Through its Division of Research & Faculty Development, HBS already provides generous support for research and course development related to race. The Division funds this research by drawing on revenues generated through our publishing operations, Executive Education, HBS Online, and our endowment. Funding faculty research with internal resources allows our faculty to shape and conduct most of their research without relying on outside grants. We hope that this funding model will attract Black faculty, by enabling them to do their best work at HBS.

Beyond continuing this support, HBS will take four steps to encourage new research and course development.

First, we will empower the Racial Equity Initiative to serve as a hub for HBS faculty and doctoral students, visiting scholars, and others who study race, diversity, inclusion, and inequality in business and society. The Initiative aims to be a vibrant center for research, collaboration, and convening.

Second, the Initiative will work with HBS’s existing Case Research and Writing Group (CRG) to establish processes to diversify the protagonists in HBS cases. Harvard Business School faculty members write the majority of cases taught in business schools worldwide. Historically, too few of the protagonists featured in HBS cases come from Black or other underrepresented minority communities. As a result, Black and other URM students cannot “see themselves” in the cases, and students of all backgrounds fail to see and learn from the full range of human talent. Our effort to diversify protagonists will actively reach beyond the networks of HBS faculty and identify potential protagonists from all backgrounds. As a pilot for a sustained effort, the CRG led a concerted effort this summer to source more such cases and generated a host of exciting leads for cases on Black, LatinX, and Asian American protagonists. A new case tracking system, prototyped this summer, will help match faculty with potential protagonists and track cases underway. Finally, the School is instituting regular reporting on the diversity of protagonists in HBS courses and in new cases. The effort to diversify case protagonists will be sustained by the CRG and the Racial Equity Initiative, much as the CRG and the Global Initiative have helped make HBS’s cases more global over time.

Third, HBS will leverage its Global Colloquium on Participant-Centered Learning, which trains case-method instructors worldwide, to promote partnerships between HBS faculty and faculty at Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Together, HBS and HBCU faculty will develop cases with Black protagonists and as well as cases on race and Black experiences in the workplace. If successful, we could expand these efforts to engage and partner with individuals at other institutions who are committed to writing similar types of cases.

Fourth, we will leverage Harvard Business Publishing (HBP) to disseminate research and course materials that advance racial equity. HBP has broad reach among managers, educators, and scholars and has already created several platforms to curate and disseminate insights related to race, racism, and anti-racism in business. We will produce content and learning experiences relevant to racial equity in multiple formats, such as articles, books, videos, webinars, cases, digital learning experiences, educator resources, simulations, and podcasts.