Here we offer advice for people who are required to develop an outreach initiative as part of a funded research study. Use these resources for quick access to education and outreach tips especially selected for application to a research setting. This may be referred to as Education and Public Outreach (EPO) in the agency request for proposals.

Researchers may be asked to offer an outreach initiative when the topic is designed to produce results that will benefit a particular target audience or community. From the point of view of Best Education Practices, the ideal situation is that the researcher and stakeholders work together to design and implement the study, and to analyze results.

Stakeholders bring knowledge about “local conditions and interrelationships” to the study design. Stakeholders are more likely to be motivated to implement results when they have been part of the process of discovering information that addresses their situation or concern.

The Changing Public Behavior self-study modules can help you think about how to make these connections.

EPO Education and Public Outreach. A Guide for Scientists (PDF, 1.96 MB) incorporates ideas presented in the Water Outreach Web site. It was prepared with support from the National Science Foundation’s Division of Ocean Science’s Centers for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence (COSEE) and from the authors’ respective institutions. More information is available from  The Oceanography Society (TOS), http://tos.org/.

Ideas on this page have been adapted, in part, from a report to U.S. EPA and U.S. AID by Stephen P. Gasteyer, Cornelia B. Flora et al. 2002. Community Participation for Conservation and Development of Natural Resources: A Summary of Literature and Report of Research Findings.