Employee Resource Groups

The Director of Access and Engagement Programs will serve as a resource to staff and faculty as they plan to create a group, apply to be a formally recognized group, and event program, and resource planning after group creation.

The Director of Programs will:

• Review and approve new groups and renewing groups.
• Guide UMB employees through the formation or renewal of an ERG.
• Provide guidance and resources for issues that may arise during the group's development or after it is established, misconduct and/or actions or experiences not-abiding by UMB’s Core Values.
• Act as a champion for the ERG by sharing information about the ERG’s activities and encouraging attendance at key events.
• Create and lead a network of ERG leaders who will challenge and inspire each other to create and implement new and innovative ideas for events, programs, and workshops.
• Offer visioning advice and a broader perspective to help align ERG activities with the University’s Strategic Plan and Core Values.
• Allow the ERG leadership team to act with full autonomy and be available for counsel when needed.
• Meet at least quarterly with leadership as a group (ERG Council Meetings) and one-on-one, as needed, with the leadership of each group.
• Review and approve funding requests.

Reach out to the executive board to express interest in joining the group.

Formal Groups: Formal groups have gone through the formation or renewal process, are recognized on OEDI’s website, are active (meetings or events), and have leadership that attends ERG Council meetings.

Informal Groups: Although informal groups may be similar to formal groups, they are not recognized on OEDI's ERG website, do not receive financial support from OEDI, ERG leadership do not meet regularly with OEDI leadership, and the informal groups have not gone through the "New Group Creation" process or the yearly "Renewal" Process.

To be approved as a formally recognized group, the group must be accessible and open to all and require leadership and membership from at least two schools or units.

After Approval:

After approval and before recognition on OEDI’s website, the group must create a mission statement, goals and objectives, and bylaws. OEDI is available for consultation.

• Mission Statement (please indicate the mission of the ERG)
• Goals and Objectives (please indicate the goals and objectives of your ERG)
• Alignment (please provide examples of how your ERG’s goals and objectives align with the objectives of the OEDI)
• Bylaws [Sample ERG Bylaws]

Spending of State funds must adhere to Financial Affairs’ policies and procedures.

OEDI's website will include contact information and a two to three-sentence description for officially recognized ERGs.

If an ERG does not submit a renewal application, it will become inactive and be removed from OEDI’s website. After one year of inactive status, it will no longer be recognized as a group. To restart the group, an “ERG New Group Request” must be submitted.

Other ways a group may go to inactive status are ERG not meeting as a group, leadership not meeting with OEDI, the group having no activity during the prior year, the group having no leadership, or the group having no group members.

A Team site must be created for the group as the official repository of agendas, meeting minutes, and planning documents. The Director of Programs must be added to the Team site as an administrator to support document turnover to new leadership.