Equity Environmental Scanning Tool (EEST) Guidebook

This document is a guidebook for completing the Equity Environmental Scanning Tool (EEST), the central self-assessment in the ACCESS+ initiative for promoting DEI reform in STEM professional societies. It explains the tool’s purpose—stimulating internal conversations, benchmarking DEI performance, identifying strengths and gaps, centralizing data, and guiding actionable change. The guide details:

• Rationale for Self-Assessment – Emphasizes the importance of societies conducting the work themselves to build ownership, accountability, and investment in DEI change.
• Completion Process – Recommends a 17-month timeline from forming the self-assessment team to implementing a DEI action plan.
• Part 1: The 12 Functions – Governance & Leadership, Membership, Meetings & Events, Professional Development, Chapters & Affiliates, Awards & Recognition, Marketing & Communication, Community Outreach, Employment, Public Policy & Advocacy, Publishing, and Partners/Sponsors/Vendors.
• Sections within Functions – Management & Administration, Policies/Procedures/Practices, and Insights & Evaluation.
• Likert Scale Scoring – A 0–4 scale (plus N/A) for assessing DEI integration.
• Part 2: DEI Compositional Measures – Quantitative representation of different groups across functions, with guidance to also collect experiential data.
• Part 3: DEI Progress, Challenges, & Priorities – Open-ended reflection on successes, challenges, strategies, and priorities.