Public Engagement

The UMN Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships: Determining the impacts of a public partnering

This is the third in a series of contributions by Kathryn Draeger, Statewide Director of the UMN Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships based on the work of program evaluators Richard Krueger, Mary Anne Casey, Randi Nelson and Okey Ukaga.

In this installment, the community members and evaluators advised the UMN Regional Partnerships on how to create a broader impact. Some of the suggestions, as you will see, are specific and practical suggestions for running an effective organization in any sector. Other suggestions are unique to the University of Minnesota.

On June 5, 2006 Richard Krueger, consulting evaluator, reported:

Things to consider

The focus group participants offered each Partnership specific advice. The one theme that crossed all five regions is that the Partnerships need to increase their visibility.

Focus group participants said the Partnerships should do a better job of getting the word out about the Partnerships and the projects they fund.

• Band together and enlist the help of U of M marketing or communications specialists.
  
• Define what you want as an outcome of increased visibility.
  
• Define your audiences. They may include:
  
  • Current funders (e.g., legislators, University administrators, regents).
    
  • Potential funders (e.g., county commissioners, foundations).
    
  • Potential partners (e.g., government agencies, nonprofits, faculty, and students interested in sustainability; the U of M Office of Public Engagement).
    
  • The general public.
  
  
• Increase promotions to targeted audiences.
  
• Reconsider the Partnerships’ branding (e.g., name, logo, tagline).
  
• Improve the website.
  
  • Use short, clear statements about who you are, your goals, what you fund, why you fund it, how the process works, deadlines, who can apply, and who to contact for help.
    
  • Improve the dissemination of project outcomes.
    
  • Highlight one project. Invite University administrators to visit that project as a way of showing what the Partnerships are doing.
    
  • Provide training and expertise to projects on how to better promote their own work.
    
  • Have projects share their findings with similar audiences (e.g., share outcomes of a school renewable energy project with other school districts).

The focus group evaluation team offers the Partnerships these observations:

Board members within Partnerships interpret goals differently. Board members were able to identify successful projects, but were less able to describe the significance of the project or meaningful outcomes.

• Select and evaluate exemplary projects with the purpose of clearly identifying the outcomes and significance of a project and describing these in powerful ways.
• Use stories about these projects to illustrate goals and outcomes.
• Develop talking points for executive directors and board members, so they can easily describe 1) the goals and 2) the outcomes/significance of the Partnership.
• Claim, honor, and highlight what the RSDP’s are doing related to the Clean Energy Resource Teams. Some people see CERTs as the RSDP’s most exciting and promising work. But it is not easy to determine what role the Partnerships play in CERTs. (For example, the Minnesota Project hosts the CERTs web page, and the RSDP is listed as one of six organizations involved in the effort.)
• Consider national publicity. This experiment is a new model of outreach for a land-grant university. Is it the only model of this type in the nation? What implications does the model have for outreach? For civic engagement? For a unique approach to promoting sustainable development?
• Study the best examples of University of Minnesota involvement to find out what the University and the Partnerships can learn from those examples.
• Invite University administrators and faculty to talk about what it takes for faculty to get excited about community projects.

The UMN Partnerships welcome any comments, suggestions, thoughts on scholarship of public engagement and sustainable development, and your involvement with our efforts around the State. Please contact Kathy Draeger, statewide director, UMN Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships at Draeg001@umn.edu or 612-625-3148.