Where do you begin when you want to create meaningful change in your institution but aren’t sure what the first step should be?

Maybe you’re a faculty member who wants to strengthen belonging among students. Perhaps you’re a staff member who sees opportunities to make institutional practices more equitable. Or you’re part of a team that has been working toward change for years but is navigating new challenges, shifting priorities, or uncertainty about what comes next.

Wherever you are in your journey, you don’t need to have all the answers to begin. That’s why we’ve developed Navigating Equity-Centered Institutional Change: A Reflection Guide, a practical resource designed to help faculty, staff, institutional leaders, and other changemakers reflect on where they are, explore what’s possible, and identify meaningful next steps.

Turning Lessons from TAE into a Practical Tool

The guide draws on four years of learning from the Transforming Academia for Equity (TAE) initiative, which supported seven schools and programs of public health in advancing equity-centered institutional change. Each institution approached transformation from a different starting point, with its own strengths, challenges, and priorities. Yet across their experiences, seven common principles emerged that helped teams build relationships, share leadership, navigate uncertainty, learn through action, and sustain change. We translated these lessons into a reflection guide because we wanted what we learned through TAE to be useful beyond the seven participating institutions.

The result is not another roadmap or checklist for institutional transformation. It’s a resource to help you ask better questions, engage others, and make thoughtful decisions that reflect your institution’s unique context.

A Guide You Can Use Wherever You Are

You don’t need to lead a formal equity initiative or hold a leadership title to use this guide. Whether you’re working independently, bringing together colleagues, or part of an established institutional change team, the guide offers practical ways to begin or deepen your efforts. Organized around the Seven Adaptive Principles for Equity-Centered Institutional Change, each section includes:

• Why This Principle Matters: Explore why the principle is important and how it emerged through TAE.
• Reflection Questions: Engage your team in dialogue to deepen understanding, build trust, and identify opportunities for change.
• Pause and Confirm: Assess your team’s readiness and alignment before moving into planning or implementation.
• Practices to Try: Explore practical ways to put the principle into action within your institutional context.
• Common Tensions to Navigate: Anticipate challenges and use tensions as opportunities for reflection, learning, and stronger relationships.

You can work through the guide with a team, use individual questions to spark discussion at your next meeting, or revisit particular principles as your work evolves. The important thing is to start where you are and build forward.

And if you’re looking for additional support through thought partnership, coaching, or peer learning – TAE’s Collaborative Consultation opportunity connects individuals and teams with experienced Adaptive Change Specialists who can serve as thought partners as you navigate challenges and identify next steps.

Learn more about Collaborative Consultation and share your interest.