The EAT is a coalition of community members and City of Austin staff focused on advancing racial equity in our communities through partnerships with City departments, non-profits, philanthropic entities and community-based groups. The EAT meetings are dedicated to critical discussions and strategizing on how to best improve the quality of life for most directly impacted communities in Austin.

The EAT is composed of the individuals who organized and pushed for the creation of the Equity Office back in 2015. Their first goal was helping the Office co-create the Equity Assessment Tool. Now, in monthly meetings the EAT functions as a compass for the Office, ensuring we remain accountable to the community.

Learn more about the Equity Action Team, including upcoming meetings.

The Equity Office offers several grant programs intended to help grassroots and local community organizations access funding. Learn about our current grant programs.

The City's Joint Inclusion Committee (JIC) hosts budget input sessions for community to prepare for the next year's fiscal year. These community budget input sessions are an opportunity to share your community's needs, interests, and influence priorities for all commissions. By attending these sessions, you can help shape City budget recommendations. Check back for updates on how to engage with the JIC or go to austintexas.gov/communityvoices

Quality of life studies in Austin help the City and community partners understand how residents experience key areas such as housing, health, access, belonging, and other factors that influence economic mobility. Centered in community voices and data, these studies identify challenges and highlight opportunities to improve services, programs, andstrategies that support a more inclusive Austin.

Previous Quality of Life Studies:

• Immigrant Quality of Life Study – In Progress
• 2021-22 LGBTQIA+ Quality of Life Study
• 2021-2022 City of Austin Disability Quality of Life Study
• 2018 Asian American Quality of Life in Austin – Executive Summary – Final Report

The Equity Assessment Process is the core of our work. Community organized for the creation of an equity assessment tool, and City Council created the Equity Office to build and administer it.

The equity assessment tool is a self-assessment completed by departments, and is in the process of being implemented with all 40+ City departments and offices. In January 2024, Cohort Four will begin engaging with the Equity Assessment Process, including moving through the equity assessment tool. The Tool has been used to establish a baseline for the City's impact on equity. It takes departments through a critical examination of their policies, procedures, planning, programs, personnel, and budgeting through a lens of equity. The four sections of the Tool are: Department Culture, Community Engagement, Budget, and Alignment with the Strategic Direction 2023.

Visit the Equity Action Team Dashboard to learn more about the Tool and read departments' responses. You can also visit this story page to learn about the percentage of city departments implementing the equity assessment tool.

The full process encompasses many steps, and involves a lot of individual support and development of department staff leading its completion. If you would like more information on how we lead this work, we encourage you to reach out and someone from the Office will meet with you and answer any of your questions. 

The Equity Office has administered many reports on the City's programs and initiatives. This section attempts to collect them all, however, a more reliable way to stay in touch is through the Equity Action Team Dashboard.

• Local Government Structures for Civil Rights Enforcement report by GARE (Government Alliance on Race & Equity). The City of Austin is charged through Resolution No. 20180628-062 to review possible structures for civil rights enforcement. The purpose of this study is to understand how jurisdictions across the country are structured to accomplish similar work. The findings will inform recommendations to structure and position civil rights enforcement in the City of Austin for future success.
• The report detailing Confederate-named assets on City property can be found here:'Whose Streets? Our Streets! The Historical Documentation of Confederate-Named City Assets in Austin, Texas and Considerations for Their (Re-) Naming". Through the Council initiated resolution to rename confederate assets, our office launched a SpeakUp page to collect names from Austin residents. The collection of names can be found here.
• The report analyzing the Austin Police Department's Racial Profiling Data can be found at the following link: Analysis of Racial Profiling.
• The report analyzing the first wave of Austin Police Department divisions to complete the Equity Assessment Tool is at the following link: APD Equity Assessment Reports.
• The toolkit distributed to help build a racial equity analysis in the City's COVID-19 response can be found at this link: Equity COVID19 Guide.
• The report on the CodeNEXT Equity Assessment is at the following link:CodeNEXT Assessment Report.
• The Equity Office's analysis of the 2018 Bond Projects is at the following link: Bond Projects Equity Analysis.
• The report on the first group of departments to complete the Tool is at the following link: Racial Equity Assessment Report.
• The report on the second group of departments to complete the Tool is at the following link: 2nd Racial Equity Assessment Report, and is further available in Spanish, Simplified Chinese, and Vietnamese. 

The Equity Forum is a free event designed to bring Austin-area organizers, community members, and City employees together to share information and resources on racial equity. The heart of the event will include breakout sessions addressing how different organizations normalize, organize, and operationalize equity, and includes a lunch keynote speaker. The intent of the forum is to showcase how and where equity work is being done in and around Austin, and to have conversations about working together on equity related issues and initiatives.

Check out the photo album from the 2024 Equity Forum, 'Another World is Possible' here

Stay tuned for the date and location of our next Equity Forum!