Project Spotlight: New Equitable Hiring Initiative in Delaware
Written by Bailey Via
The Delaware Equitable Hiring Initiative is designed to connect local businesses with historically overlooked talent in Wilmington, Delaware, ultimately uplifting communities with quality job opportunities. Funded by JPMorganChase (JPMC) and Capital One and headed up by the Responsible Business Initiative for Justice (RBIJ), the project hones in on three Delaware zipcodes to train businesses in equitable hiring practices and recruit untapped talent.
This pilot project has taken a systems change approach to addressing a local problem. The project team has brought in several partners to address different elements of the project. They have employed Credible Messengers, local leaders who have helped inform the context of the project and worked to build relationships and trust among project partners. They have brought in experts to train the employer partners in evidence-based equitable hiring curricula. They are also relying on local community based organizations (CBOs) to recruit local talent, and the CBOs are being supported and trained by a workforce development organization. Employers are in the process of being trained, and CBOs will begin matching local talent with employer partners later this year.
Our Approach
Elevate partnered with RBIJ to design and implement an evaluation plan for the employer engagement and systems change aspects of the pilot project. We worked with the RBIJ team to develop a Theory of Change and a Logic Model. We then designed our data collection strategy and tools with audiences, intended outcomes, goals, and use in mind.
Our goals for this project were multifaceted. For the employer evaluation, we sought to assess learnings from the employer equitable hiring trainings and track changes in hiring practices at the employer level. We did this through midpoint employer focus groups, and will conduct an endpoint employer survey at the end of the implementation period. Our other priority was to evaluate the elements of the system that have created change in Delaware's overall hiring landscape. We have conducted midpoint interviews with all project partners, and will also launch an endpoint partner survey. We have treated these interviews as opportunities for partners to reflect on collaboration, leadership, communication, project workflow, model design, and other elements of the project that have affected the system overall. Throughout this process we have been attentive to reporting and transparently sharing our findings with the team of project partners. Our ultimate goal is to utilize insights from the pilot to help inform future iterations of the project as it lives on in Delaware.
This project is a combination of a programmatic design with a systems change model. In our evaluation methods, we worked alongside the RBIJ team to design flexible methods that assess both elements of the pilot. Some insights will be able to speak directly to objective outcomes and learnings, and some will provide a look into the ripple effects of a project like this on the entire Delaware hiring ecosystem. Working with a team and project as unique as this one allows us to customize services to fit our clients’ needs. We are excited to see the impacts of this work on the Delaware community and look forward to our continued partnership with RBIJ!
“As a trusted partner, Elevate Consulting’s independent evaluation has given EHI valuable insights to strengthen and refine the pilot’s workforce development efforts — offering actionable analysis to inform effective systems change for employers, participants, and the broader community.”
