Challenge:
University of California San Francisco (UCSF) wanted to be proactive in rolling out diversity, equity and inclusion programs to their various employee populations. The university turned to LCI for strategy and creative ideas surrounding a communications campaign to counter potential micro-aggression amongst staff, faculty, doctors, students and clinicians.
Strategy:
LCI delved into micro-aggression issues with research into how different employee populations at academic healthcare institutions viewed status differentials amongst staff, doctors, students and faculty. Using this as a base, the team built three different communications program themes for UCSF to implement and made recommendations on which communications vehicles to use internally. UCSF’s many in-house points-of-contact included everything from departmental communications to intranets, signage and classroom environments. A cohesive campaign was necessary to reach all audiences where they congregate.
Results:
LCI’s campaign recommendations – with a theme of “Consider It” – spurred UCSF’s diversity, equity and inclusion department to implement a campus-wide campaign to increase awareness of micro-aggressions and establish a protocol for dealing with sensitive issues rapidly. Implementation included training, intranet content and even shuttle bus signage. UCSF continues to be at the forefront of health equity and has established a benchmark in diversity education certification.