Attendees will learn about best practices for promoting racial equity in their organizations, including addressing systemic racism, community engagement, and more. The summit provides an opportunity to learn from experts in the field and to share best practices with other attendees.

Receiving feedback from the people who are impacted by projects or policies is imperative for promoting racial equity, and the session Equitable + Representative Engagement: Creating a Balance to Understand Your Community’s Needs delivers best practices to ensure you’re serving all members of the community.

The interactive session Advancing and Measuring Innovation Practices delves into strategies to capture employee voices, create safe collaboration spaces, and grow purpose driven allies.

3. Critical Issues Facing Local Governments and Professionals

From the challenges military families of color face in their military-adjacent communities to struggles when facing the dismantling of equity-focused initiatives, the summit provides an opportunity to learn about innovative approaches to addressing critical issues and to connect with other professionals working on similar initiatives.

DEI professionals are the engines of institutional change yet receive massive pushback in the profession resulting in a critically large number of resignations. The session Burnout & Retention in DEIB: How to Identify and Advocate for Practitioners covers actionable steps for practitioners to avoid burnout as well as ways organizations can support their official DEIB officers in their efforts developing, implementing, and maintaining successful initiatives to increase retention.

In the session Sustaining Equity Officers in the Public Sector, administrators can gain insight into support structures that prevent or mitigate equity officer burnout, learn how to enhance their role in change management towards equity, and how to create the effective inclusion of an equity officer in executive spaces.

The summit takes place July 20–21, with access to the digital platform, including video recordings and slides, for 30 days after the event. Register by June 30 and save $100. Team rates are available for teams of two or more. Learn more.