Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) Initiative

The City of Gilroy values diversity and recognizes the importance of the wide range of perspectives, ideas, and experiences that diversity brings to creating innovative solutions for our community.

The City of Gilroy strives to ensure that all community members feel safe, respected, and comfortable expressing all aspects of their identities.

As such, the City recognizes the importance of considering justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI) in its current internal and external policies and practices and how these values can be advanced in day-to-day efforts and future planning.

In 2022, the Gilroy City Council launched an effort to foster JEDI values and best practices in the delivery of City policies, procedures, and services. Following this, the City of Gilroy established a JEDI Committee, comprised of representatives from all City departments and different staff levels. It released a request for proposals seeking a consultant to help guide the process of identifying opportunity areas and implementing a plan based on their findings.

The City received 15 proposals and hired MIG to provide consulting services. The JEDI Committee preferred MIG for its community-focused approach, broad scope, and previous experience working with local government entities.

The consultant began work with the JEDI Committee in March 2023. The JEDI Initiative is anticipated to take a little over a year and will include three phases:

• Phase I | Understand the Context

Gain an understanding of how well current practices and policies are producing equitable experiences and outcomes for community members and employees.

• Phase II | Build Capacity

Identify areas for improvement and meaningful benefit to community members and employees, particularly for historically underserved groups.

• Phase III | Develop the Plan

Create a new paradigm to foster a culture where programmatic and operating decisions are made using equity-informed practices and tools.

In 2024, at the conclusion of this initiative, after public review and Council approval, the City will begin implementing the new JEDI plan and will track progress toward improved processes, practices, and outcomes through a clear set of equity-based key performance indicators.