accountability
The process of taking responsibility for one’s words, actions, or behaviours.
“Understanding and working towards accountability in our communities is an ongoing and unfolding process.”
At Dandelion Learning, our commitment to accountability is one of our core values and an important part of the work we are doing. We believe that accountability is a vital aspect of change-making work and that all people, businesses, organizations, and communities who are working to create change need to be exploring what practices of accountability can look and feel like.
We recognize that understanding and working towards accountability in our communities is an ongoing and unfolding process, as with most aspects of social justice work. We aim to be transparent about our processes, intentions, limitations, and learning around accountability and to openly share this with our visitors.
Positioning statement
It’s important to acknowledge that while the perspectives being brought to this work have been formed through consultation and shared process with communities that are committed to fighting for social justice, most of the content on this website is created by a single person with limited experiences of marginalization.
I work from the position of a neurodivergent queer cis-woman. I am both white and a settler on the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), səl̓ilwətaɁɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), and Skxwú7mesh (Squamish) nations. I also experience class and ability based privilege and have had access to post-secondary education.
The lens through which I see the world limits my ability to adequately discuss certain topics and puts me at risk of perpetuating unconscious biases and prejudice, of making inaccessible materials, and of inadvertently causing harm. I am committed to creating critical and well-informed materials and I work to avoid perpetuating injustice in my business through my accountability model.
accountability model
I strive to be willing to receive feedback, hear critique, and be accountable for my mistakes. I do this via two channels:
1. Accountability team
My Accountability Team is made up of friends and acquaintances who can call me in to process, hold me with tenderness, and challenge me deeply. These folks may be my first line of critique on website and product content. Their main role is to help me work through and address concerns that are brought forward through the feedback system.
2. Feedback System
The Feedback System is an open invitation for feedback from readers and customers. I strive to make this channel accessible to all visitors to my site and materials. I welcome all kinds of feedback, whether they are call-outs or call-ins, constructive critique, or positive words. I encourage you to take on a critical lens as you read or engage with my materials.
accountability process
When I receive critical feedback, I will:
01
Respond in the same location (email, comments, etc.)
a) acknowledging I have received it
b) acknowledge the labour the critic is putting in
c) explain what I will do next
02
Take a step back taking time to hear and understand the feedback
03
Check in with my accountability team and my own feelings
04
Determine a strategy for addressing the issue (possibly removing content, changing content, privately discussing with critic, leaving content as is, etc.)
05
Determine what I need to do to learn/unlearn and address the issue personally
06
Respond again in the location of the critique
a) Explain what I have done since receiving the feedback
b) Apologize or otherwise take responsibility for the harm I’ve caused
c) Describe how I am actively addressing the issue personally
d) Explain what I will do next in terms of the content in question and
being publicly accountable if necessary (public statement, email to
newsletter to address past content, etc.)
07
Follow-up in private with the critic to ensure that they feel we have addressed and resolved the issue