1. Community Outreach and Education

In its simplest form, community outreach is the practice of conducting local public awareness activities through targeted community interaction.^[3] Community outreach has many forms; which to use depends on the outreach effort’s purpose, goals, and target population. Community outreach to help expand access to EVs most often seeks to accomplish one or more of the following:

• Educate or inform the target population, increasing their knowledge, awareness, and support of EVs
  • Example: Setting up EV ride and drive events at community events so that individuals can test drive EVs and learn more about how they work
  • Example: Public education campaigns to increase EV support and awareness about EV incentives, EV benefits, and how EVs work
  • Example: Handing out EV educational materials at community events or after church
• Educate or inform trusted people who interact with the target population, including community organizers, CBO staff, faith-based group staff, etc.
  • Example: Providing “train the trainer” sessions so that individuals can provide education in their own communities about EV benefits and how to access EV incentives
• Increase access to EVs by helping individuals apply for EV incentives or other EV related programs
  • Example: Provide one-on-one technical assistance for individuals interested in applying for local or state EV programs at EV ride and drive events.

Equity Guide:

Successful EV related community outreach and education to underserved communities requires:

Community-Based Organization (CBO) Partnerships and Capacity Building

Local and state agencies or stakeholders pushing EV related community outreach efforts must partner with trusted community groups who are familiar with the priorities, concerns, and barriers of the target community. The following steps will make it easier to find the right CBO partner for your EV related community outreach effort:

• Identify the purpose for the CBO partnership (e.g. co-host a public input session, serve on an advisory committee, etc.)
• Identify the desired demographic and geographic audiences
• Investigate existing collaborations and networks between CBOs and relevant stakeholders and state and local government and follow threads
• Engage in exploratory discussion to assess mutual goals and whether the CBO’s focus matches the audiences, subject matter, and activities the agency or stakeholder is contemplating for engagement
• Begin relationship building
• Have follow-up meetings to discuss goals and roles of the partnership

Typical CBO partner tasks include:^[4]

• Expand awareness of upcoming public engagement processes
• Co-host public input sessions in locations familiar to community members
• Help agency/EV group staff understand the community’s current level of knowledge so materials can provide helpful background context
• Help adapt information about the issue into language and a format that make sense to nontechnical experts and people with varying levels of education
• Translate information and provide bilingual facilitation if appropriate
• Recruit attendees and provide any needed support such as transportation and child care (more tips below)
• Help with reporting back to the community about how their input was used in the final decision and ways that they can stay involved and informed
• Help with community needs assessments
• Help with the design and implementation of community-serving programs (e.g. by serving on steering/advisory committees)

A successful partnership will include capacity building for the community organization, depending on the extent of the work involved. CBOs generally do not have the staff time or money to take on activities outside the scope of their day-to-day work. As a result, CBOs will need some support to carry out the community outreach and education. Typically, this involves some kind of compensation for staff time and resources and/or training for CBO staff by the agency or stakeholder group.

Other Relevant Partnerships

Identifying and partnering with groups aligned with (1) increasing EV adoption or (2) increasing economic opportunities in underserved communities can create “win-win” scenarios and increase the success of EV related community outreach efforts. For example, in California, investor-owned utilities provide low-income programs like subsidized electricity rates to eligible ratepayers. Leveraging these points of contact can maximize the impact of both of the utility and EV related efforts. Depending on the local and state efforts targeting underserved communities, you can likely find key partners in:

• Utilities
• Local car dealerships
• Car dealer associations
• EV driver associations (e.g. Plug-in America)
• Automakers
• Electric vehicle service providers
• Labor unions with low-wage members (e.g. Service Employees International Union)
• Other relevant community groups (e.g. other CBOs, community colleges, YMCA, community centers, etc.)

Tips for Success:

There is no universal or ‘one size fits all’ outreach approach^[5]

• Different outreach and engagement strategies are needed that reflect the diversity within communities
• Having a diverse, inclusive, and robust set of stakeholders from different constituencies and communities avoids creating limited and unresponsive solutions — the more inclusive the stakeholder group, the greater the opportunities for support and input

Guidelines for effective outreach^[6]

• Meet people where they are
• Be respectful
• Listen to your community
• Build trust and relationships
• Get the word out early and in a non-stigmatizing manner
• Offer service and information in a variety of locations (including home visits) and at non-traditional times, especially after work hours
• Make written information friendly and easy to understand (e.g. use graphics more than text and use real scenarios and examples that resemble the needs and conditions of the audience)
• Provide information in the primary language of those who will use the service
• Follow up, follow up, follow up!

Grassroots outreach tips to maximize effectiveness

• Encourage info-sharing and education about other relevant local or state low-income programs e.g. transit subsidies, and solar and energy efficiency programs
• Leverage and coordinate with:
  • State and local EV campaigns and EV groups
  • Utility outreach programs aimed at low-income households
  • Existing community events like state fairs, annual community events, etc., to provide education, technical assistance, and ride and drive
• Community input meetings and events should help provide essential services that are likely to increase community member attendance and participation, including but:
  • Language interpretation where needed
  • Child care
  • Travel support (transit passes, parking validation, Lyft/Uber credits, etc.)
  • Attendance incentives (e.g. raffle prizes, vouchers for food and drinks, etc.)
• Outreach workers should come from the community they work in and are familiar with^[7]
  • “Outreach workers can play a vital role in developing community trust and a good reputation ‘on the street.’”^[8]
  • “Workers who live in the community they serve will understand the needs, concerns, and questions of the people they serve, and understand the barriers they face.”^[9]

Broad media outreach tips to maximize effectiveness

• Encourage ethnic media strategies, including advertising in ethnic print, online, radio and TV outlets, and reach out to these outlets for news coverage while using social media^[10] to increase reach and impact. Don’t forget to include non-English language media outlets.
• Encourage contracting with minority-owned communications firms to create targeted, branded campaigns for underserved communities. An example of a successful multi-ethnic strategy is the California Endowment’s “Health for All” campaign.

Helpful Links & Examples:

• Public Participation in Local Government Decision Making (Institute for Local Government): This comprehensive survey compares the perspectives of local government officials and community leaders on public participation in California.
  • Infographic with highlights from research
• Partnering with Community-Based Organizations for More Broad-Based Public Engagement (Institute for Local Government): This publication is for local government officials interested in collaborating with local community-based organizations to enhance the breadth and depth of participation by community residents in local decision-making.
• Public Engagement Case Study: City of Vallejo Launches Third Cycle of Participatory Budgeting (Institute for Local Government): The City of Vallejo, California, launched its third cycle of Participatory Budgeting in 2015, a process that gives residents and stakeholders the opportunity to develop and prioritize community-generated ideas for a portion of the city budget for city council consideration.

2. Communications and Marketing

Generally, communication is defined as “the process of transmitting ideas and information.”^[11] For purposes of this toolkit, communication means educating underserved communities, who lack EV awareness at a higher rate than the general public, about EV benefits and incentives. Effective marketing communicates this information in such a way “that people are aware of the message, understand it clearly, and respond to it positively.”^[12]

Although marketing “has its specific attributes, it is still subject as well to some general rules for communication:”^[13]

• Communication is a two-way street – The intended message should be clear, understandable, and match your audience’s understanding of that message.
• Communication has to be accessible – Put your message where your audience can’t miss it. That means using channels they’re most likely to pay attention to.
• Communication has to be noticeable – exposure to the message is not enough. Your audience has to pay attention to it.

Equity Guide:

Underserved communities need different communications strategies and messages to reflect their diversity. To ensure communication is understandable, accessible, and noticeable, stakeholders should use:

• The language of the target community (e.g. Spanish, Tagalog, etc.). Whether communicating in English or another language, ensure that messages are in clear, simple language
• Targeted messaging to ensure the message is culturally sensitive and resonates with the cultural values of the target community
• Trusted sources of information like ethnic media (e.g. Spanish-language radio, local Chinese-language newspapers, social media, etc.)

Click here for more info and see below for more resources.

Helpful Links and Examples:

• Social Marketing (Community Tool Box)
• Communications to Promote Interest (Community Tool Box)

3. Educating Public Officials

Political support for equitable EV policies is also a critical piece to accelerating EV adoption in underserved communities. State and local officials make decisions impacting public budgets, regulations, and laws that affect EV promotion. As a result, it’s important to educate public officials about the environmental and economic benefits of EVs and about any current EV promoting policies or efforts they should support.

For education efforts to be successful, communications with public officials and their representatives should follow the same general rules discussed above:

• Communication is a two-way street – The intended message should be clear, understandable, and match your audience’s understanding of that message.
• Communication has to be accessible – Put your message where your audience can’t miss it. That means using channels they’re most likely to pay attention to.
• Communication has to be noticeable – exposure to the message is not enough. Your audience has to pay attention to it.

Keys to an effective public official education campaign include:

• A carefully designed message – to ensure the public official understands the message and that it resonates with her values and constituents
• A multi-channel communication strategy – to both ensure the public official receives the EV-related message and to instill a sense of urgency for politically supporting EVs

Some examples of effective channels to communicate the EV related message are:

• Op-eds in newspapers or magazines the target public officials (and their constituents) are likely to read
• Periodic literature drops (e.g. fact sheets, op-eds) at the public official’s office
• Briefings (e.g. legislative briefings) aimed at educating public officials and their staff about the relevant EV equity issue

Equity Guide:

In order to broaden and diversify the political support for equitable EV policies, education efforts should:

• Help build EV equity champions within legislative ethnic caucuses to ensure diverse leaders are advocating for equitable EV policies
• Uplift success stories of underserved community members benefitting from the EV related programs and policies

Helpful Links & Examples:

Examples of Effective Op-Eds:

• California Communities Reap Benefits from Clean Air Policies (April 2016) (Sacramento Bee)
• Guest view: Electric vehicles growing option for Valley (May 2016) (Recordnet.com)

Examples of Personal Stories:

• Clean Cars for the Central Valley (UpliftCA.org)

Other Resources

Please find a list of helpful links below:

• Cleaner Cars from Cradle to Grave (2015) (Union of Concerned Scientists): (Report here and video here
• How Clean is Your Electric Vehicle? (Union of Concerned Scientists): Use our EV emissions tool to see emissions in your area—or explore specific EV models —
• Charging Up: The Role of States, Utilities, and the Auto Industry in Dramatically Accelerating Electric Vehicle Adoption in Northeast and Mid-Atlantic States (October 2015) (Sierra Club, Arcadia Center, and Conservation Law Foundation)
• Community Engagement Guide for Sustainable Communities (PolicyLink)
• PEV Outreach Resources for Your Employees (U.S. Department of Energy)