Software for a diverse community starts with a diverse team

Under-resourced communities and communities of color disproportionately bear the burden of environmental injustice and climate change. Including the voices of communities on the front lines of these issues are key to creating equitable and lasting solutions. This principle extends to creating digital products that are part of the solutions.

GRID Alternatives is the country’s largest nonprofit that brings low-carbon solutions to low-income families. GRID Alternatives is the administrator, on behalf of California Air Resources Board (CARB), of a state-wide program to provide expanded, streamlined access to California’s ecosystem of low-carbon equity programs to ensure that low-income households throughout the state have robust access to clean transportation, solar power, and other technologies that fight climate change and economic inequality.

The program includes creating ​a centralized web portal (the “One Stop Shop”) for California residents to access and navigate clean energy and transportation incentives​. The portal features a recommendation engine that provides personalized results for programs a household qualifies for based on region, income level, transportation needs, home ownership and other lifestyle criteria. GRID partnered with Blue State to develop this web portal, leveraging Drupal as the framework.

While there is much to talk about the engineering of the One Stop Shop, in this session we will focus on how the project was intentionally planned to prioritize diversity and inclusion. We will discuss how diversity and inclusion informed:

• the RFP and partner search

• the construction of the team and principles for working approach

• user research, product design, and product testing

• technical requirements and needs

• product launch 

We'll then share impact stories from this project and the implications for creating more equitable workplaces and products within the software industry.