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Evaluating the Use of Partnerships to Address Environmental Justice IssuesIn June 1999, the federal Interagency Working Group on Environmental Justice (IWG) began to develop the concept of an Integrated Federal Interagency Environmental Justice Action Agenda (Agenda) as a way of incorporating environmental justice in all policies, programs, and activities of federal agencies. Finalized in May 2000, the IWG's Agenda seeks to build dynamic and proactive
partnerships that access the initiatives and resources of federal agencies
to improve the quality of life of minority and low-income communities
that suffer disproportionate environmental impacts. To help implement
the Agenda, the IWG selected fifteen IWG national demonstration projects
in June 2000. A critical component of these projects for the IWG were
parties' commitments to collaborate with each other to address environmental
justice issues of concern and federal agencies' commitments to coordinate
with each other to help support the projects. Why was an evaluation of the use of partnerships performed? In 2001, Evaluation Support conducted an evaluation to determine the value of using partnerships to address environmental justice issues. By better understanding how the IWG's demonstration projects use partnerships, the IWG hopes to continue developing a collaborative model that other communities addressing environmental justice issues can more easily apply in the future. What process was used to conduct the evaluation? To conduct the evaluation, Evaluation Support first produced case studies of six demonstration projects. The case studies were developed through a combination of data collection approaches, including interviews and project document review. Following completion of the case studies, a cross-case study analysis was performed to inform the evaluation. This analysis examined: (1) project processes, activities, and outcomes; (2) key factors influencing project success; (3) value of partnering to address environmental justice issues; and (4) value of federal agency involvement in partnership efforts. Following these analyses, Evaluation Support developed a core set of findings and recommendations. What was learned about the value of using partnerships to address environmental justice issues? Findings indicate that the partnerships are producing a variety of important
results, including the improved opportunity for local residents and community
organizations to have a genuine say in efforts to revitalize their communities,
enhancement of relationships between stakeholders, implementation of environmental
protection and other programs, and improved delivery of community assistance
by public service organizations. In regards to the overall value of partnering,
most interviewees indicated that the issues facing the affected communities
either wouldn't have been addressed, or wouldn't have been addressed to
the same extent, if at all, without use of a collaborative approach. Interviewees
also saw federal involvement in these efforts as critical. In addition
to the many positive points voiced, interviewees also noted the partnerships
are facing some challenges, including difficulties associated with partnership
maintenance and operational support, and the implementation of partnership-specific
initiatives. Overall, however, this evaluation shows that use of these
approaches, as demonstrated within these partnerships, can be an effective
means for addressing environmental justice issues in communities. Additional Information on the Evaluation Effort To learn more about this evaluation effort refer to the pages below. Strategy for Evaluating the Environmental Justice
Collaborative Model (July 2001) Contacts For a hardcopies of these reports, please contact Eric Marsh by phone,
e-mail, or regular mail.
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