Equitable and Inclusive Engagement

The practice of equity and inclusion is fundamental to our work at Kearns & West. Our Equitable and Inclusive Engagement Team is integrated into projects across all our services areas, including water, energy, community planning, transportation, and environment.
Equitable and inclusive engagement is not only about ensuring that diverse perspectives are at the table but also that deliberate actions and targeted strategies are taken to ensure that underrepresented and vulnerable communities participate and contribute definitively in decision-making. Making meaningful progress on clean environments, health, housing, jobs, transportation, open space, and equitable education requires community-based dialogues. We recognize that the most innovative, comprehensive, and viable solutions happen when there is equitable participation.

Learn more about our Equitable and Inclusive Engagement Practice

Kearns & West specializes in:

Accessible materials and online content
Community development, health, and housing policy
Community-sensitive surveys
Environmental justice engagement
Equity and environmental justice policy
In-language meetings (in-person and virtual)
NEPA and local environmental review public involvement
Parks and open space planning
Public participation plans
Resiliency and climate action plans
Stakeholder mapping and partnerships
Transportation and mobility

Sample Projects

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — Environmental Justice National Training and Resources Summit on Revitalizing Vulnerable Communities

The 2016 National Training and Resources Summit on Revitalizing Vulnerable Communities brought together a diverse range of environmental justice stakeholders and sectors to provide in-person and remote participants with a wide array of best practices, networks, resources, tools, and techniques to build healthy, sustainable, and economically thriving communities. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency engaged Kearns & West to provide event support in designing conference communications and real-time activities that not only extended the reach of the in-person activities to remote participants but also provided highly engaging experiences for remote participants to interact with in-person presenters and participants. The support provided by Kearns & West included pre-conference coordination and planning, hybrid (in-person and online) session design, pre-conference remote participant engagement and system testing, on-site facilities set-up, and dry-runs and troubleshooting. After the conference, Kearns & West staff conducted post-conference participant engagement and developed a white paper analyzing specific metrics on remote user engagement, briefing U.S. Environmental Protection Agency leadership on their findings.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — Fenceline Community Training, Minneapolis

The Environmental Protection Agency hired Kearns & West to plan, organize, and deliver culturally competent capacity-building trainings and develop environmental justice outreach materials and tools to state permitting authorities, regulated facilities, and fenceline communities as part of an effort to build and/or strengthen relationships between state facility owners/operators and residents who live in environmental justice and Tribal communities historically overburdened by environmental impacts. Additional goals of the trainings are to increase the communities’ ability to access information about permitting and the regulatory process and improve the communities’ capacity to provide input during the public participation process on matters affecting their communities.

As part of this effort, Kearns & West recently assisted the Environmental Protection Agency and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency in hosting a three-day virtual workshop aimed at increasing community engagement during the air permitting process in environmental justice communities. Tasks included workshop planning and facilitation as well provision of notes from the planning team conference calls. Due to COVID-19 congregating restrictions, this training was delivered remotely. Finally, as part of this project, Kearns & West built from workshop materials an engagement strategy toolkit which contains items such as facts sheets, good neighbor agreements, agenda and meeting notice/messaging templates, et cetera, to help the agencies and communities work together more effectively to reduce negative environmental impacts at the local level.

U.S. National Park Service — Programmatic Accessibility Guidelines for Interpretive Media

The National Park Service, through its Harpers Ferry Center for Media Services, is updating its Programmatic Accessibility Guidelines for National Park Service Interpretive Media and has convened a workgroup to define, agree to, and build out Phase 1 of the updated guidelines. Kearns & West provided guidance in developing a process roadmap and is currently facilitating regular meetings, helping the workgroup define and achieve interim goals. The National Park Service believes that visitors with disabilities are entitled to the same information and park experience as everyone else and is committed to providing facilities, programs, and services accessible to all. By updating the Programmatic Accessibility Guidelines for National Park Service Interpretive Media, the workgroup will ensure that all Park enthusiasts — including those with disabilities — can enjoy publications, exhibits, audiovisual programs and tours, wayside exhibits, signage, and web-based media. The workgroup is primarily made up of people with different media planning, design, and production expertise within the Harpers Ferry Center as well as the National Park Service’s Washington office accessibility branch. Accomplishments in Phase 1 will drive the development of a plan to continue the work to complete the revision of the guidelines in subsequent phases.

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Division 9 — Community Engagement and Risk Communication

In order to help communities become more resilient in the face of natural disasters, Kearns & West supports FEMA with community engagement and risk communication to raise risk awareness and understanding. In particular, Kearns & West developed and facilitated the FEMA Region 9 (California, Arizona, Nevada, Hawaii, and the Pacific territories) operations planning retreat which considered and analyzed staff-level program practices that both perpetuate or combat inequity. The retreat included opportunities to operationalize past diversity, equity, inclusion and justice trainings and identify tangible steps staff members could take foster more equitable outcomes.

California Natural Resources Agency — Public Engagement for Pathways to 30X30 for Biodiversity and Climate Resilience per Governor Newsom’s Executive Order

To Come…

California High-Speed Rail Authority — High-Speed Rail Project Environmental Justice Program

Since 2016, Kearns & West has managed a comprehensive environmental justice outreach and engagement program for two segments of the California High-Speed Rail Project, spanning 100 miles from San Francisco to Merced. A spectrum of approaches has been dispatched to support environmental justice principles, including the following: ground-truthing research and canvassing; in-language community meetings and mixed media messaging (e.g., radio, social media, print); partnerships with community-based organizations and collaboratives and leaders; community web toolkit; consistent and periodic community follow-up and updates and community and technical working group meetings, focus groups, surveys, and tours. The equitable and impartial approaches are implemented to ensure that the hardest-to-reach and most disadvantaged communities within the project area are knowledgeable about and have the same opportunities to meaningfully participate as the better-resourced communities in the project area. Importantly, this effort includes gathering feedback about project impacts to inform the Draft EIR and EIS (NEPA/CEQA) as well as gather feedback relative to the environmental justice analysis per U.S. Executive Order 12898 from those determined to carry disproportionate adverse project impacts to inform a substantial community benefits program.

Bay Area Air Quality Management District — Agency-Wide Public Participation Plan

Kearns & West led the development of an Agency-Wide Public Participation Plan for the Bay Area Air Quality Management District to inform principles, policies, and implementation protocols for conducting the agency’s air quality mandate. The plan includes guidance for conducting outreach to limited-English-proficient residents as well as environmental justice communities with significant air quality challenges. Kearns & West facilitated a 25-person Stakeholder Advisory Task Force (which included City of Richmond residents) and supported a series of regional public workshops to identify community priorities and evaluate the potential application of best practices.

Madera County Water Market Strategy Pilot Project — Vulnerable Communities Engagement

Kearns & West led a year-long community and stakeholder engagement process soliciting input to inform the County’s proposed water market strategy pilot program with the goal of including feedback from community water users historically marginalized in water-related conversations. The process included the following activities: a) conducting an assessment of ten community partners — including at least five partners representing disadvantaged communities — to learn about concerns and interests related to a water market pilot and preparing a confidential findings summary shared with the County; b) outreach to partner agencies, organizations, and community stakeholders interested in and/or affected by the County’s water marketing strategy, emphasizing equitable participation and engagement with disadvantaged communities; c) designing and implementing four in-language partner workshops (based on defined success goals) with attendance of over 100 community partners; and d) analyzing engagement results and feedback to develop actionable next steps in determining equitable partner opportunities, impacts, solutions, and rules related to the proposed pilot program for the Madera, Chowchilla, and Delta-Mendota Subbasins.

San Francisco Paratransit — Outreach and Information Tools

San Francisco Paratransit is moving to improve the experience of its new software tools and informational materials to educate SF Paratransit users and their caretakers about the new services. Kearns & West is developing information tools (brochures and videos, available in multiple languages and 508-compliant) to provide guidance to users about the following:
• Availability of the Flywheel app for scheduling wheelchair-accessible vehicles in San Francisco
• SF Paratransit Taxi Online for both general SF Paratransit Taxi trips and Taxi Shop-a-Round
• SF Access Online to allow consumers to schedule rides and request information

Kearns & West is also preparing the new Rider’s Guide to San Francisco Paratransit, 2021 version, produced in English and translated into Spanish, Chinese, and Russian.

City of Los Angeles 100% Renewable Energy Study Stakeholder Engagement and Environmental Justice Community Outreach Support

As part of Kearns & West’s overall role facilitating the stakeholder advisory group and broader public involvement, they are providing expertise in equitable and inclusive engagement to help LADWP accomplish objectives to expand meaningful involvement of environmental justice communities in Los Angeles. Among the region’s environmental justice communities, interests and priorities intersecting with renewable energy include air quality, health, energy rates and costs, workforce development, and equitable opportunities for local solar, energy efficiency, and building electrification. Kearns & West developed a focused environmental justice community engagement strategy, which incorporated interviews with community leaders and research on languages and environmental/health disparity mapping and has worked with LADWP staff to incorporate recommendations into community outreach activities.

City of Vancouver, WA — A Stronger Vancouver Community Engagement

Kearns & West led the strategy and implementation of the A Stronger Vancouver public engagement campaign for the City of Vancouver, Washington. The City had worked with a small committee of community and business leaders for over two years to develop an unprecedented package of dozens of investments intended to ensure the community would be safe, livable, and have good jobs into the future. In order to engage all levels of the community in the process to refine goals and objectives, identify obstacles, and mobilize residents to participate in community improvement, Kearns &West was hired to develop a communications strategy and assist the City in taking the package of improvements out to the public for comprehensive input. As part of a broad public outreach effort that included public open houses, community discussion groups meetings, and online engagement, K&W created and implemented a process to engage hard-to-reach populations. Kearns & West partnered with local grassroots community leaders and facilitated multilingual community discussion groups with the Spanish-speaking and Slavic communities as well as meetings with members of the deaf and blind/visually impaired communities. This engagement resulted in building lasting relationships between the City and these communities.

City of Vancouver, WA — Community Task Force on Policing

Kearns & West is facilitating a Community Task Force on Policing for the City of Vancouver, Washington that was convened in response to recent officer-involved shootings. The Task Force was established to advise and provide transparency and accountability for implementation of the recommendations made in the Police Executive Research Forum’s use-of-force report on the Vancouver Police Department as well as to advise on establishing a body-worn camera program. The overall intent is to improve relationships and communication between the community and the Vancouver Police Department over time.

City of Riverside, CA — Community Engagement for the Northside Specific Plan

The Community Involvement Program for the City of Riverside’s Northside Specific Plan, led by Kearns & West, was based on objectives for broad participation by the diverse communities in the Northside neighborhood, transparency, and integration with previous neighborhood visioning. Engaging the longstanding Hispanic population — their roots dating back to the Spanish Trail and early agricultural enterprises — was prioritized due to prior challenges in effectively involving them. The multi-pronged program included traditional engagement methods, including a series of community workshops balanced with other methods to involve people typically underrepresented in public processes, such as booths at school open houses and community events, attendance of Spanish-speaking staff at English Learner Advisory Committee meetings at local elementary schools, office hours with the planning team at the Northside’s community hub — the Ruth Lewis Community Center — and partnering with local organizations. Nearly 15 organizations provided input on the community involvement plan itself. Co-hosting a family movie night at an affordable housing development and setting up a discussion station at the Northside’s annual Halloween carnival, in particular, yielded significant input from community members typically underrepresented in civic processes.

City of Oxnard, CA — Community Engagement for the Ormond Beach Coastal Restoration and Public Access Plan

The coastline and associated wetlands at Ormond Beach provide some of the most valued habitat for sensitive species in California. This project advances earlier vision and planning concepts for restoration, integrating the latest sea level rise data, data from current conservation efforts, and public access needs. Working with the three project partners — California Coastal Conservancy, City of Oxnard, and The Nature Conservancy — Kearns & West planned and conducted public meetings with the goal of expanding the diversity of community members and stakeholders involved in the planning and deepening long-term stewardship of Ormond Beach. The project is also an opportunity to expand recreational and open space activities in South Oxnard, which is underserved by parks and has significant need. South Oxnard is home to a number of neighborhoods meeting CalEPA’s Disadvantaged Community criteria, including migrant farm workers who speak Spanish and indigenous languages like Mixtec, who were not meaningfully involved in earlier Ormond Beach planning programs. Kearns & West, with limited budget, focused on planning and facilitating a series of public meetings and providing strategic counsel to the project partners on options for expanded public education and involvement. The interactive workshop formats introduced by Kearns & West were received enthusiastically by the project partners and participants alike. Elements of fun and education were woven into the workshop activities which were focused on effective ways to involve Spanish speakers, including small group discussion, translated materials, and an interpreter. Volunteer high school students expanded the team’s Spanish capabilities and also covered Mixtec needs. Additional focused outreach was provided by partnering with a trusted community-based organization that resulted in additional input from South Oxnard residents on the same topics covered in the workshops.

City of Oxnard, CA — Community Engagement for the Parks Master Plan

Kearns & West supported the comprehensive public involvement program for the City of Oxnard’s first Parks and Recreation Master Plan, building on their similar role in the City’s Ormand Beach Restoration and Coastal Access Plan. Oxnard is one of Ventura County’s first established cities and is, therefore, mostly built out with older neighborhoods and sparser parks in the south and central portions, recent master planned communities in the north, and relatively affluent neighborhoods along the beaches. Oxnard is also home to many Spanish speakers — many of whom are lower income and/or migrant farm workers — and a Mixtec community as well.

City of Burbank, CA — Citywide Complete Streets Plan

When the City of Burbank contemplated this project, they saw it as an opportunity to step up their public involvement efforts and use the project as a means to test new methods for engaging a more representative cross-section of community and stakeholder perspectives, including communities typically underrepresented in civic process. Kearns & West, working with Dudek, was selected for the project in part because of their innovative approach for community engagement and their eagerness to closely work with City staff to accomplish their goals.

The first step was preparation of a comprehensive Community Engagement Plan, based on the objectives of broad involvement yielding input that would meaningfully inform the plan, and use of “experiential” engagement to strengthen participants’ connection and understanding of the Burbank street system. While traditional workshops and online engagement were utilized, particular emphasis was given to outdoor events where people could interact with the environment and provide input while experiencing the project areas. These included self-guided walking and bicycling tours and field assessments and booths and stations where people regularly congregate in the targeted planning areas, including farmers markets, art festivals, and neighborhood business district “nights out.” Kearns & West also created the strategy for the City to connect with local community organizations to enlist assistance in getting the word out about input opportunities which effectively increased participation for this project and also created new relationships for future Burbank public involvement programs.

City officials and the City Council has been extremely pleased with the outcomes. Representatives of Kearns & West, Dudek, and the City presented this project at the 2019 California American Planning Association conference.

United Farm Workers, Coro and AT&T — AdelanTECH Leadership Program

Through a long-standing partnership between AT&T, United Farm Workers, CORO Northern California, and Udacity, the AdelanTECH Leadership Program was created to empower emerging rural leaders to succeed and lead in California’s innovation economy. Kearns & West supported the development and management of the AdelanTECH Leadership Program for this partnership. Launched in Salinas, California in 2015 with an inaugural class of 12 exceptional fellows — farmworkers and the adult children of farmworkers from the area — the AdelanTECH fellows participated in a rigorous, year-long program, during which time the program fellows developed leadership skills based on CORO’s nationally-recognized leadership curriculum and earned a front-end web development nanodegree from Udacity — a degree recognized for entry-level software development employment at AT&T.