Promising EJ Practices

Evans Student Consulting LabCharmi Ajmera, Katriana Dubytz, Evan Lih, Saba Rahman, Jenny Six

May 18, 2020

Project prepared for the WA Department of Ecology

Thank you for giving us time on your agenda today.

We’re grad students at the University of Washington Evans School of Public Policy and Governance. We have been working with Millie Piazza for the past 6 months on a research project about integrating environmental justice in Ecology’s agency practices.

Though our work focused on Ecology, we think this content will also be of interest to the broader EJ Task Force.

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Ch ar m i Katr iana Evan

Saba Je n ny

The Evans team, to put faces to names.

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Presentation Objectives

• Provide project overview• Present emerging themes• Discuss highlighted

recommendations• Share next steps• Receive feedback

During our time today we plan to:• Provide a quick project overview• Present emerging themes• Discuss highlighted recommendations• Share next steps• Receive feedback

Please enter any questions into the chat box. We’ll answer them as we go where possible, or otherwise during Q&A at the end.

We know there are likely call-in participants, so we will do our best to read out the key elements of each of our slides.

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Project Focus

Identify & recommend promising practices for integrating EJ into Ecology’s work at two levels:

1) Overarching departmental recommendations2) Recommendations specific to select agency functions:

• Grantmaking• Inspections & compliance• Permitting• Policy review• Rulemaking

Through this project, we have worked to identify and recommend promising practices for integrating environmental justice into Ecology’s work at two levels:

• Overarching departmental recommendations• Deeper dive on recommendations specific to select agency functions:

grantmaking, inspections and compliance, permitting, policy review, and rulemaking.

This presentation will focus on the overarching departmental recommendations, but if you want to hear more about our work related to any of those select agency functions, feel free to ask via chat or at the end of the presentation.

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U.S . EP A DEF INIT ION

Environmental justice is the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income, with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.

Before we dive into discussing our project work, we want to define some key terms.

In our research, we heard and saw that environmental justice - or EJ - is a term used differently across stakeholders. For this presentation and our report, we used the U.S. EPA’s definition:

“The fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income, with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.”

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May include communities of color, low income, rural, urban, veteran, tribal, indigenous, and unhoused populations.

Communities withEJ Concerns

We also want to be intentional about how we talk about and define the communities intended to be served through environmental justice work. Again, in our research we heard many different terms.

In this presentation and our report, we use the phrase communities with EJ concernswhich may include communities of color, low income, rural, urban, veteran, tribal, indigenous, and unhoused populations.

Now, I’ll hand it off to Katriana to discuss our approach.

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Our Approach

• Reviewed publicly available EJ & equity work, including frameworks, toolkits, and tools

• Reviewed academic and historical literature

• Conducted over 30 semi-structured interviews with individuals leading EJ work

In order to generate our findings, analysis, and recommendations, we...

• Reviewed publicly available EJ and related equity work, including:• Frameworks, which are the overarching strategies and systems of

contextualizing work to be undertaken;• Toolkits, which are specific, prescriptive, and action-oriented sets of steps

to integrate equity into policy processes; and• Tools, which are specific elements to be used alongside a framework and

toolkit (e.g. mapping tool)

We also...

• Reviewed academic and historical literature (e.g. origins and conceptualizations of EJ); and

• Conducted over 30 semi-structured interviews with individuals leading EJ work, including representatives from

• Agencies at the national, state, county, and local levels, as well as representatives from community organizations

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Key Emerging Themes

Measuring progress on EJ requires

intentionality about the purpose,

limitations, and burdens of

evidence collection.

Sustained, visible, and demonstrated investment in and prioritization of EJ from department

leadership paves a path for EJ work.

Toolkits are imperfect if used as a sole

resource for EJ work, but used in concert

with other efforts they can be valuable

stepping stones.

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Through our research, we were able to develop a list of themes by identifying common attributes visible in organizations that were able to demonstrate the most success with integrating EJ.

Out of the emerging themes we have identified, there are three we want to focus our time on today. We’ll discuss each of them more in-depth, but as a preview, across agencies and organizations we discovered that…

Sustained, visible, and demonstrated investment in and prioritization of EJ from department leadership paves a path for EJ work.

Measuring progress on EJ requires intentionality about the purpose, limitations, and burdens of evidence collection.

Toolkits are imperfect if used as a sole resource for EJ work, but used in concert with other efforts they can be valuable stepping stones.

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Theme 1: Sustained, visible, and demonstrated investment in and prioritization of EJ from department leadership paves a path for EJ work.

• Agency leadership modeling• Clear expectations and accountability• Sustained visibility of EJ as a priority

Attributes associated with success:

So, diving into Theme 1, we found that sustained, visible, and demonstrated investment in and prioritization of EJ from department leadership paves a path for EJ work.

Agency leadership model what staff should prioritize in agency activities, and how they should do so. Beyond simply expressing the importance of EJ, leadership in agencies who fostered more successful integration of EJ ensured there were clear expectations and accountability mechanisms to help agency staff understand how to integrate EJ into their activities and processes. For example, we saw this accomplished through inclusion of EJ within job descriptions and corresponding performance evaluations.

This was most effective when visibility of EJ as a priority was sustained over time, as well as across every level of the organization -- not just through lateral communication, but from leadership to supervisors and supervisors to frontline staff, and everyone in between. This can be as simple as maintaining equity and EJ as agency values and crucial components embedded in agency goals.

And now I’ll hand it off to Evan to discuss Themes 2 and 3.

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Theme 2: Measuring progress on EJ requires intentionality about the purpose, limitations, and burdens of evidence collection.

• Recognizing gaps in data• Leaning on more than quantitative data• Addressing barriers to community engagement• Sharing data and lessons learned across agencies

Attributes associated with success:

The second theme we identified is that measuring progress on EJ requires intentionality about the purpose, limitations, and burdens of evidence collection.

We found there are significant gaps in data, and important implications of incomplete, insufficient, and/or inaccessible data.

Government agencies currently tend to favor quantitative data and metrics, along with traditional technical expertise. Agencies with more success in integrating EJ exhibited flexibility in leveraging different types of expertise, such as qualitative data.

We also saw and heard a lot around barriers regarding community engagement. Community engagement is the most frequently mentioned method of doing EJ work; however, public notices and public meetings as forms of community engagement are largely insufficient and it is unclear if/how these methods help produce better outcomes for impacted communities. The “engagement” process usually stops with community notification and a public meeting. It is also often limited to inviting key stakeholder groups to agency spaces on agency terms (time, agenda, etc.) which can discourage participation. As a result, communities are often not engaged, or under-engaged, in key EJ decision-making processes.

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Lastly, agencies with more success in integrating EJ invested in efforts to share data and lessons learned surrounding EJ work both within and among agencies.

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Theme 3: Toolkits are imperfect if used as a sole resource for EJ work, but when used in concert with other efforts they can be valuable stepping stones.

• Toolkits and frameworks used together• Adaptation to agency functions and context• Tracking usage and measuring impact

Attributes associated with success:

Theme 3: Toolkits are imperfect if used as a sole resource for EJ work, but when used in concert with other efforts they can be valuable stepping stones.

Used in isolation, no toolkit or framework alone can be effective in implementing EJ work in organizations -- they must be used together.

Another common barrier to adoption of toolkits/tools is that staff don’t know how to apply them unless they are specifically adapted for particular agency functions and contexts, as well as the needs of their community. For example, a GARE question around setting outcomes in the permitting context can be thought through using an EJ lens, such as “minimize negative impacts of approved projects on communities with EJ concerns.”

Lastly, most agencies trying to use a toolkit/tool do not track if/how they are used and if using them helps produce more equitable outcomes. These tools and frameworks are more effective when agencies develop methods to track the use and impact of the tools.

Now I’m going to hand off our highlighted recommendations to Charmi.

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HighlightedRecommendations

Build a community of practice around

EJ work.

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Use equity/EJ tools carefully and intentionally;

measure their use and impact.

For context, we wrote our recommendations specifically for the Dept of Ecology but are confident they can be applied to a broader audience.

With that, the highlighted RECOMMENDATIONS to Ecology we want to share today are two-fold:

1) To build a community of practice within the Ecology agency, in partnership with communities with EJ concerns, to fully integrate equity and EJ throughout the organization and agency functions

2) To be very thoughtful and intentional about the equity and EJ tools that the agency decides to use, adapt them to the specific needs and functions of agency staff, and measure if/how they are used and their impact on policy outcomes

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Recommendation 1: Build a community of practice around EJ work.

• Highlight and reinforce importance of EJ work

• Emphasize shared responsibility

• Reflect EJ focus in existing agency infrastructure

• Invest in sustained education about equity and EJ

• Strengthen connections with communities

To dive deeper into this first recommendation, there are many facets to creating a “community of practice” around EJ.

This community of practice should be built both within Ecology and across other government departments, tribal nations as well as tribes who may not be recognized by the federal government, folks in the EJ movement, and especially communities with EJ concerns.

Specifically within agencies, leaders should consistently highlight and reinforce the importance of EJ work and emphasize that everyone in the agency has a shared responsibility to invest in their own and their peers’ education about equity and EJ and to integrate them into their work. Leaders need to model this behavior and demonstrate their own commitment to learning and prioritizing EJ in their decisions.

As EJ is integrated into each agency role, this focus - and the knowledge and skills associated with it - should be reflected in job descriptions, performance assessments, continued education opportunities, etc. to match. This is how you embed EJ into the agency infrastructure.

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Since everyone is coming to conversations about equity and EJ from a different place, it is important to assess where your employees are in their current knowledge, understanding, and skills around these areas and then…

Invest in sustained education moving forward (using existing agency practices i.e. onboarding, learning management systems, etc.), based on what level of familiarity and proficiency agency employees have.

Most importantly, it is vital that Ecology strengthen its connections with communities with EJ concerns throughout policy processes - actively partner with them and be accountable to their needs and concerns.

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Recommendation 2: Use equity/EJ tools carefully & intentionally; measure their use and impact.

Frameworks & Toolkits• Pick a framework and a toolkit• Tailor tools to specific agency functions• Evaluate and adapt the process frequently• Measure how their use affects policy outcomes

Mapping Tools• Use the EHD Map as a screening tool• Use as an accountability mechanism for measuring success

Based on our research we recommend using an equity/EJ tool but doing so carefully and intentionally.

Picking a framework and tool is a starting point. Both a framework and a tool should be identified. A framework provides overarching guidance on where the agency is headed and supports structural change as steps are taken in that direction. A tool or toolkit is needed to take those steps on a smaller scale to move forward in addressing equity/EJ in policies and processes that align with the identified framework.

These tools provide a guided exercise to examine the benefits, burdens, and/or disproportionate impacts of a policy or program that is being developed or implemented. These tools should be chosen based on the need of the agency or program – consider at what level these tools will be implemented. Our report includes a summary and comparison of some of the most prevalent equity/EJ frameworks and tools.

Adapt the selected tool to the specific needs of the work that it is being applied to. Many of the tools or toolkits involve overarching and broad questions that can apply to a large variety of agencies. These questions should be tailored and modified so

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they make sense for the work they are being used for. This is also an opportunity to elevate the community of practice we discussed in recommendation 1 by having staff be involved in the process of adapting these toolkits.

Create accountability mechanisms around these tools. If you have created and adapted a tool, you want to make sure your agency staff are using it. Performance measures can be created around when and how often a tool is used.

Evaluating and adapting the process continually is critical. Creating a tailored tool is a great feat but it is not the end of the work. Evaluate if the tool is working in the way it was intended to and if not then it needs to be modified. Is their use affecting policy outcomes? Identify the barriers policy-makers are facing in implementing the tool and work to mitigate them.

Mapping tools

Mapping tools are a component of a toolkit or guided exercise. They are a valuable screening tool but they are not the entirety of the work to address EJ in a policy or program development process. The Washington Environmental Health Disparities mapping tool is valuable but it should be used in tandem with a larger toolkit to fully address EJ concerns.

Mapping tools can even be used as an accountability mechanism to capture success of a toolkit. Mapping can help agencies track to see if the implementation of a framework and toolkit are creating the positive outcomes they want to see in their communities.

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Next Steps

R EC EIVEINP UT

INC OR P OR ATEINP UT

F INALIZER EP ORT

May May June

We are presenting to you all today, as well as the Ecology’s Leadership Team in May. Once we incorporate the input we receive, we will be finalizing the report in June.

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Questions?

Please email millie.piazza@ecy.wa.gov for additional questions or feedback.

Thank you for your time today. If you have any additional questions or feedback, or are interested in further information about our report, please reach out to Millie Piazza with the email address provided.

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