Racial Equity Impact Assessments and How They Work

A recent equity toolkit released by the NAACP recommends conducting racial equity impact assessments (REIA, pronounced “REE-uh”) to help guide work on projects and policies. But what is a REIA, and how do they work?

REIAs are an emerging way of analyzing the community impacts of a policy or project. They are a tool that “puts on a racial equity lens” for proposed policies, programs, and practices, said Leah Obias, director of policy and strategy at the nonprofit Race Forward. This can help “ensure that policies, programs, and practices may improve outcomes for BIPOC [Black, Indigenous, and People of Color] communities,” they added.