Task 3

Module 1 Objectives | PACE EH Online Training Module 1 Home | Task 1 | Task 2

Module 1 — Task 3: Assemble a Community-Based Environmental Health Assessment Team

At the completion of this task, the process facilitator(s) and/or the assessment team should have:

Detailed the expectations of team members.
Invited individuals to help design and carry out the assessment.
Determined the governing structure, decision-making structure, and ground rules for the assessment.

Although most pilot test sites worked on assessments for up to two years, they discovered that payoffs—increased collaboration among government agencies, increased awareness, and identification of community strengths—can be realized quickly. They shared these lessons:

Ask for feedback throughout the process.
Be clear about commitments (e.g., expected number of hours, expected number of meetings) up front.
Celebrate early accomplishments. A three- to five-year plan is good, but do not wait until the end to acknowledge all achievements.
Be flexible. The structure can change at different points in the process. For example, the community might take the lead in identifying environmental issues of concern, whereas staff may have a stronger role in developing indicators.
Display “pomp and circumstance” around the process and the selection of members to the assessment team (e.g., press releases, letters of invitation from the board of health, etc.)

Listen as Jonathan Schwartz explains the values realized from the process.

The information gathered in Tasks 1 and 2 will help determine the initial composition of the assessment team. The team should comprise a broad cross-section of the community and should include individuals who represent local economic interests, political structures, and organizational institutions.

The following section details each step of assembling your community environmental health assessment team.

Click on the following links to skip to each section:

»	Clarify Expectations of Team Members
»	Identify and Invite Individuals to Help Design and Carry out the Assessment
»	Diversity in the Assessment Team
»	Determine a Governing Structure, Decision-Making Structure, and Ground Rules

Clarify Expectations of Team Members

Before assembling the team, decide on a basic set of expectations for the members.
Make sure that all members of the team understand their roles and responsibilities, and the rights of all participants. This will help build the communication and trust essential for a well-functioning team.

Identify and Invite Individuals to Help Design and Carry out the Assessment

A team typically consists of program managers in the local health and environmental agencies working in partnership with community members. Representation should be sought from key community groups, such as:

Healthcare providers/facilities;
Educational institutions;
News media;
Government agencies;
Economic/commercial organizations;
Labor organizations;
Professional and trade groups;
Faith groups; and
Voluntary and private organizations.

*Note: Strong consideration should be given to establishing links with schools of public health and other local colleges or universities, because academic institutions are an abundant source of information, expertise, and student assistance—benefiting not only the assessment process, but also the professional development of the students.

Remember: to be effective, the team should be small enough to be manageable and large enough to adequately represent the community and to ensure a reasonable workload for participants.

Diversity in the Assessment Team

A community-based environmental health assessment is a complex process. Teams cannot predict at the outset which issues will become the focus. A successful assessment team will be prepared to investigate a plethora of environmental health issues. This requires ensuring that members represent as many local interests as possible.

Watch Gloria Graham (Polk County, FL) discuss the importance of diversity in the assessment team.

Overwhelmingly, pilot site coordinators found diversity to be the most important element of a successful assessment team. A diverse team has two distinct advantages: (1) it reliably reflects the community and (2) it incorporates a system of checks and balances.

Pilot site coordinators had these suggestions:

Build an assessment team as diverse as the community it represents.
Include a range of citizen groups (e.g., from high school civics clubs to the local AARP).
Seek volunteers from minority groups and local civil rights organizations.
Incorporate both ecological interest groups and local business/industry concerns.
Include persons representing no specific interests.*
In short, bring to the table persons and groups that you would never expect to see sitting together.

*Note: Citizens without an “axe to grind” provide a “reality check” for the assessment team. They balance the viewpoints of single-issue advocates for whom a community-based environmental health assessment is a potential vehicle for pre-formed priorities.

Determine a Governing Structure, Decision-Making Structure, and Ground Rules

Specify what team members will be expected to do. Will all team members have the same responsibilities, or will some have special responsibilities? Will all team members have the same rights?
Explicitly state how the team will be governed and how decisions will be made. Will there be a chair? If so, what are the chair’s responsibilities and rights? Will specialized committees or work teams be needed for certain tasks? Will these subgroups have an advisory or decision-making role?
Clarify how decisions will be made. Will all members of the team have an equal voice? Will decisions be made by consensus? By voting? When and how will outside voices be considered in decisions?
Establish ground rules for participation. Although ground rules are often used in the context of a meeting, they can also be used throughout a project to keep meetings moving, relationships positive, and purposes clear.
Specify needed and available resources, including time, money, personnel for data collection and analysis, and sources of technical assistance. The team, and the community, must have reasonable expectations about the time frame, content, and costs of the assessment.
Not all resources must come from the health agency. Although the agency might have initiated the project, this is a collaborative effort designed to draw on the strengths and resources of community partners.

Listen as Susan Sutherland (Delaware General Health District, OH) discusses how to create a governing structure.

Guidelines for Participation

Participate actively!
Honor time limits.
Listen to, consider, and respect the experiences and opinions of others; focus discussion on content and not the individual.
Keep comments brief and on-topic.
Remember that everyone’s opinion is legitimate.
Support positive confrontation; encourage each other to explore issues more deeply.
Give voice to differences; do not be afraid to say things that you anticipate will be controversial. Acknowledging and explaining differences promotes understanding.
Be clear on fact versus opinion.
Do not be afraid to express your view up front.
Try to contribute things that work toward the goal.
Do not quote others. Give each other the freedom to explore ideas with trust.
Become an observer of self. Adopt an attitude of learning.
All participants share responsibility for enforcing the guidelines for interaction.
Recognize that we are unlikely to change each others’ core beliefs, although we can try to understand them.
Find and work on common ground; acknowledge where there is not common ground.
Avoid non-negotiable positions.
Suspend assumptions.
Do not assume that individuals represent organizational policy.
Bring up facts relevant to the discussion at the beginning of the meeting, not at the end.

Guidelines for Interaction—Team/Meeting Management

Field-test coordinators suggest these tips for managing the assessment team and running effective meetings:

Include a Steering Committee of lead agency staff and several community representatives as a subset of the team.
Give the Steering Committee responsibility for drafting meeting agendas, documenting decisions and areas of debate, and holding team members accountable for their commitments.
Ensure buy-in from the full group on the agenda for each meeting.
Develop skills in meeting facilitation.
Minimize “burnout” by allowing for additional and/or substitute team members during the course of the assessment.
Maintain a team size of 16–25 members. Ensure that a workable number attends each meeting.
Limit meetings to two hours. Longer meetings designated for a particular purpose should be agreed upon by the group.
Provide food at meetings to increase attendance and morale.
Start and end meetings on time. Meetings should not run later than 8:00 P.M.
Invite guest speakers to meetings to help keep participants motivated.
Craft an agenda that allows for networking, sharing time, and socializing.
Assign “homework” and provide team members with time on the agenda.
Develop bylaws to clarify expectations and roles of team members.
Use subcommittees to help maintain interest and prevent burnout.
Do not let “dropouts” upset the process. Maintain a list of potential replacements.

Questions to consider
What protocol must be put in place before convening the CEHA team? Describe the importance of diversity in the CEHA team makeup. Why is it important to set ground rules from the beginning of the process?