Title
Recommendation to Authorize the City Manager to Execute a First Amendment to the Agreement with CircleUp Education to Provide Specialized Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Training for All City Employees in the Amount of $114,586, Increasing Total Agreement Compensation to an Amount Not-To-Exceed $134,346. (City Manager 10021030)
Body
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Jennifer Ott, City Manager
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Since 2020, the City of Alameda (City) has been working to develop a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) Plan. Most recently, in December 2023, the City Council received a presentation on a series of 14 DEIB recommendations drafted by a City staff-led working group. As City staff work to develop an implementation plan for these recommendations, training for all staff is one of the key recommendations and a critical component to the success of the City’s program.
CircleUp Education (CircleUp) is a highly regarded service provider that performed similar training with Alameda Municipal Power (AMP) leadership and the City’s Executive Management Team (EMT), as well as for other cities, and is assisting City staff with developing an implementation plan for the DEIB recommendations. The City is seeking City Council approval to broaden these training efforts to include all full-time employees. The proposed First Amendment to the Agreement (First Amendment) would fund up to 20 trainings and 3 make-up trainings, with 20-40 staff members at each training, taking place through June 30, 2025.
BACKGROUND
In February 2022, City Council authorized a contract with SEED Collaborative for $275,000 that included the creation of a DEIB plan and DEIB training for City staff.
On November 21, 2023, the City’s Strategic Plan was approved by City Council and included completing and implementing the DEIB recommendations.
On December 19, 2023, the City staff-led Equity Working Group (EWG) presented City Council with 14 recommendations for the City’s DEIB plan. One recommendation was to engage staff in the City’s DEIB efforts, including conducting regular DEIB trainings and workshops throughout the year.
Training is a critical component to the success of the City’s implementation of the DEIB recommendations. Now that the City has a robust set of recommendations in place and is developing an implementation plan, staff recommends engaging with CircleUp Education to facilitate training for all City employees over the course of this and net fiscal years.
On February 14, 2024, the City entered into an Agreement (Exhibit 1) with CircleUp to provide DEI training with City Council and additional in-depth training with the EMT.
About CircleUp Education
CircleUp has performed similar work in cities across the Bay Area, including Oakland, Fremont, Union City, and Hayward. The City is working with Tiffany Hoang, Co-founder and Chief Experience Officer at CircleUp. Over the years, Ms. Hoang has developed an in-depth understanding of cultural competency, diversity, inclusion, and equity-based work. She designed curriculum and facilitated services for various county agencies, cities, universities, nonprofit organizations, and companies across the United States.
Since founding CircleUp, Ms. Hoang worked to develop CircleUp’s proven track record of delivering impactful training services to over 40 government agencies and 25 cities (including seven law enforcement agencies), 60 schools and academic institutions, and numerous nonprofits and private institutions to remove barriers to increase team cohesion, retain diverse talent, and create sustainable diversity and equity programs. Her portfolio also includes conducting seminars, customized training sessions, and executive coaching sessions with an aim to instill the principles of cultural competency, accessible language, and equity into the policies and practices of these organizations.
Ms. Hoang is recognized for her ability to effect lasting change within organizations by facilitating meaningful dialogues about critical issues. Her grounded approach, combined with advanced skill sets, have empowered her to support schools, government agencies, nonprofits, and large organizations in their diversity, conflict resolution, and relationship-building endeavors, yielding sustainable internal transformations.
Ms. Hoang’s ultimate objective is to ensure that organizations are better equipped to address diversity and inclusion effectively, thereby fostering a more equitable and harmonious workplace.
DISCUSSION
In Fall 2023, CircleUp conducted training with 16 AMP upper management staff on topics including internal/hidden diversity, explicit discrimination, and race, gender, and gender identity. The City’s EMT participated in a Diversity Uncovered Training with CircleUp, an awareness building and skill development training designed to uncover conscious and unconscious discrimination and learn tools to interrupt stereotypes, microaggressions, and implicit bias. The training was intended to develop a common language around diversity, stereotypes, bias, and discrimination, making it easier to talk about uncomfortable, yet important, topics in the workplace.
The City then entered into an agreement with CircleUp to conduct a DEI retreat with City Council on May 8, 2024 and additional, in-depth training with EMT as well as facilitating engagement with the City staff-led EWG to develop an implementation plan and tangible actions for the 14 DEIB recommendations. The total Agreement cost for this scope of work is $19,760.
|
EWG Recommendations Implementation Planning |
$5,950 |
|
EWG Implementation and Actions Planning |
$3,486 |
|
EMT 2nd Retreat |
$4,982 |
|
City Council DEI Retreat |
$4,982 |
|
AGREEMENT TOTAL |
$19,760 |
The City has 541 full-time and 585 part-time employees. Staff is seeking City Council approval to amend the agreement with CircleUp to include specialized DEIB training for all full time City employees. After training is implemented for all full-time employees, options for rolling out the training to part-time employees will be considered. If approved, a series of staff training workshops will be scheduled through June 2025 with 20-40 staff in each session. These trainings will be held in-person, unless there is a need to offer a session virtually due to scheduling or accessibility needs. Each session is three hours and includes small group breakout sessions. The trainings are customized to reflect the needs of the staff and meet them where they are with DEIB experience and understanding.
The First Amendment (Exhibit 2) scope of work (Exhibit 3) includes 20 regular training sessions that total $99,640 plus three make-up sessions for employees who are unable to attend the regular training sessions in the amount of $14,946, for an Amendment total amount of $114,586, and a total Agreement amount not-to-exceed $134,346.
ALTERNATIVES
• Approve the First Amendment to the Agreement with CircleUp Education
• Do not approve the First Amendment to the Agreement and provide direction to staff on DEIB plan implementation and training.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Sufficient funds for this First Amendment are available in City Manager’s Office Fiscal Years 2023-24 and 2024-25 General Fund Operating Budgets.
MUNICIPAL CODE/POLICY DOCUMENT CROSS REFERENCE
Project GOV14 in the Strategic Plan: Complete and plan implementation of the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging plan over the next three years, and beyond.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
In accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), approval of this First Amendment is not a project under the California Environmental Quality act and therefore no further environmental review is required. CEQA Guidelines Section 15378 (b)
CLIMATE IMPACT
There are no identifiable climate impacts or climate action opportunities associated with the subject of this report.
RECOMMENDATION
Authorize the City Manager to execute a First Amendment to the Agreement with CircleUp to provide specialized DEI training for all City employees in the amount of $114,586, increasing total agreement compensation to an amount not-to-exceed $134,346.
Respectfully submitted,
Sarah Henry, Communications and Legislative Affairs Director
Financial Impact section reviewed,
Margaret O’Brien, Finance Director
Exhibits:
1. Original Agreement
2. First Amendment to Agreement
3. Scope of Work