Affirming Belonging: Community Building and Educational Efforts Towards a Human Relations Code and Bias Incident Policy*

We present plans and objectives to further community building and educational efforts within APS DPP towards the establishment of a Human Relations Code (HRC) and Bias Incident Policy (BIP) that will cover all members at all times to improve both the experience of DPP members at our Annual Meetings and the institutional climate at each workplace associated with the DPP community. Our current framework for an HRC/BIP is based upon the methodologies of Restorative Justice and Conflict Mediation through consultations we have had with academic subject matter experts. These methodologies prescribe the necessity of strong community alignment and engagement in the development of an HRC/BIP. We set forth certain objectives we feel are key to be met on the path to cultivating a strong sense of shared community as well as disseminating the integral components of Restorative Justice and Conflict Mediation so that the entire community may engage with us in developing and establishing an HRC/BIP that is reflective of the core values of the APS DPP community. To that end, we propose plans to facilitate community workshops, town halls, and other forms of discussion and engagement with the aim of fostering an internal feeling of belonging and ownership over community practices and culture for all members of the community, especially those of minoritized and underrepresented identities and backgrounds. For references and more information, see: https://engage.aps.org/dpp/programs/dei-organizing-collective.