EPA National Dialogue on Access to Environmental Information

EPA is holding an on-line discussion among state, tribe, and other federal partners of EPA, as well as the public to foster collaboration on information access. For this discussion, we are using a blog which is a more interactive and personal form of technology. Everyone is invited to use this site to identify and share their best resources, tools, and ideas for improving access to EPA’s environmental information. This is a key part of the National Dialogue on Access to Environmental Information – working with you to enhance information access.

This blog will be open for comment for one week (June 9-13, 2008). The blog will then be closed and a summary report will be posted on the “What We’ve Learned” section of the National Dialogue website by June 20th.

Topic List for Commenting

We have created some topics that cover a range of information access issues we think will be of value to the National Dialogue on Access to Environmental Information. Select a topic that interests you and let us know what you think. Don’t worry if there is some overlap in the topics - different people will respond to different topics and it is ok if there is some overlap…We’ll sort it out!

Understanding Information: Putting environmental information into context for our customers.
Finding Information: Making environmental information easier to find or access.
What Works: What is working for your organization?
Building to Share: How do we leverage our collective strengths and capabilities?
Going Beyond the Web: Reaching people who don’t have Internet access.

The information gathered on this site, combined with input gathered through the National Dialogue with EPA’s external partners and the public, will be used to develop a comprehensive multi-year strategy on access to environmental information.

This blog will be open for comment for one week (June 9-13, 2008). The blog will then be closed and a summary report will be posted on the “What We’ve Learned” section of the National Dialogue website by June 20th.

The information gathered on this site, combined with other input gathered throughout the National Dialogue will be used to develop a comprehensive multi-year strategy on access to environmental information.

How Can You Contribute?

1. Navigate to the discussion topic to which you’d like to comment. (Links to discussion topics are available from the right-hand bar as well as in the center of the main page.)
2. Click on the “Leave a Comment” link. (Note: You can also view comments that others have submitted by clicking on the “Comments (number of comments)” link.
3. Enter your comment in the box provided and click “Submit Comment”.
Don’t worry if there is some overlap in the topics - different people will respond to different topics and it is ok if there is some overlap…We’ll sort it out!

What Kind of Information Are We Looking For?

The blog outlines a range of information topics we think will be of value to the National Dialogue on Access to Environmental Information. In brief, we are seeking information both directly and indirectly relevant to the issues confronting environmental information access. In this case, less is not more. If you think your information may conceivably be of value, please err on the side of contributing it.

What is the National Dialogue?

The National Dialogue on Access to Environmental Information is the Environmental Protection Agency’s approach to examining how we can better meet our customers’ needs for environmental information. The goal is to assist EPA in enhancing access to its own environmental information, as well as for making EPA information more valuable and useful to EPA’s information customers whether used alone or in combination with information from other sources of interest.
Environmental information is a key strategic resource for accomplishing EPA’s environmental mission – protecting human health and the environment. Easy access to high quality environmental information is critical for supporting sound decisions by EPA and its many environmental customers and partners in federal, state and local governments, business, communities, academia and the news media.
People want environmental information to help them make environmental decisions – whether it’s about energy savings, climate change, drinking water quality, the effects from natural disasters, or whether exposures to chemicals are being linked to diseases. Today’s generation expects to locate this information in seconds, not in days, or hours, or minutes.
The World Wide Web continues to grow exponentially as both a resource for information and social networking for people with common interests. As more and more information is made available on the Internet, information organization and search becomes a bigger challenge. How can we ensure that we are getting the right data and information to the right people at the right time?
So, with these three things coming together – providing access to information to our customers and partners, the increasing demand for environmental information; and the exploding resources on the Internet - it means that EPA must find ways to organize our vast information resources for better access and sharing, and leverage technologies to support these activities. This means treating environmental information as a strategic asset. The National Dialogue will help us to build that strategy.

Who Can Participate in the Dialogue?

Everyone’s comments are valuable. After all, we share the environment.

What Is Our Approach?

The National Dialogue offers a variety of forums for input, including online and in person forums, stakeholder sessions, and special events. At those different events and on the National Dialogue Web site, we are engaging our information customers directly to identify actions EPA should take to improve information access.
After we hear from participants about information needs, we will develop a multi-year strategy detailing the steps EPA could take to ensure greater access to environmental information. We will identify and implement changes while we are developing the strategy. Other changes will be implemented over the next several years.

What Is Our Timeline?

The National Dialogue on Access to Environmental Information is scheduled throughout this year and will be completed in December 2008. Throughout this period, we will be getting feedback from our participants, hosting events, and compiling our findings. Below are key milestones of the National Dialogue.

• The National Dialogue will offer a variety of forums for public input, including a few special events that participants may wish to attend in person. EPA will post other events on the National Dialogue Web site in advance of their scheduled dates throughout 2008.
• EPA will compile what we are learning into a strategy document during the summer. We expect that it will be available for review in the late summer so we can finalize it in December 2008.

Join the dialogue. Read the comment policy, leave a comment.
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