Summary
University of California, Berkeley’s Othering & Belonging Institute is a research organization that brings together experts from many fields. Its goal is to improve research and policy on complex issues that limit inclusion. The institute focuses on the systems and structures that shape how people are excluded or truly belong.
The Resource Guide for Belonging-Builders, published in 2025, is a short, practical tool that outlines components of belonging. It offers principles and a practical approach to designing services and policies that reduce structural inequality.
Policy & Practice Implications
- Non-profit organizations and policy makers can use the guide’s four components to better understand what belonging looks like in practice. They will also learn how services and policies can help build belonging for different social groups.
- Non-profit leaders can use the ten Belonging Design Principles to shape everyday practices that reduce inequality and exclusion.
- Policy makers, non-profit leaders, and practitioners can use Targeted Universalism to design more equitable systems and strengthen a sense of belonging within the groups, organizations, or communities they serve.
Image source: https://belonging.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/OBI%20Resource%20Guide%20for%20Belonging%20Builders.pdf
