Leveraging the merger of Healthy to Innovative (HTI) workspaces and a focus on people to boost outcomes and discovery

Abstract

Our plasma community has widely begun to leverage the “Healthy to Innovative Framework” (HTI®Framework): focusing on psychological safety, moral courage, and cultural competence establishes a “Healthy to Innovative” model for stakeholders to build the workforce and meet demand signals at various levels and degrees of proficiency. Accurate use of the framework in academic and workplace environments can transform climates and cultures to maximize innovation in a “people-centered” focus that drives outcomes and discovery for an emerging fusion energy, plasma science, and fusion-adjacent workforce. This framework is not limited to any discipline. Systemic obstacles to healthy science, technology, engineering, and mathematics climates include gatekeeping, othering, grant and award criteria, principal investigator/research group accountability, and closed science practices. These obstacles are prime leverage points to reimagine and implement equitable restorative measures in current and burgeoning workspaces. Psychological safety and moral courage bring experts together with the community, including members of marginalized groups, to create a healthy foundation. A community feedback system facilitates the identification of workplace climate issues so they are promptly and effectively addressed. Cultural competence leverages the established safety and courage base to chart a path to an inclusive culture and harness the power of diverse perspectives. Stakeholders work under the direction of the HTI®Framework to sponsor events that address many forms of oppression and empower thriving workspaces. Technical and cultural subject matter experts who collaborate in these supported community-based workshops and trainings provide scaffolding for implementation in our respective places. This tutorial explores current community methods and future action plans to navigate the HTI®Framework to innovation.