IDEA Action Plan Progress Report - June 2023

The Academy’s work in Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access focuses on continued and expanded IDEA consideration at every level — from inclusive imagery and language to make all members feel welcome to addressing IDEA throughout the product-development process as well as in presentations to members and the public. These efforts directly relate to cultivating organizational and professional values of equity, respect, civility and anti-discrimination.

Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics IDEA Activities Update (2019 – Present)

• In late 2019, the Academy’s Board of Directors appointed a task force to develop a new Diversity and Inclusion strategic plan for the Academy. After the events of May 2020 focused the nation and the Academy on the need for enhanced diversity, equity, and access, the task force was merged with the Academy’s D&I Committee to concentrate priorities. The D&I Committee listened intensively to members and non-members, adjusting its plan of work accordingly. Rather than create a new D&I Strategic Plan, it decided to produce an action plan for the Board’s consideration.
• The D&I Committee changed its name to the Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access (IDEA) Committee and spoke with members, attended MIG-sponsored listening sessions, and held calls with concerned groups. Academy staff shared member communications, benchmarked IDEA strategies from other organizations, and researched best practices to increase IDEA in health professions.
• The Academy Foundation, with input from the IDEA Committee Chairs, drafted a proposal for a Foundation Fellow who would be tasked with working on IDEA priorities over a two-year period. The Fellow’s results will be provided this year.
• In September 2020, the Academy held ten Board-approved IDEA-focused listening sessions with up to 25 participants per session. The facilitator of these sessions analyzed input from the sessions, along with emails, letters, Member Engagement Zone responses, and social media posts the Academy received during that year.
• The resulting report and recommendations were provided to the IDEA Committee in mid-November and the committee began the work of transforming the recommendations into an IDEA Action Plan with broad, overarching goals to address IDEA in the nutrition and dietetics profession.
• An IDEA Advisory Group, comprised of a multifaceted group of 25 representatives from organizational units and external stakeholders, was formed and tasked with reviewing and providing input to the action plan’s overarching goals.
• The resulting IDEA Action Plan is a sustainable, living document designed to move the dietetics profession towards an increasingly welcome and inclusive future. Tactics and metrics were developed for each strategy and outcomes from the initiatives are measured, with the plan modified accordingly over time to ensure continuous positive change.
• The plan’s four goals were incorporated into the overall Academy Strategic Plan as impact goals in spring 2021.
  • Establish infrastructure and resources to achieve optimal and sustainable IDEA outcomes.
  • Increase recruitment, retention, and completion of nutrition and dietetics education and leadership at all levels for underrepresented groups.
  • Cultivate organizational and professional values of equity, respect, civility, and anti-discrimination.
  • Advance food and nutrition research, policy, and practice through a holistic IDEA lens.
• The full plan, with strategies and tactics, was received by the BOD in July 2021. In early 2022, the IDEA Committee conducted an environmental survey regarding IDEA-focused activities that correspond with tactics delineated in the IDEA Action Plan. It was distributed to all Academy organizational units, committees, staff units, and Academy Groups.
• The survey results highlighted the amazing work organizational units have been doing in this area, from DPGs and MIGs to the inspiring efforts of ACEND, CDR, and the Foundation. Common activities include presenting IDEA-focused webinars; providing cultural understanding resources for members; including IDEA topics in member communications or newsletters; funding Academy and DPG/MIG memberships and scholarships; and making the effort to reach out to students from underrepresented communities to promote the role of the dietetics professional.
• Many of these resources can be found on eatrightPRO.org, which spotlights IDEA efforts and actions, videos/webinars, and curate up-to-date IDEA content. There is also a link to the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics’ (ACEND) DEI page, which features links to multiple webinars and upcoming events.
• Recently, the IDEA Committee decided to obtain IDEA data in a streamlined manner by distributing an annual self-assessment survey. The first survey results were collected in May 2023. As a main component of its program of work, next year’s IDEA Committee will review individual tactics and modify them so that they are as relevant as possible to the current time.
• In addition to the IDEA Action Plan, the Academy and IDEA Committee’s work has been significant and intentional since 2020.
  • The Eat Well, Live Well, Be Well toolkit resulted from a partnership between the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and the National Baptist Convention USA, to make use of their respective resources to pursue the goal of a strategic partnership aimed at reducing health disparities for African Americans.
  • ACEND added DEI standards to its 2022 Accreditation Standards for Dietetics Programs, provided directions to programs on meeting the new standards, and presented on DEI topics to program accreditors.
  • The Academy Foundation established its new IDEA Fund to expand opportunities for students, dietetic interns, and professionals of diverse backgrounds and cultures.
    • The Foundation prioritizes IDEA in all grantmaking and fundraising activities, which includes supporting the educational advancement of diverse students and dietetic interns through its scholarship program.
    • In FY23, the Foundation awarded $555,200 in scholarships to 180 recipients of diverse backgrounds and cultures, representing 65% of total scholarship funding awarded for the academic year. Included in these numbers are Commission on Dietetic Registration diversity scholarships.
  • The Foundation funded a Leadership Scholar through Diversify Dietetics. The program of work for this scholar, who started in late 2022, includes performing a needs assessment survey with Historically Black Colleges and Universities; student pipeline development programming including the Mentor Program, Dietetic Internship Application Support (DAS) Program, and Dietetic Internship Prep Program; exploring solutions to support Black student enrollment in nutrition programs and dietetic internships in collaboration NOBIDAN; and RDN exam prep in collaboration with NOBIDAN.
  • The grassroots IDEA Leader program has approximately 50 leaders annually, each representing an Academy Group. Leaders are charged with recruiting diverse students into nutrition and dietetics and providing cultural understanding resources. They may apply for IDEA mini-grants.
  • The IDEA Committee funded more than 60 mini-grants and three promotion grants totaling more than $90,000. The committee tracks the outreach efforts and cultural understanding activities that result from the grants.
  • An IDEA Committee-sponsored CPE course entitled “IDEA for Dietetics: Understanding Unconscious Bias, Cultural Competency and Cultural Humility” was launched in 2022.
  • An article entitled “Advancing Equity: The Academy's Commitment to Supporting Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access” was published in the January 2022 Journal.
  • FNCE^® has a Professional Standards and Advocacy track that includes IDEA-focused sessions. The IDEA Committee has sponsored six IDEA-focused sessions over the past few years.
  • The RISA team convened a Supporting Diversity in Research Mentorship Network Taskforce charged with advancing racial/ethnic diversity in the nutrition profession by providing mentorship for underrepresented minorities in research.
  • The IDEA Pipeline Subcommittee compiled a resource to assist dietetic internship programs in providing financial support and removing barriers to student entry.
  • A revised Academy IDEA Statement will be presented to the Board in Fiscal Year 2024.