One DHS People, Access and Culture · Learning path · I'm planning a meeting everyone can take part in
Accessible and culturally responsive meeting
You are running a meeting and want everyone to be able to take part, contribute, and know what was decided.
Outcome: By the end, you will have a reusable meeting plan: purpose and materials sent ahead, accommodation offered without disclosure, several ways to contribute, attention to positional power, a plan for repair if harm occurs, decisions with owners, and accessible follow-up.

SITUATIONS THAT MAY FIT THIS PATH
• A team meeting, all-staff, or partner meeting you are running
• A meeting where some people rarely speak
• A meeting with interpretation, captioning, or hybrid participation

SIX STEPS TO WORK THROUGH IN ORDER
1. Plan for participation — Use Ask to work through the purpose, the participation formats, and the access arrangements for this meeting. · Ask a question — program page /ask?path=gp-8
2. Consider community context (If relevant) — If the meeting includes community partners, read the relevant brief for access, timing, and what not to assume. · Explore Minnesota Communities — program page /minnesota-communities
3. Choose practical resources — Use the accessible meeting guidance and the access checks. · Accessible and culturally responsive meetings — program page /resources/ja-accessible-meetings · Access checks before a meeting or outreach — program page /resources/ja-access-checks
4. Draft your meeting plan — Complete the plan. Leave out names. Use the downloaded checklist to write your answers in a tool you normally use. This page does not save them.
5. Review your work — Confirm materials go out ahead, accommodation is offered to everyone, there are several ways to contribute, decisions will have owners, and follow-up is accessible.
6. Take it further if you want to — Most meetings need no consultation. If a team pattern keeps recurring, the team climate path may help. DSD staff can request a consultation. · Strengthen team climate (Practice path) — program page /paths/gp-4

WHAT A USEFUL RESULT LOOKS LIKE
Still needs work
• Captions turned on with nothing else changed
• A round-robin that forces everyone to speak
• Notes sent only to the people who were in the room
Ready to use
• Materials ahead, several ways to contribute, and decisions with owners
• Repair is the responsibility of the person with more power
• Follow-up is accessible and asks how it worked
Privacy: Do not include names. This page does not save your answers or progress. Notes saved through an earlier version may still be in this browser's site data; this page does not show or delete them.

ACCESSIBLE MEETING PLAN
Privacy: This is a blank published checklist. If you complete a downloaded copy, store and share that file according to DHS requirements. Nothing you write in that file is saved back to this page.
Meeting name, purpose, and who attends (required): The meeting, not individual names.
What goes out ahead and when (required): Purpose, agenda, materials, format, and the accommodation sentence.
Ways people can contribute (required): Speaking, writing ahead, writing during, following up after, and how written input gets the same weight.
Access arrangements (required): Captions, interpretation, room or platform access, pace, materials in accessible formats.
How you will handle positional power and repair (required): Who opens, who speaks last, how you will notice who is not speaking, and what you will do if harm occurs.
What you chose not to assume (required): About cameras, eye contact, speed, or silence as signs of engagement.
Follow-up date (required): When accessible notes go out and when you ask how the meeting worked.
Review your notes against
• Every follow-up has a named owner
• A next review date is set
• This is connected to your specific work
• Language, disability, and communication access were considered for this work
• You named who was involved and the role they had
• You noted what you chose not to assume

QUESTIONS TO BRING TO ASK
• What should I do before, during, and after a team meeting so everyone can actually take part?
• How do I run a hybrid meeting where the people online are not an afterthought?
• What do I do in the moment when a comment lands badly?

One DHS People, Access and Culture