Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA)
2024–2029 DEIA Strategic Plan
(May 2024)
A Message from the Archivist
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is the nation’s record keeper. We have been entrusted with the responsibility to preserve, protect, and share the history of the United States government. At the heart of that mission lies the belief that access to information is fundamental to a vibrant democracy. Our duty is not just to safeguard the records of the past but to ensure they are accessible to all, regardless of background or circumstance.
Central to our vision is the recognition that diversity, equal opportunity, and accessibility are not just moral practices but essential drivers of organizational excellence. By fostering an environment where every individual feels valued and empowered to contribute, we not only enrich our workplace culture but enhance our ability to serve the public effectively. By embracing diverse perspectives, we open ourselves to new ideas and ways of thinking, ultimately leading to more innovative solutions to the challenges we face.
In pursuit of these goals, we must challenge the status quo and accept change. This requires us to reexamine long-held assumptions, rethink outdated processes, and confront biases that may exist within our organization. It is only by doing so that we will maximize the full potential of our workforce and fulfill our mission to the highest standard.
At NARA, the diversity of our collections and workforce serve as the sources of our strength as a federal agency, helping us fulfill the goal of sharing history with all Americans.
Dr. Colleen Shogan
Archivist of the United States
Introduction
On June 25, 2021, President Biden signed Executive Order (EO) 14035, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in the Federal Workforce. EO 14035 requires all agencies to develop an annual Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) Strategic Plan. In accordance with the EO, this DEIA Strategic Plan describes goals and actions we will take to advance inclusive environments and equitable opportunities for all employees.
NARA is committed to ensuring a workplace environment that enables all employees to perform to their best potential. NARA’s approach is aligned to the NARA 2022–2026 Strategic Plan, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s Management Directive 715, and the November 2021 Government-wide Strategic Plan to Advance DEIA in the Federal Workforce.
In pursuit of this shared vision, NARA's DEIA Strategic Plan is grounded in evidence-based decision-making. This involves gathering facts, analyzing data, and building a robust evidentiary foundation to drive policies and practices. The initiatives outlined in this plan are aimed at advancing equal opportunities, protecting civil rights, and promoting fairness for all employees.
NARA seeks to enhance the overall employee and customer experience by fostering a sense of belonging and cultivating inclusion. We are dedicated to creating a workplace that transcends social group identities, such as race, color, national origin, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, or transgender status), age (40 and above), disability (mental or physical), family medical history or genetic information, retaliation (serving as a witness or prior EEO activity), marital status, political affiliation, and status as a parent.
Mission, Vision, and Value Statement
NARA’s DEIA efforts are guided by the agency’s mission, vision, and values established in the NARA 2022–2026 Strategic Plan.
NARA Mission Statement
We drive openness, cultivate public participation, and strengthen our nation’s democracy through equitable public access to high-value government records.
Our mission is to provide equitable public access to federal government records in our custody and control. Equitable access to government records strengthens democracy by allowing all Americans of all backgrounds to claim their rights of citizenship, hold their government accountable, and understand their history so they can fully participate in their government.
DEIA Mission Statement
NARA embraces diversity of talents, ideas, experiences, and identities to encourage collaboration, inspire innovation, and empower employees.
NARA Values
NARA values reflect shared aspirations that support and encourage the agency’s long-standing commitment to public service, openness and transparency, and the government records that NARA holds in trust.
Collaborate: Create an open, inclusive work environment that is built on respect, communication, integrity, and collaborative team work.
Innovate: Encourage creativity and invest in innovation to build our future.
Learn: Pursue excellence through continuous learning and become smarter all the time about what we know and what we do in service to others.
Act With Integrity: Build trust by acting with honesty, fairness, and transparency.
Advance Diversity: Model diversity, inclusion, equity, and accessibility throughout the agency and expand participation by staff and customers of all backgrounds in NARA programs and decision-making.
NARA Strategic Goals and Objectives
The goals in NARA’s 2022–2026 Strategic Plan align with the DEIA Strategic Plan to achieve the same outcome: preserving, protecting, and sharing the essential records of the United States. This alignment will equip the workforce with the tools, mindsets, and practices to cultivate public participation and strengthen our democracy.
NARA’s Strategic Goals identify the four key areas in which the agency must excel to efficiently and effectively deliver its mission in a modern environment.
- Goal 1: Make Access Happen
- Goal 2: Connect with Customers
- Goal 3: Maximize NARA’s Value to the Nation
- Goal 4: Build Our Future Through Our People
Strategic Goals 1–3 are designed to position NARA to engage and advance our mission across a wide range of communities. Strategic Goal 4, Build Our Future Through Our People, supports NARA’s mission by ensuring we have an empowered and engaged workforce.
This Plan's Framework
This plan presents three overarching goals that build upon the four goals of the NARA 2022–2026 Strategic Plan: (1) Increase Workforce Diversity; (2) Cultivate Equal, Fair, and Accessible Opportunity; and (3) Emphasize Excellence.
Goal 1: Increase Workforce Diversity
NARA will make evidence-based decisions to build a more representative workforce.
NARA conducts its work in service to all, regardless of identity or politics. To ensure that NARA remains a trusted resource, NARA will continue to build a workforce that mirrors the diversity of our nation. By cultivating a workforce that represents all of America, we will establish ourselves as trustworthy stewards of our nation's history.
To achieve this goal, NARA will ensure that all Americans have equal and fair opportunity to participate in our agency’s important work. NARA will accomplish this by expanding career pathways into NARA and building awareness of these pathways, particularly among communities historically underrepresented in NARA’s workforce and in the federal government. In addition, NARA will ensure that all employees have equal and fair opportunity for advancement so that working for NARA can be a career, not just a job.
Goal 2: Cultivate Equal, Fair, and Accessible Opportunity
NARA will adopt transparent and evidence-based approaches to expand access to resources and opportunities.
NARA’s work must be accessible to all. To achieve equal and fair access, NARA will identify and eliminate barriers hindering full and equitable participation for both employees and customers. By committing to equal and fair opportunity, transparency, and accessibility, we uphold the principles that underpin our great nation and empower all employees and customers as stewards of the democratic process.
To achieve this goal, NARA will assess internal policies, processes, and customer-facing resources and facilities to identify barriers to equal and fair access. NARA will then take appropriate, evidence-based approaches to removing these barriers and expanding access.
Goal 3: Emphasize Excellence
NARA will provide employees with the tools to strive for excellence by leveraging every individual’s unique strength and perspective.
As the nation’s record keeper, our customers rely on NARA to deliver operational excellence to ensure a positive experience. To improve organizational performance and service to our customers, NARA will provide employees with the tools and opportunities to reach their full potential. By cultivating an inclusive culture that champions dignity, respect, and belonging for all employees, NARA becomes a more effective partner for all the communities we serve.
To achieve this goal, NARA will cultivate a highly skilled and motivated workforce by empowering leaders and employees at all levels to practice continuous improvement and accountability through group coaching and training opportunities. NARA will also increase the utilization of our Employee Affinity Groups (EAG) to be a collective voice around shared interests or concerns. By emphasizing excellence in all our employees, we help NARA serve as a powerful force for democracy.
Strategic Alignment
Aligned with the NARA 2022–2026 Strategic Plan and the Government-wide DEIA Strategic Plan, this plan’s framework will provide clarity of purpose and impact while positioning NARA to promote a diverse workforce that is inclusive in its interactions, equitable in its practices, and accessible to all current and future employees and customers. Table 1 shows how the NARA’s Strategic Goals, as well as the principles and priorities of the Government-wide DEIA Strategic Plan, align to these goals.
|
This Plan’s Goals |
NARA 2022–2026 Strategic Plan Goals | Government-wide Principles and Priorities |
|
GOAL 1: Increase Workforce Diversity - NARA will make evidence-based decisions to build a more representative workforce
|
Goal 4: Build Our Future Through Our People |
Operating Principle 1: Use Data and Evidence-Based Decision-Making Operating Principle 2: Focus on Continuous Improvement Operating Principle 5: Understand the Perspectives of the Workforce and the Customers Executive Order Priority: Professional Development and Advancement Executive Order Priority: Partnerships and Recruitment |
| GOAL 2: Cultivate Equal, Fair and Accessible Opportunity - NARA will adopt transparent and evidence-based approaches to expand access to resources and opportunities. |
Goal 1: Make Access Happen Goal 2: Connect with Customers Goal 3: Maximize NARA’s Value to the Nation Goal 4: Build Our Future Through Our People |
Operating Principle 1: Use Data and Evidence-Based Decision-Making Operating Principle 2: Focus on Continuous Improvement Executive Order Priority: Safe Workplaces |
| GOAL 3: Emphasize Excellence - NARA will provide employees with the tools to strive for excellence by leveraging every individual’s unique strength and perspective. | Goal 4: Build Our Future Through Our People |
Operating Principle 3: Adopt a Collaborative, Whole-of-Agency Mandate with Partnership Engagemen Operating Principle 5: Understand the Perspectives of the Workforce and the Customer Executive Order Priority: Safe Workplaces Executive Order Priority: DEIA Training and Learning |
Strategies, Priorities, and Outcomes
The following strategies, priorities, and outcomes outline our roadmap for how we will achieve NARA’s goals. NARA’s Management Team, which consists of senior leaders, will serve as champions to advance these efforts. The Office of Human Capital and the Office of Equal Employment, in partnership with the DEIA Team and the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Council 260, will facilitate the implementation of these strategies and priorities through workforce empowerment.
| Strategy | Priority | Outcome |
| 1.1: NARA will expand its use of hiring flexibilities and outreach to underrepresented groups to increase the diversity of candidate pools. | a. Increase internal and external awareness of alternative hiring paths into NARA positions, including non-competitive hiring authorities. |
Increased diversity of candidates seeking positions with NARA. Increased usage of non-competitive hiring such as Schedule A and 30% Disabled Veterans. |
| b. Ensure that vacancy announcements use a variety of hiring flexibilities to increase candidate diversity. | ||
| c. Develop and maintain strategic partnerships with historically Black colleges and universities, Hispanic-serving institutions, women’s colleges, and colleges that align with NARA’s mission and vision to expand the talent pool. | ||
| d. Advertise job openings and other opportunities on a wide range of digital platforms and ensure that all advertising is user-friendly and accessible. | ||
| e. Develop and implement a high-quality, centralized internship program that prepares and energizes students for future NARA employment. |
Increased opportunities for students to engage with NARA. Pipeline of candidates better prepared for successful employment with NARA. |
|
| 1.2: NARA will provide training and support to hiring managers to increase the diversity of the NARA workforce. | a. Create interview and hiring practices/training to mitigate for bias and ensure all candidates, including internal candidates, receive equitable opportunities. |
More equitable hiring process. Increased workforce representation of groups historically underrepresented at NARA. |
| 1.3: NARA will provide access to advancement opportunities (e.g., promotion, career development, training) for all employees while cultivating the advancement of a robust leadership pipeline to enable continued mission success. | a. Assess talent development needs and provide employees with a roadmap to support career planning and with training and experiential learning to develop skills needed for career progression, including cross-training opportunities. | Increased career progression, development, and training opportunities for all NARA employees, including employees in groups that are historically underrepresented in NARA leadership positions. |
| b. Assess leadership training for non-supervisors to expand opportunities that allow motivated employees to prepare for future responsibilities and self-identify for inclusion in leadership pipelines for succession planning. |
| Strategy | Priority | Outcome |
| 2.1: NARA will analyze workforce data to identify inequitable talent management outcomes and will undertake subsequent root cause analysis to identify and eliminate barriers to equal and fair opportunity. | a. Analyze data on applicant flow and attrition rates alongside feedback from exit surveys to mitigate bias in the hiring process and identify issues that may reduce employee retention. |
More equitable hiring practices. Ability to target retention and succession planning efforts. |
| b. Analyze data on disciplinary actions to ensure that discipline at NARA is consistent and fair while mitigating bias. | More equitable employee discipline practices. | |
| c. Assess performance management practices to ensure employee performance ratings are consistent and fair while mitigating bias. | ||
| Improved performance evaluation practices allowing for equitable assessment for advancement. | ||
| 2.2: NARA will assess barriers to accessibility to ensure equity and a culture of accessibility for all people, including people with disabilities. | a. Develop and disseminate guidance on existing resources and support, such as the reasonable accommodations program, to promote accessibility and disability inclusion. |
Increased opportunities for training and decision making by managers and supervisors on providing reasonable accommodation requests. Reduced processing times for reasonable accommodations requests. |
| b. Increase awareness about Section 508 compliance requirements, including as these apply to NARA’s internet/intranet sites, internal collaboration tools, and creating compliant documents in all NARA platforms. | NARA work products more accessible to both internal and external audiences with disabilities. | |
| c. Develop or enhance tools and training to support Section 508 compliance for new documents for content creators, managers, and staff members. | ||
| 2.3: NARA will assess and enhance its policies for wellness, harassment, accessibility, and inclusion and develop performance metrics and targets to determine if those policies are meeting objectives. | a. Develop performance metrics and targets related to workplace discrimination, harassment, and bullying policies and reporting procedures. | NARA has systems in place to proactively prevent and address inappropriate behavior, leading to a reduction of workplace discrimination, harassment, and bullying. |
| b. Evaluate NARA’s wellness programs (e.g., Employee Assistance Program [EAP], Nursing Mothers’ Program) and promote awareness to ensure that all employees have access to services that meet their needs. |
Employees believe they are equipped with tools and resources to manage their well-being, as measured by Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS) scores and/or targeted surveys or pulse checks. Increased awareness and utilization of wellness offerings. |
|
| c. Identify opportunities to increase the accessibility of buildings and facilities across the agency. | Regularly assess and remove physical barriers. |
| Strategy | Priority | Outcome |
| 3.1: NARA will use coaching to create a safe space for employees that enhances their sense of belonging and fosters long-term behavioral change. |
a. Continue to incorporate group coaching into the Supervisory Development Program |
Increased employee sense of belonging and belief in inclusion, as measured by FEVS scores and/or targeted surveys or pulse checks. |
| b. Continue to offer group coaching opportunities, using the Positive Emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishment (PERMA) model, to foster a safe space for employees to share challenging experiences, provide coaching tips and feedback, and inspire actions and learning. | ||
| 3.2: NARA will provide training that fosters a culture of excellence, as well as resources to support employee well-being |
a. Continue implementing the Respectful, Inclusive, and Safe Environments (RISE) training curriculum |
Employees believe they are equipped with competencies, tools, and resources to promote and embrace a civil and inclusive workplace, as measured by FEVS scores and/or targeted surveys or pulse checks. |
| b. Offer training that fosters a welcoming workplace in order to empower all employees to actively engage in initiatives that contribute to the establishment of a workplace that values differences. | ||
| c. Develop programming and resources supporting employees who have experienced domestic violence, gender-based violence, or sexual assault. | ||
| 3.3: NARA will increase employee involvement in the creation and maintenance of respectful, inclusive, and safe work environments. | a. Continue to support EAG leaders and integrate them into key decision-making processes, including evidence gathering, recruitment, and outreach activities, to amplify their voices and contribute to NARA's ability to foster an informed citizenry. | Increased employee sense of belonging and belief in inclusion, as measured by FEVS scores and/or targeted surveys or pulse checks. |
Strategies to Measure Success
NARA must conduct foundational fact-finding to explore relationships between civility, DEIA principles, and a productive workplace. NARA will need to conduct research based on multiple datasets not previously considered together in order to gain insights into NARA’s workforce. In particular, NARA must consider the roles that geographic location and job series play in the diversity of employees and job applicants. NARA will use data from the Employee Viewpoint Survey and may conduct additional staff surveys to assess progress and status on DEIA and workplace culture initiatives.
NARA plans to conduct a program review of agency recruitment activities to ensure recruitment resources are aligned to most effectively support NARA goals. NARA will conduct process and employee journey mapping to better understand the employee experience in human capital processes. NARA will conduct community engagement to build connections that will provide for more diverse recruitment strategies.
Anticipated challenges: NARA will need robust change management strategies to help implement lasting change. NARA must focus management attention to successfully coordinate implementation with parallel initiatives to reform federal hiring practices, implement hybrid workplaces, and promote equity in agency programs.
NARA Organization
NARA’s organizational structure focuses agency resources and management attention on delivering coordinated and effective services to key stakeholders and customers. NARA’s customer-focused organizations allow the agency to better engage its stakeholders, encourage their collaboration and participation, and respond to their needs expediently and efficiently. This structure eliminates duplication of processes and resources, creates a more flexible and agile organization, and promotes shared accountability for the performance of the agency as a whole.
View Previous Plans:
- Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Strategic Plan, 2022–2026
- Diversity and Inclusion Strategic Plan, 2012
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