Req 11 — Your DEI Action Plan

This is the capstone requirement — the one that pulls everything together. You have studied the terms, reflected on your own decisions, responded to scenarios, connected across differences, and learned from leaders in your community. Now, build a plan for how you will lead.

Part A: Your Inclusion Action Plan

Think about the specific places in your life — school, work, community, social settings — and describe what you will do to support people with different identities. This is not about vague intentions; it is about concrete actions.

For each setting, consider:

• Who might feel excluded? Think about who is currently on the outside looking in.
• What barriers exist? Are there language barriers, social cliques, accessibility issues, or cultural misunderstandings?
• What will you do? Name specific actions — not “I’ll be nice to everyone” but “I’ll introduce myself to new students in the first week of school” or “I’ll suggest our team use a round-robin format for sharing ideas.”

Part B: Why Diverse Perspectives Make Things Better

This part asks you to explain the practical value of including diverse thoughts and opinions. It is not just about fairness — diversity of thought actually leads to better outcomes.

More positive interactions: When everyone in a group feels heard and respected, people are more willing to collaborate, take risks, and support each other. Trust goes up. Conflict goes down. The group becomes stronger.

Better decisions through different opinions: When everyone in a room thinks the same way, you only get one perspective. When people with different backgrounds, experiences, and viewpoints contribute, the group sees problems from multiple angles and finds solutions that a homogeneous group would miss.

Part C: The Cost of Limiting Diverse Input

Your counselor will ask for three examples of how limiting diverse input can cause harm. Think about situations where only one perspective was considered and things went wrong.

Here are some areas to draw from:

Product design failures: When products are designed without diverse input, they often fail entire groups of people. Early automotive crash test dummies were based only on average male bodies, which meant safety features did not adequately protect women and children. This oversight caused preventable injuries for decades.

Groupthink in decision-making: When everyone in a leadership group thinks the same way, they often make overconfident decisions without considering risks. This phenomenon — called “groupthink” — has been blamed for everything from corporate scandals to failed government policies.

Community exclusion: When community planning does not include input from all residents — including people with disabilities, non-English speakers, and underrepresented groups — the resulting policies and spaces may not serve everyone’s needs.

Part D: How Diversity Drives Innovation and Success

Now flip the script — give three examples of how including diverse opinions leads to innovation and success.

Team problem-solving: Teams that include members with different backgrounds and thinking styles consistently outperform homogeneous teams on complex problems. Each person brings a different lens, catching blind spots that others miss.

Creative breakthroughs: Many of the world’s greatest innovations came from people who brought an outsider’s perspective to a field. Fresh eyes see possibilities that insiders overlook.

Community strength: Communities that welcome and integrate people from different backgrounds tend to be more resilient, more creative, and more economically vibrant. Diversity of people brings diversity of skills, ideas, and entrepreneurial energy.

You have reached the final requirement. By building your personal action plan and understanding why diverse perspectives matter, you have equipped yourself to be a leader who makes everyone feel welcome — in Scouting and far beyond it.