Education and outreach program

Grades: 6—12 Program Length: two modules minimum Cost: Variable. Students begin the program by embarking on a 3-hour field excursion aboard the Explorer riverboat, during which time they investigate microscopic creatures living in our waterways using microscopes and dredges. Armed with this knowledge, students will spend the remainder of the river excursion creating unique scratch mold designs inspired by micro and macroscopic organisms viewed under microscope.

Module two takes place on a separate date at the Carrie Blast Furnaces, during which time these scratch mold designs are cast in solid aluminum. Module 2 includes the metal casting experience, along with an educational mini tour of the industrial landmark. Final castings can be taken home at the end of module two. The metal casting experience module 2 can also take place at the school, rather than the Carrie Blast Furnaces provided the necessary space is available.

For Research Grantees. Research for Training Programs. Reports and Data Resources. Health Information for the Public. Science Education. Toggle navigation menu. Education, Training and Outreach Programs NIMHD works to expand the knowledge-base of research on minority health and health disparities through a number of mechanisms, such as research and education collaborations, training programs, and outreach initiatives.

NIMHD Envisioning Health Equity Art Challenge — This Art Challenge is a competition for teens and adults to submit original artwork that reflects an America in which all populations have an opportunity to live long, healthy, and productive lives. The national network is supported by the Learn More Breathe Better program. We can provide information and resources about:. Our education and outreach tax specialists are available for group presentations.

Yang state. Rivera state. If you are unsure who to contact, contact Sarah for assistance. Bjorklund state. DCPs allow districts to focus on special populations and concerns that might not be appropriate across all districts or issues and priorities that vary by region or geography. EEOC headquarters and the district and field offices work to build partnerships with local and national agencies, nonprofit organizations and business groups.

According to respondents in the district offices and in OFP, these strategic partnerships serve an important purpose in expanding the reach of EEOC. Numerous respondents expressed hope that this partnership will have a significant impact in identifying employment discrimination among undocumented or migrant-worker communities, a population identified in the SEP.

Other strategic partnerships include human resources groups, industry liaison groups, equal opportunity advisory councils, bar associations, law firms, and the employees of federal agencies.

Communications represent the external face of the agency. All of the respondents we talked to agreed that external communications provide an important avenue for outreach and education. Respondents identified social media, EEOC. According to respondents, the mode of communication for outreach and education presentations and events is very important. Most respondents in OFP thought that face-to-face outreach and education activities were the most successful. Respondents thought that teleconferencing and webinars seemed to be a less effective means to convey information through events and presentations.

However, other than anecdotally, respondents were unable to suggest why. Presentations and events represent a portion of outreach and education activities. Throughout our interviews, respondents noted that other forms of electronic communication can be successful, but certain activities require in-person outreach and education. A few respondents noted the lack of uniformity for strategizing information dissemination, that is, what EEO issues get elevated to various communications outlets.

This issue is amplified because EEOC does not currently have a strategic communications plan. It does have guidance for press releases and a social media guide, but neither are substitutes for a strategic communications plan.

Our interviews with OCLA staff indicate that there are current efforts to draft a meaningful communications strategy. The commissioners have asked OCLA to reconfigure a previous draft strategic communications plan. The new plan would identify and discus strategies and lay out necessary infrastructure improvements.

Various respondents in all offices said that communication between offices involved in outreach and education could be strengthened. Some respondents noted that internal communication has improved, but that there is still room for more improvement. Two respondents mentioned the multiple offices and various staff conducting outreach and education make internal communication difficult.

The Commission Chair has a weekly newsletter that often includes outreach and education activities. A few other offices also communicate their activities although through various mechanisms. For instance OLC has a quarterly report that includes outreach and education activities completed.

A respondent from OGC also mentioned a newsletter about activities although the newsletter we examined mostly contained important information about enforcement. EEOC headquarters staff relies on the national outreach coordinator to compile outreach and education activities completed by headquarters staff. They generally thought the efforts are successful, pointing to anecdotal evidence.

Our interviews revealed that program analysts are given leeway to innovate and create new presentation methods to engage different audiences. Multiple respondents said that the leeway allows the program analysts to be creative and reach audiences in a way that is not restrictive. This clearance serves as a quality control mechanism and the program analysts we talked to were happy to coordinate their efforts with these offices at EEOC headquarters. The directors we talked to in the district and field offices were happy to have skilled program analysts organizing district outreach and education efforts.

The program analysts we talked to were involved in helping construct their local DCPs using their knowledge and experience. The SEP appears to be a good, though general, guide for directing outreach and education efforts. District offices are also able to prioritize specific regional needs that complement the SEP. The individuals in field offices whom we spoke with noted that there is a considerable number of topics to cover for outreach and education given the national SEP initiatives, the local DCPs and other potential White House initiatives.

We found that a significant number of staff in EEOC are involved in outreach and education. Respondents suggested that it was admirable that many EEOC staff are involved in outreach and education activities. Appendix C provides evidence of how many offices and staff are involved in outreach and education —even attorneys and people involved with enforcement provide their expertise through trainings and presentations.

As mentioned, EEOC has a significant amount of information it needs to disseminate. Given this consideration, staff adapt the available resources and rely on their expertise about EEO laws to help cover as much ground as possible. One suggestion to improve the structural issues was a more centralized operation with a direct chain of command for outreach and education activities.

Currently, outreach and education efforts are decentralized. EEOC could benefit from a more structured approach that relies on existing agency resources and strategically restructuring positions to leverage current assets in a more centralized way. This, however, should not reduce the flexibility the district and field offices have to strategize and innovate their outreach and education activities. The national outreach coordinator role might, for example, be expanded to encompass broader cross-office outreach and education communications efforts.

Approvals, for example, have to go through OFP which delays response time. The program analysts we spoke to noted that they were overloaded doing administrative and clerical work, especially for the TAPS, such as arranging hotels, event space, and equipment.

They would like to have help with those time-consuming tasks so they can spend more time on content for outreach and education.

The FEPA officials we talked to reported undertaking considerable outreach and education locally, often with staffs and limited resources. However, there is considerable enthusiasm and willingness to conduct outreach and education within the FEPAs. Recommendation 1 - EEOC should consider a more centralized operation for outreach and education. EEOC should be careful not to reduce the autonomy of program analysts when restructuring. A more centralized structure would require rethinking the location of the Training Institute.

Our evaluation did not provide enough insight to support specific recommendations on restructuring beyond the need to reexamine the organization of activities to include more coordination. Recommendation 2 - EEOC should consider ways to alleviate the administrative workload of program analysts, perhaps through some centralized help in making hotel accommodations and other administrative arrangements.

According to the program analysts we interviewed this attempt was unsuccessful and created more work for program analysts.

According to them, a program analyst assistant position located within the district offices would be more desirable. EEOC is currently considering creating such a position as one option to help reduce administrative burdens. EEOC, should survey the OFP program analysts and district office directors to determine the extent to which administrative burdens are a problem.

FEPAs have close relationships with local employers or organizations. These relationships likely expand on the relationships that program analysts have at the local level.

Some district offices are better or uniquely equipped to effectively get the message out about successful litigation e. Our examination of the website revealed areas with outdated information.

For example, our initial review found past Training Institute events, still listed on the website months after they had occurred. Respondents suggested this is an area of priority. Indeed, subsequent visits to the Training Institute website have shown updated information. Some respondents criticized the website as being difficult to navigate. After reviewing the website, we came to the same conclusion.

Unfortunately, EEOC has many audiences it must consider when determining the content that is placed on the website. What is helpful for advocates and lawyers will certainly be different from what is helpful for the general public.

This makes it difficult to easily disseminate information on EEO laws. Some partners, however, were complimentary about the content, suggesting it is a great resource to look up information on federal laws. This further emphasizes the need to strategically consider all audiences when EEOC reviews the website.

Recommendation 4 - EEOC should also consider an initiative that would provide regular opportunities to evoke news stories, also known as "earned media" opportunities, that would support its outreach goals. An annual or semi-annual report would strengthen EEOC's position as a watchdog, but balance is needed.

One of EEOC's jobs is to educate and empower workers in protected classes. However, the public might overlook this positive, affirming role when so much of the agency's communications focus on punishment of unlawful activity. It may be beneficial, then, to create opportunities to highlight EEOC's role as an empowering agency by emphasizing the benefits of fair and inclusive work environments.

The agency could also design and implement a campaign that communicates the value of workers knowing their rights and employers understanding their responsibilities. EEOC should use every available opportunity to draw attention to work that assists the vulnerable, affirms their rights, and facilitates constructive dialogue.

There is also a need for more direct and personal communication. This may be part of why their efforts are considered effective. It might be possible to replicate this type of success at the national level by positioning a spokesperson or spokespeople who can embody EEOC for the public.

The chair may be the natural choice, and a public relations firm could work with the agency to position such a spokesperson with national media outlets and other key audiences. The scope of work for such a project would include helping a primary spokesperson place op-eds in national newspapers, secure speaking engagements at relevant conferences, and being a go-to resource for informed commentary on equality and employment among major digital, print, radio, and TV outlets.

Additionally, the navigation should also be improved. The website represents one of the primary places audiences seek information on EEO laws. Updating the website will require investment and care in thinking about the different ways EEOC interacts with their audiences. The website should provide easily accessible portals for different audiences, with content tailored to communicate EEO laws to each audience. Recommendation 6 - EEOC needs some process where they get feedback about what key constituents think regarding their outreach and education effort.

A brand evaluation is one way to solicit and act on systematic feedback. The goal of outreach and education is to influence and support key external audiences. EEOC needs to learn what those audiences think of its outreach and education efforts and then adopt practices that can help it communicate more effectively.

It may not be instinctive for a government entity to think of itself as having a brand, but it does, and it is clear that other federal organizations recognize this. The joined, block letters of the Food and Drug Administration's logo convey strength and authority.

And two years ago, the United States Department of Agriculture consolidated dozens of graphic identifiers for different offices with one image: bold, blue letters above a field of green. These agencies invested time and thought into how they want to be seen.

But a brand evaluation is about more than a logo and may not even include a logo redesign. It is, more importantly, a multi-step process that helps an organization think through and take greater charge over how it operates and how the public sees it. Some of the steps can include auditing communications materials for the types of messages they utilize; comparing the organization in question to others that do similar work; identifying audiences; surveying audience opinion on the organization's image and the quality of its communications; and using findings from some of the steps above to improve the way the organization presents itself through all of its own channels and materials, the media, and face-to-face interactions.

Often, one byproduct of evaluating how outsiders perceive an organization is a rich, internal dialogue about mission and the role different groups within the organization play in achieving it. This internal consensus-building would be especially valuable for an organization as decentralized as EEOC. A brand evaluation can help an organization be much more deliberate about whom it engages and how.

The benefits of this process are numerous, but there are instances when the time involved, typically many months, and the cost, hundreds of thousands of dollars or more, can be prohibitive.

If cost is an obstacle, we recommend that at a minimum, EEOC commission a survey of its key audiences, which can then inform the organization on how to best reach those audiences.

Many respondents suggested that internal communication could be improved. The clearinghouse would also provide information on best practices. As mentioned in recommendation 1, some of the complications with internal communication might be solved with a more centralized approach to outreach and education.

HUD has a structure that is somewhat more centralized with a director of outreach and education leading its efforts.