Grantee Research Project Results

2020 Progress Report: ASPPH/EPA Fellowship Program for ORD and S&T

EPA Grant Number: X3839470
Title: ASPPH/EPA Fellowship Program for ORD and S&T
Investigators: Stadtler, Monica G
Institution: Association of Schools and Public Health
EPA Project Officer: Floyd, Matthew
Project Period: January 1, 2019 through September 30, 2024
Project Period Covered by this Report: October 1, 2019 through September 30,2020
Project Amount: $450,206
RFA: GRO Fellowships for Graduate Environmental Study (2006) RFA Text |  Recipients Lists
Research Category: Academic Fellowships

Objective:

Objective 1: By the end of Year One, and annually thereafter through Year Four, ASPPH will recruit qualified applicants from CEPH-accredited, ASPPH-member schools and programs of public health for practice-based training opportunities focusing on Science and Technology within EPA’s Office of Research and Development (ORD).

Performance Measures: Successful development of recruitment timeline; Successful development and distribution of fellowship promotional materials; Timely electronic processing of submitted applications; Number of qualified candidates applying to the program; and, Up-to-date website and Online Application System.

Status: Year Two - Completed

Summary of Progress & Results: During Year Two, ASPPH accomplished the following:

• ASPPH staff worked with our EPA Project Officer to finalize the timeline for Year Two (2019 - 2020) of the grant cycle – the timeline was finalized on October 7, 2019 (during the previous reporting period.) Timeline milestones included: Develop electronic promotional and marketing materials for the fellowship program: November 2019 (Completed)
• Update the ASPPH website and the online application system to reflect new fellowship opportunities for 2020: December 12, 2019 (Completed)
• Announce new opportunities to ASPPH-member institutions: December 13, 2019 (Completed)
• Application Deadline: February 14, 2020 (Completed) 
• Conduct preliminary review and processing of applications: March 1, 2020 (Completed)
• The application announcement was released to the 115 ASPPH-member, CEPH-accredited schools and programs of public health on December 13, 2019.
• Utilized social media tools (LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter) to promote the fellowship program and drive prospective applicants to the ASPPH website and online application for details on the fellowship program.
• Featured information about the fellowship program on the ASPPH website.
• Published multiple articles to promote the fellowship program in the ASPPH weekly electronic newsletter, Friday Letter.
• Sent targeted announcements to faculty and staff with specific responsibilities to support and advise students in career planning. Emails were sent to the career services offices, associate deans of practice, and alumni career offices of the 115 ASPPH-member, CEPH-accredited schools and programs of public health located in the U.S.
• Received 57 applications for the program. • Conducted preliminary review of all 57 applications to ensure applications were complete and applicants met all eligibility requirements; six applications were deemed either ineligible or incomplete.
• Identified 51 applicants from 34 different ASPPH member schools and programs to advance to the next stage of review. Problems, Delays, Modifications: There were no problems, delays, or modifications to the workplan for year two.

Objective 2: By the end of Year One, and annually thereafter through Year Four, ASPPH will conduct a thorough, transparent, and objective selection process to match eligible candidates to the most suitable fellowship placements.

Performance Measures: Number of faculty and staff approved to serve as objective reviewers; Timely and efficient management of electronic objective review, in-person interviews, and technical review processes; Number of available fellowship positions filled; and, Percent of applicants identified for prospective qualified candidate database.

Status: Year Two - Completed Summary of Progress & Results: During Year Two, ASPPH accomplished the following:

• Objective Review: Identified 13 objective reviewers, representing 13 ASPPH-member institutions, to review the 51 applications from 34 different ASPPH-member institutions. Completed a fair, transparent and objective review process for the Fellowship Program and identified the 20 semi-finalists for the Panel Interview process.
• Panel Interviews: Planned and convened a three-day interview process and invited 20 semifinalists for web-based, video-conference interviews with a panel of reviewers that included two former ASPPH/EPA Fellowship Program Participants and one current Program Participant. Eighteen of the 20 candidates accepted the invitation to interview. The panelists conducted interviews to assess each candidate’s communication skills, thought-processing skills, and social skills/adaptability. From these 18 interviews, 16 candidates were recommended for the final technical review process.
• Technical Review: During this project period, EPA identified one available fellowship opportunity, in the Office of Science Advisor, Policy & Engagement, Office of Research and Development. After reviewing several candidates, on May 12th, the host-office provided ASPPH with their top-three recommendations for placement, in rank order.
• Placement: On May 13th, ASPPH offered the position to the top-ranked candidate, Dana Williamson, PhD, Emory University Rollins School of Public Health), and she accepted. Problems, Delays, Modifications: There were no problems, delays, or modifications to the workplan for Year Two.

Objective 3: By the end of Year One, and annually thereafter, ASPPH will administer all aspects of the ASPPH/EPA Fellowship Program.

Performance Measures: Number of new program participants completing security clearance in advance of start of fellowship; Presentation of orientation for program participants; Presentation of orientation for mentors; Facilitation of annual professional development training opportunity for program participants; Results of orientation evaluations by program participants; Timely development and distribution of Guidebooks and Fellowship Agreements; Results from program participant and mentor evaluations of ASPPH administration and management of the program; Timely submission of required reports to EPA; Timely and thorough collection of program participant close-out documents using the ASPPH electronic reporting system; and, Creation of an alumni group and coordination of at least one event annually for current program participants and alumni.

Status: Year Two - Completed Summary of Progress & Results: During Year Two, ASPPH accomplished the following: 

• Developed updated versions of the 2020 “Fellowship Guidebook” and the 2020 “Fellowship Reimbursement Handbook” for the one Program Participant, Dr. Williamson, who was placed during this project period, but will start in the next reporting period, November 2020.
• Reviewed and updated the 2020 ASPPH Guidebook for Mentors that was provided to EPA staff.
• Developed and executed fellowship agreement for the new Program Participant, Dr. Williamson.
• Developed and executed fellowship extension agreement for second-year Program Participant, Ms. Brie Reed.
• Facilitated EPA security process for Dr. Williamson.
• Onboarded Dr. Williamson on ASPPH financial and reporting systems.
• Scheduled and planned in-depth orientation program for Dr. Williamson, which will occur in November 2020, during the next reporting period.
• Facilitated a smooth renewal process for second-year Program Participant, Ms. Brie Reed.
• Managed budgets and financial disbursements for Ms. Reed. This included the timely processing of stipend payments; review of reimbursement requests; payment of reimbursements, if acceptable; and, reviewing and reconciling the Program Participant’s accounts.
• Monitored ASPPH administrative monthly financial reports to ensure expenses were appropriate and project work was conducted within budget.

Problems, Delays, Modifications: There were no problems, delays, or modifications to the workplan for Year Two

Objective 4: By the end of Year Two, ASPPH, working with EPA, will identify appropriate competencies for entry-level to mid-level program participants, developed within the framework of the Core Competencies for Public Health Professionals, in defined skill domains appropriate for public health professionals practicing in the area of environmental health. In years Three through Five, ASPPH will incorporate competencies into the instructional framework for program participants and assess program participant’s competency advancement.

Performance Measures: Successful development of a set of competencies for the fellowship program; Successful implementation of competencies into the instructional framework of the fellowship program; Percent of program participants who report they have participated in training opportunities related to their training area and competencies; and, Number and types of training resources promoted to program participants related to primary training areas and competencies.

Status: Pending 

Problems, Delays, Modifications:. Before Ms. Michaud’s departure, ASPPH and Ms. Michaud were unable to review the suggested set of competencies to finalize plans for the competency project. Therefore, the competency project was put on hold until the next reporting period. ASPPH plans to meet with the PO in Year Three to discuss the project and establish a new timeline and adjust the workplan as needed.

 

Objective 5: ASPPH will guide program participants in the development of goals, learning objectives and activities (instructional frameworks) throughout the course of their fellowships.

Performance Measures: Effective instruction and guidance to program participants on establishing goals and learning objectives and how to use the electronic reporting system; Successful review of and guidance provided to all program participants’ regarding their instructional frameworks and learning objectives; Successful review of and guidance provided to all program participants on their progress reports; and, Effective management of electronic reporting system.

Status: Year Two - Completed

Summary of Progress & Results: During Year Two, ASPPH accomplished the following:

• Maintained an online, secure portal, the ASPPH Reporting & Evaluation (R&E) Tool, through which Ms. Reed reported her progress for the first year of her fellowship. Ms. Reed will use this same tool to record her second-year goals and objectives.\
• Collected 6-month, 9-month, and 12-month progress reports for Ms. Reed’s first fellowship year.
• Ms. Reed’s Project Goal was to “Collaborate with a group of stakeholders from the public health, health care, and healthcare system communities to bridge gaps in understanding of environmental pollutants associated with disease outcomes.” Information provided through the ASPPH R&E Tool shows the following highlights of Ms. Reed’s progress toward meeting this goal:
• Participated in virtual meetings to convene partners from public health, health care, and health care systems to identify environmental health concerns of mutual interest and motivate the conceptualization of innovative collaborative approaches across professional disciplines to address these concerns.
• Co-authored internal workshop summaries and reports.
• Utilized qualitative data analysis techniques to interpret mind maps submitted by virtual meeting attendees.
• Reviewed and approved Ms. Reed’s second year fellowship framework in July 2020.

Problems, Delays, Modifications: There were no problems, delays, or modifications to the workplan for Year Two.

Objective 6: At the end of each project year, ASPPH will evaluate the effectiveness of the program for all ended fellowship placements.

Performance Measures: Number of program participants’ reporting on career paths, and impact of the fellowship on their careers, upon exit and after two years; Percent of program participants who report that they are “satisfied” or “very satisfied” that their fellowship provided hands-on experience in environmental health to achieve their fellowship goals and objectives; and, Percent of mentors reporting that their satisfaction with the overall quality of the program participants’ contributions and with the administration of the fellowship program as “satisfied” or “very satisfied”.

Status: No fellows have ended yet under this grant period. This work will be conducted in Year Three

Problems, Delays, Modifications: None

Rationale:

Project Goals: To provide experiential, mentored fellowship opportunities for early career public health professionals that will strengthen their capacity to apply environmental health research to practice, and to develop a network of leaders who are well prepared to address current and emerging environmental health issues

Progress and Final Reports:

Original Abstract

2019 Progress Report

2021 Progress Report

2022 Progress Report

2023

Final Report