Supporting a climate of belonging: Justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (B-JEDI) at the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center (NCI-designated).

Abstract

e18626 Background: Diversity fuels discovery and is, thus, essential to the well-being of a cancer center and its members. To implement our efforts, the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center (SKCC) appointed an Associate Director for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) who welcomed interested faculty, staff, and trainees to gather to consider principles, coordination, aims, and priorities to achieve Center priorities for diversity, equity, and inclusion. Methods: After an initial town-hall type gathering, an analysis of approaches at peer institutions, and subsequent subgroup incubator meetings that engaged the Associate Directors for Cancer Research Training and Education Coordination and Community Outreach and Engagement and the SKCC Scientific Programs, additional members became involved, missing potential strategic partners were identified and invited to participate, and a workplan was developed. Results: Through our inclusive process, the SKCC community affirmed equity as a cornerstone value, identified a climate that supports belonging and pathways to success as strategic priorities, and committed to disseminating a survey to guide progress towards the priorities. Our group, initially known as the DEI Committee selected as its name, Belonging-Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (B-JEDI), and invited everyone to “B-JEDI”, acknowledging that to succeed, we must all be working towards our ideals. The B-JEDI strategic planning subgroup drafted, tested, and disseminated the survey to yield a strategic plan; and another subgroup developed a DEI mission statement for SKCC. Incubator subgroups composed of faculty, staff, trainees interested in the topic (Investigation, Awareness and Education, Health Care Delivery, Community Outreach Partnership & Engagement (COPE), and Advocacy) are actively working with institutional partners to advance strategic goals and priorities. Conclusions: B-JEDI (Belonging-Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) provides guidance and fuel to SKCC in its mission to improve lives through discovery. Composed of interested members of the SKCC community, B-JEDI is welcoming to all, has strategically engaged institutional leadership partners, and is developing processes to engage our catchment community at large. [Table: see text]