Concept: Equity By Design

Theory of Change

The global system of racial inequity did not happen by accident…it was designed.  It was not one or two things that got us to this point.  It was death by 1,000 cuts.  Deep, malicious, and entrenched cuts.  It will not be one or two things that gets us out of it.  Global racial equity must be designed and implemented with the same vigorous innovation and scale that global racial inequity was.

Complexity Science

DGEP’s effort utilizes complexity science as a framework, and therefore can deal with the plurality of different cultures of exclusion, while harnessing that same plurality for global impact and is built upon the following ideas:

  • Racial equity innovation is currently inefficient
  • Not enough creative capital in the equity space (i.e. black risk capital)
  • Must teach kids to create the racially equitable world they want instead of just navigating the racially inequitable one they have
The use of the word “Equity” in DGEP’s name is intentional: referencing both planned outcomes and categories of opportunity, as well as a strategy of investment.

The goal and design of DGEP is to inherently be designed to connect to as many disadvantaged and disconnected populations as possible.  A particular focus is on the relationship with these populations and their social and economic well-being.

Many other solutions focus on simply trying to mitigate a population’s exclusion from an economic system, versus integrating them fully into the system and making it more equitable.  The vision of DGEP is that, as equity scales, it pulls all disaffected populations into it.