Helping municipalities embed Diversity Equity and Inclusion in everyday practice
2024-2026
cerv project / european commission
Strengthening institutional capacity for inclusive municipalities
Policy
DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION
MUNICIPALITIES
INSTITUTIONAL CHANGE
publications
DiGiN supported municipalities in strengthening diversity, equity and inclusion within their own organisations.
Working with Rotterdam, Ghent and Genoa, the project combined institutional assessment, capacity building, practical tools and exchange between municipalities.
Yellow Window led the capacity-building, communication and dissemination work, helping turn project learning into practical resources and share it with municipalities across Europe.
"Strategy matters. So do coalitions, employee networks, practical tools, supportive leadership and spaces where people can speak from experience.”
"Start now."
starting with institutional capacity
Sustainable Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) work requires an understanding of where an organisation already stands and where further development is needed.
Yellow Window adapted its Impact Drivers approach to the municipal context and developed the DEI Assessment Tool, helping municipalities examine the conditions that support institutional change and identify strengths, gaps and priorities.
The assessment informed the capacity-building activities that followed and can be repeated to support reflection on progress over time.
building capacity for change
Based on the needs identified, Yellow Window designed and facilitated a series of shared and municipality-specific learning activities.
Topics included participatory approaches, strategic framing, monitoring and evaluation and allyship, drawing on concrete experiences from the participating cities.
This learning was brought together in the Toolkit of DEI Capacity-Building Materials, with practical exercises, cases and resources that municipal change agents can adapt to their own context.
learning from practice
DiGiN also documented seven inspiring practices showing how municipalities are approaching DEI in different ways.
Examples include Rotterdam’s Inclusivity Panels, Genoa’s Equal Opportunities City Table, Ghent’s long-term DEI strategy and staff networks, Vienna’s work on LGBTIQ+ inclusion and Nantes’ approach to becoming a non-sexist city.
The practices capture not only what was done, but also the conditions, challenges and lessons that may be useful to other municipalities.
taking the learning further
Through exchanges, webinars and other knowledge-sharing activities, DiGiN connected its work with municipalities beyond the three partner cities.
Project resources bring together assessment, capacity building, evaluation and strategic guidance to help municipalities strengthen DEI in ways that respond to their organisational context.
More information at the following links:
