Minneapolis Foundation-Pre-interview Information and Survey

The Minneapolis Foundation has contracted me (Sharon Radd DBA ConsciousPraxis) to conduct an Organizational Equity Assessment. Through this process, we’re taking a close-up and comprehensive look at what the Foundation does well and how it can improve in terms of being inclusive of all people and differences; supporting all employees to do their best work; making sure everyone experiences a respectful environment and equitable treatment inclusive of differences; and ensuring equity is embedded throughout the work of the organization.

The Organizational Equity Assessment supports the Strategic Framework goals to develop strong, vibrant communities and develop a culture of excellence and respect. Your input is especially important to help us understand from multiple angles and perspectives the day to day, and year to year, experiences of employees in the organization, as well as the overall functioning of the Foundation specific to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). The overall purpose of the Equity Assessment is to inform and grow the DEI organizational development plan and ensure the Foundation focuses its efforts on relevant goals and meaningful actions.

In order to ensure the interviews can take place in a timely and comfortable way for everyone, I am pleased to share that my colleague, Rosa Rivera-McCutchen, has agreed to partner with me for these interviews.

We request that you participate in a one-to-one interview with either Rosa or me. The remainder of this introduction is intended to provide you with important information related to these interviews so you can make an informed decision about your participation:

The interview consists of 10 open-ended questions, and we may ask follow-up questions to gather more details when it would be useful.
You will sign up for a one hour slot for the interview, but the interview is expected to take 30 - 45 minutes. The interview appointments are one hour slots for convenience, and to provide adequate spacing between appointments for us as interviewers.
At the end of this survey, you will be directed to a video where Rosa and I introduce ourselves, and you will be able to select your interviewer.
Please note that there are a finite number of interview slots, and thus you can select who you want to interview with up until the time that either Rosa or I have reached our maximum capacity of interviews.

This interview is confidential. That means that only Sharon and Rosa will know who said what; no one at the Foundation, or anywhere else, will know what information you shared in your interview. The information you share will be combined with all the responses from everyone else interviewed, as well as all the other data collected via surveys and artifact reviews. The final report will provide overall findings and recommendations. It may include some quotes, but no names will be attached to the quotes, and we will make every effort to ensure that no quote, sentiment, or perspective is identifiable back to a particular individual, team, or department.

For example, during the interview, we may ask for examples of experiences you’ve had. If you share an example that could potentially be linked back to you, we would not cite that example. Still, your example is valuable because it provides some information about what is going on. We'll look at other responses to see if there are similar examples in their experiences, and if so, can share that trend - but again, only if it would not allow anyone to be identified.

Your participation in this interview is strongly desired but completely voluntary. If you agree to proceed, please be as honest and complete as possible in describing yourself, your opinions, and your experiences. If you find that you are unable or unwilling to answer a question, just tell your interviewer and she will move on to the next question. If you want to share something, but want to ensure it is not quoted, please feel free to tell your interviewer that and she will ensure that happens. If you need to pause or end the interview at any time, tell your interviewer, and you’ll have the option to complete the interview at a later time, or end it completely.

All interviews will take place via videoconference technology, and will be recorded within their respective platform.

Interviews with Rosa will take place via Zoom videoconference technology and will be transcribed live via AI technology embedded in Zoom.
Interviews with Sharon will take place via Google Hangouts; as needed, she will send individual interviews for transcription to an AI transcription service.
Both Rosa and Sharon will take notes during the interview, but will do so in a way that does not detract from your experience in the interview. The recordings and transcriptions will be used in case we need to refresh our memory, reference further details, or gain greater clarification related to the notes we took.
No one other than Sharon and Rosa will view and/or review our notes, nor the recordings or transcripts. The recordings and any transcripts will be stored via a password-protected cloud. We will delete the files upon completion of our analysis and determination of findings, no later than December 31, 2021. The security and confidentiality of these files is guaranteed as far as these secure platforms allow.

The findings and recommendations of the Organizational Equity Assessment will be shared with all staff during the summer of 2021. The results of these interviews will contribute to that report.

By scheduling your interview, you agree to participate in the interviews. In order to be respectful of your time in the interview, we ask that you answer the following questions before scheduling your interview. At the end of the questions, you’ll be directed to the link to schedule your interview.

If you have any questions that you would like answered before participating in the survey below or this interview, please feel free to contact Sharon Radd, project lead, at Sharon.Radd@consciouspraxis.net.

Question Title

* 1. By completing this survey and scheduling an interview, I am providing my consent to participate.

Yes