Launched in January 2023, UBC’s Strategic Equity and Anti-Racism (StEAR) Framework set out the university’s integrated approach to advancing equity and anti-racism commitments and priorities drawn from across a number of institutional plans. Now, a year since the launch of the framework, at the January 2023 townhall, a number of efforts have moved the implementation of this work forward.
In June 2023, the Equity & Inclusion Office expanded on the framework by developing and publishing a more detailed StEAR Roadmap for Change, setting out 18 objectives and 135 institutional-level strategic actions to be implemented over the next three to five years.
In September 2023, the EIO launched an institution-wide assessment of the current status of each of the 135 strategic actions. In December 2023, the EIO also launched an institution-wide effort to compile an inventory of decentralized EDI practices and initiatives that advance more generally the goals and objectives of the StEAR framework. Completion of the inventory will be coordinated at Faculty and portfolio levels by an inventory contact designated by a Dean or Vice-President.
Results of these two initiatives will contribute to efforts to evaluate StEAR progress, support information sharing amongst UBC’s EDI champions, and will inform the inaugural StEAR progress report to be published in June 2024. The inventory of decentralized practices will also be published in an online database.
To learn more about the progress of institutional-level actions, join the upcoming StEAR Roadmap for Change update: Reporting on equity and anti-racism progress townhall:
- Register for the January 22 session at UBC Vancouver
- Register for the January 29 session at UBC Okanagan
Recognizing the importance of community engagement and involvement in advancing the StEAR roadmap, the Office of the Vice-President for Students and the EIO collaborated to launch a $300,000 StEAR Enhancement Fund to support projects that seek to advance racial equity, disability equity and/or equity in relation to sexual and gender identity (with consideration of intersectionality). Since the fund was launched in September 2023, 78 applications have been received. A public update on applications received and funded will be shared in mid-January 2024. Applications continue to accepted at any time and are assessed on a rolling basis until August 2024, or until funds are depleted.
To support decentralized efforts and accountability, a governance model for StEAR implementation has now been confirmed and efforts are underway to stand-up various groups and elements of the model. This includes decentralized leadership roles – Equity Leads – in each Faculty and portfolio and efforts to strengthen communication and engagement channels with community-led groups and committees. Additional efforts included updates to the EDI Action Network, now with some 240 members, and the suite of planning and evaluation guides, tools and templates – both vital resources designed to support UBC community members working to incorporate EDI into their strategic planning, priority initiatives, and systems and structures.