Agenda Index City of Vancouver

ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

TO:

Vancouver City Council

FROM:

Executive Director of the Hastings Institute

SUBJECT:

The Hastings Institute 10th Anniversary

 

INFORMATION

SUMMARY

POLICY

There is no applicable policy.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this report is to recognize the contribution of the Hastings Institute in building more inclusive and welcoming workplaces, to celebrate its 10th anniversary and to provide an overview of the 10 years of activities.

DISCUSSION

History

In 1989, the City of Vancouver was leading the way in providing diversity training for its employees. The Kingswood Management Training Program was in its third year; a policy of preventing sexual harassment had just been introduced; and the Workplace Language Program was gaining recognition for its innovation and its effectiveness. This kind of training reflected the City's commitment to employment and service equity, and put Vancouver at the forefront of addressing issues of diversity within the community and workplace. In turn, this led to requests from other levels of government and the private sector for access to the training available in the City.

Out of such commitment was born the Hastings Institute. Realizing that the City was not in the business of providing training or consulting services to external organizations, but recognizing that our programs could fill a need, the Mayor and Council of the day established the Hastings Institute as the training arm of the Equal Employment Opportunity Program. Thus began a remarkable journey of partnership, learning, and making a difference.

Under the leadership of the Mayor, City Manager and Executive Director, the Hastings Institute soon gained a reputation of challenging organizations and individuals to think strategically about the growing diversity within our communities, and to act responsively in becoming more inclusive and welcoming of diversity in our workplaces. The Hastings Institute mandate is to:

· seek to enhance employment equity for visible minorities, people with disabilities, women and First Nations people;

· facilitate access to services from private, voluntary, and public organizations for all members of the community;

· improve inter-cultural relations in the community and the workplace;

· assist employers in developing skills to manage change and diversity.

The Hastings Institute has attributes that set it apart from other training organizations. Hastings is wholly owned by the City of Vancouver and benefits from its relationship with the Equal Employment Program (EEO) and City departments. The EEO Director acts also as Executive Director of the Institute and reports to a Board consisting of the Mayor, four Councillors and the City Manager so that the goals and values of the Hastings Institute remain consistent with those of the City.

In the early 1990's, Hastings grew to such an extent that it operated quite separately from EEO, with its own manager and administrative staff. However, this arrangement was found not to be in the best interests of either Hastings or the City and in 1995, the Hastings Institute was once again placed under the auspices of the Equal Employment Opportunity Program. Since that restructuring, the Hastings Institute has continued to build its reputation as a leader in the field of diversity and equity, offering quality and affordable training to a wide range of clients that in 1999 have included: several provincial ministries, municipalities, aboriginal organizations, educational institutions, crown corporations and private companies.

From the beginning, one of the unique attributes of the Hastings Institute has been its focus on forming partnerships and developing allies to effect change. The fundamental partnership is between the Hastings Institute and the City of Vancouver; without this partnership and the continuing support of Council, the Hastings Institute would not exist. Other key partners include the Vancouver Foundation, the Vancouver School Board, BC Building Corporation and CUPE Local 1004. In addition, during its initial three years of operation, the Hastings Institute received core funding from the Secretary of State-Multiculturalism and Citizenship Canada, and financial support for program development from provincial ministries and agencies.

The first, and best known, program delivered by Hastings was the five-day residential "Kingswood Management Training Program", purchased from Metro Toronto and tailored for use in Vancouver. During the years it was offered (1987-1995), Kingswood provided senior managers with in-depth experiential learning about the complexities of employment and service equity.

451 Kingswood graduates, from the City of Vancouver and other municipalities, provincial government ministries, crown corporations, not-for-profit organizations, unions and the private sector, developed personal contracts to undertake changes in their workplaces that would lead to greater accessibility, more equitable hiring and promotion practices, more meaningful and respectful dialogue with the diverse community, and more flexibility in service delivery. Many people have said that the insights they gained at Kingswood changed their lives and have influenced them to be more inclusive when setting policy or making decisions.

The fictitious City of Kingswood mimicked a civic bureaucracy; participants were drawn largely from government at the municipal and provincial levels and the program was specifically structured around their needs. The Hastings Institute then introduced other versions, modelled on Kingswood but adapted for difference kinds of organizations. For example, the "Pacific Management Training Program" was developed for the non-profit sector and offered from 1991-1994. As with Kingswood, Pacific trained managers and administrators in the techniques and skills of implementing equity in personnel management in a multicultural environment. Participants also learned strategies for enhancing public

access to services and explored their roles as managers of agencies working in a municipal context.

As word spread about the powerful impact of programs of this nature, demand grew and additional models were introduced to meet the needs of different service areas. The "Queen's Harbour Staff Development Program", developed in partnership by the Hastings Institute and the Vancouver School Board, was designed to challenge the paradigms that frame and mold teaching strategies and techniques and was delivered over several years (1991-1995).

Within the fictitious Queen's Harbour School District, participants addressed the challenges they faced as teachers, administrators or school trustees in providing an education for the increasingly diverse student population and in meeting the needs of the growing number of ESL, immigrant and refugee students.

Another similar program developed by the Hastings Institute was the "Maatsen Management Training Program", which provided a framework and context for managers within the arts community to consider issues of diversity and equity.

Many of the individuals who attended one of the Hastings Institute's management training programs became a powerful influence for change within their organizations and looked for ways to enhance awareness of diversity issues. In response to numerous requests, Hastings developed a "mini-Kingswood" program called "Valuing Diversity", which borrowed some of the experiential learning principles and training techniques from Kingswood and which could be available to people at all levels of an organization, thus encouraging a culture in which everyone could recognize their personal responsibility and opportunity to make a difference by becoming more inclusive and welcoming of diversity.

Originally developed in partnership with the Ministry of Crown Lands, the approach proved so successful that it became a core component of the Hastings Institute's programs. The concept of using "critical incidents" and a "creative team" from the client organization to customize the content has made the Valuing Diversity training real and immediate for a wide range of business units and the program has been delivered extensively within the provincial government, for crown corporations, for the City of Vancouver and other municipalities as well as for not-for-profit organizations and the private sector. The training has been updated constantly and continues to offer a dynamic approach to providing an understanding of some of the challenges that exist in our diverse communities and workplaces.

Current Activities

The "Kingswood years" created a framework of knowledge, awareness and commitment in key areas throughout the province and are the foundation on which the Hastings Institute has built its current programs. Kingswood programs met the specific needs of the period in

which they were delivered and prepared individuals and organizations to move forward. As we face new challenges, the City of Vancouver and the Hastings Institute has been responsive in addressing current issues and working with people to build skills and expertise around diversity and respect in the workplace. An example of this is the two-day "Harassment Prevention and Intervention Skills" training to help supervisors and managers be proactive in preventing harassment from occurring or escalating in their workplaces.

Piloted within the City of Vancouver in 1996, "Intervention Skills" has gone beyond traditional harassment prevention training and has enabled participants to build on their individual expertise and personal style as they develop the knowledge, skills, and confidence they need to manage diverse work groups. Input into the design and delivery of the program from a creative team that includes managers, line supervisors, union representatives and professional and technical staff, ensures that the content and format are appropriate and relevant to participants.

As with Kingswood, Intervention Skills sessions are delivered several times a year and the participants include a mix of individuals from the City of Vancouver and other organizations, thus adding a depth of knowledge and experience which enriches the training. There is a growing demand for this training, and sessions have been delivered for various organizations in the Lower Mainland and on Vancouver Island.

Other Hastings training programs include a version of Intervention Skills adapted for Fire Department personnel which is delivered to all new company officers in the Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services Department and which has been accessed by other municipalities.

Basic training that provides information about human rights legislation as it pertains to workplace harassment and discrimination continues to be offered as a two-hour information session or half-day workshop.

Since 1989, a "flagship" program of the Hastings Institute has been the Workplace Language Program. This internationally acclaimed, award winning program has pioneered literacy training that focuses on an individual's life experience and draws on that to develop language and communications skills, thereby helping people find their voice and achieve their personal or career goals as they gain confidence and improve their reading, writing, listening math and presentation skills.

Customized to meet individual needs, the program operates as a partnership between the employer, the learner, the union, the Vancouver School Board and the Hastings Institute. The Vancouver Municipal Workplace Language Program was honoured a runner-up in the Institute of Public Administration of Canada (IPAC) 1995 Award for Innovative Management.

An offshoot of the Workplace Language Program is "Generation Y". Currently in its sixth session, this unique program has been developed in partnership with BC Building Corporation to provide street youth and young people at risk with paid work experience, coupled with classroom training in literacy and life skills. Participants in the program may have experienced drug or alcohol abuse, have criminal records, or have drifted into life on the streets without any safety net. Generation Y makes it possible for these young people to develop the social skills and a work ethic, while they gain work experience, that will enable them to turn their lives around and enter the job market. BC Building Corporation has shown a huge commitment to this program and in 1997 was a runner-up for an "Ethics in Action" Award for their sponsorship of the program. They continue to partner with the Hastings Institute in providing support and work experience for the participants.

In addition to offering training on issues related to diversity and equity, the Hastings Institute provides consulting services to organizations and helps them deal with complaints of workplace harassment through a mediation or investigation process.

Next Steps

Within the next few months, we will be introducing a new training program, "Working Together Towards a Harassment-free Workplace", which will be modelled on Intervention Skills and which will give non-supervisory staff an opportunity to determine how they can change their workplace culture to be more respectful of everyone. This training has been requested by individuals who have attended Intervention Skills and we are looking at ways in which managers and organizations can support this training initiative so that it is more than a one-day event.

As we look ahead to the next millennium and our next decade of operation, we continue to build partnerships in workplaces and in the community. Our training programs are flexible, dynamic and responsive to individual or organizational needs. By constantly updating our programs and working with trainers who are considered the best in their field, the Hastings Institute continues to break new ground and to find new ways of helping organizations deal with issues related to workplace diversity and service equity. Integrity, commitment and authenticity are at the heart of how the Hastings Institute operates and we rely on the quality of our services to retain previous clients and to attract new ones.

CONCLUSION

This year as we celebrate our 10th anniversary, we thank Council for your vision and ongoing support that has kept the Hastings Institute as an integral part of the City of Vancouver, and has kept the City as a leader in promoting the value and strength of diversity.

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