NEA; Equity Action Plan

On the first day of the Biden-Harris Administration, President Biden issued Executive Order 13985 on Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government. The order outlines a comprehensive approach to all government practices, including management; policymaking (through regulation and guidance); procurement, contracting, and budgeting; delivery of benefits and services; and data collection, reporting, and use, to tangibly improve the lives of everyone across the country, particularly those who have been underserved, marginalized, and adversely affected.

The NEA’s Equity Action Plan for fiscal years (FY) 2022-2026 is available here. The completed detailed action plan can be viewed and downloaded in English and Spanish here: Equity Action Plan | Plan de Acción de Equidad.

The NEA is committed to supporting equitable opportunities for arts participation and practice for all Americans in the United States. This commitment is reflected in the NEA’s Equity Action Plan, which is in alignment with the Arts Endowment’s FY 2022-2026 Strategic Plan, in which the cross-cutting objective states, “The NEA will model diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in the arts through all its activities and operations.”

The National Education Association formed a Racial Equity and Access Working Group, which met for a year to prepare the Equity Action Plan. The NEA identified and will seek to remedy imbalances in our policies and programs to overcome barriers to equal opportunity because promoting equity necessitates a systematic approach to implementing fairness in all decision-making processes. The equity plan’s objectives are as follows:

• Address and reduce the gap between availability of arts programming and the participation of underserved groups.

• Expand engagement with underserved communities through webinars and key partner organizations.

• Develop concrete policies and procedures for providing access accommodations for persons with disabilities and limited English proficiency.

• Determine feasibility of expanding demographic data collection related to grant beneficiaries, staff, and leadership of grant recipient organizations.

• Increase awareness of contract and procurement opportunities to HUBZone and other underrepresented groups.