Grantee Research Project Results
2022 Progress Report: ASPPH/EPA Fellowship Program for ORD and S&T
EPA Grant Number: X3839470Title: 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, 2021 through September 30,2022
Project Amount: $450,206
RFA: GRO Fellowships for Graduate Environmental Study (2006) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Academic Fellowships
Objective:
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.
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: Completed
Summary of Progress & Results: During Year Four, ASPPH accomplished the following:
o ASPPH staff worked with our EPA Project Officer to finalize the timeline for Year Four (2021 - 2022) of the grant cycle – the timeline was finalized on November 3, 2021 (during the previous reporting period.) Timeline milestones included:
o Developed electronic promotional and marketing materials for the fellowship program:
November 2021
o Updated the ASPPH website and the online application system to reflect new fellowship opportunities for 2022: December 9, 2021
o Announced new opportunities to ASPPH-member institutions: December 10, 2021
o Established application deadline for January 26, 2022
· Released the application announcement to ASPPH-member, CEPH-accredited schools and programs of public health on December 10, 2021.
· 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 ASPPH-member, CEPH-accredited schools and programs of public health located in the U.S.
· Received 41 applications for the program.
· Conducted preliminary review of all 41 applications to ensure applications were complete and applicants met all eligibility requirements; three applications were deemed either ineligible or incomplete.
· Identified 38 applicants from 28 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 Four.
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: Partially Completed
Summary of Progress & Results: During Year Four, ASPPH accomplished the following:
· Objective Review: From a pool of 50 reviewer volunteers, identified 12 objective reviewers, representing 12 ASPPH-member institutions, to review the 38 applications from 28 different ASPPH-member institutions. Completed a fair, transparent, and objective review process for the Fellowship Program and identified the 18 semi-finalists for the Panel Interview process.
· Panel Interviews: Planned and convened a three-day interview process and invited 18 semi-finalists 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. All 18 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 interviews, all 18 candidates were recommended for the final technical review process.
• Technical Review: During this project period, no new fellowship opportunities were identified for the ORD and S&T Offices. Therefore, EPA did not participate in the technical review process in Year Four.
Problems, Delays, Modifications: Due to funding restrictions and delays, the EPA ORD and S&T Offices did not identify any new positions to begin in November 2022 and, therefore, no new Program Participants were selected for placement during the 2022 – 2023 fellowship year (Year Five).
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; and Timely and thorough collection of program participant close-out documents using the ASPPH electronic reporting system..
Status: Partially Completed
Summary of Progress & Results: During Year Four, ASPPH accomplished the following:
· Managed budgets and financial disbursements for Dr. Dana Williamson, Program Participant in EPA’s Office of Science Advisor, Policy & Engagement, Office of Research and Development. 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.
· Submitted required reports to EPA on schedule.
· Collected program participant close-out documents from Dr. Williamson using the ASPPH electronic reporting system.
Problems, Delays, Modifications: Because there were no new fellows during this cycle, there was no need to onboard new fellows, update Fellows’ or Mentors’ Guidebooks, or perform any other activities related to new fellows.
Objective 4: 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: Completed
Summary of Progress & Results: During Year Four, ASPPH accomplished the following:
· Maintained an online, secure portal, the ASPPH Reporting & Evaluation (R&E) Tool, through which the fellows can easily input goals, learning objectives and activities (instructional frameworks) for the fellowship period and subsequently report their progress to ASPPH. Information was also shared by the fellows with their mentor(s).
· Collected, reviewed, and provided feedback on 6-month, 9-month, and 12-month Progress Reports, which were submitted by Dr. Dana Williamson for her second fellowship year.
· Dr. Williamson’s Project Goal was to “To create an organized understanding of measures and tools used in the Scientific Research Integrity program.”
· Information provided through the ASPPH R&E Tool shows the following highlights of Dr. Williamson’s progress toward meeting this project goal:
o Developed research questions to be used as a framework to guide the writing and analysis of a first-author peer-reviewed journal article.
o Conducted data analyses to assess the relationship between measures of awareness, behavior, and outcomes related to scientific integrity.
o Created a technical document (white paper) that utilizes a social science theoretical framework to understanding trends related to scientific integrity at EPA.
o Presented: Evaluation lecture presentation at Morehouse School of Medicine, Satcher Leadership Institute - August 2022
o Presented: Agency-wide Scientific Integrity meeting: SI 2021 survey and program evaluation overview - September 2022
· Dr. Williamson’s Skill Development Goal was to “To improve my understanding of policy communication and science advocacy to become a more well-rounded scientist.”
· Information provided through the ASPPH R&E Tool shows the following highlights of Dr. Williamson’s progress toward meeting this skill goal:
o Identified and participated in opportunities to work with the Office of Research and Development Environmental Justice Council (Sania Tong-Argao) to continue building relationships, extend my professional development, and apply my expertise to areas of interest.
o Identified and participated in opportunities to engage with the Office of Environmental Justice and Office of Community Revitalization/Community Driven Solutions Program with respect to programming, cumulative impacts, and community capacity research activities.
o Continued involvement with Region 4 Environmental Justice Academy (Sheryl Good) to develop science communication pieces and engage in other dissemination activities to promote my dissertation research findings evaluating the efficacy of the EJ Academy program.
o Identified and participated in leadership/collaborative opportunities within EPA around community capacity building and cumulative impacts through participation with StRAP4 planning, and internal funding programs ROAR (Regional-ORD Applied Research), and PIP (Pathfinder Innovation Projects).
Problems, Delays, Modifications: There were no problems, delays, or modifications with the fellow’s goals and objectives in Year Four. This is particularly notable due the situation with the COVID-19 pandemic and the need for an entirely virtual work/learning environment. Despite the circumstances, the program participant reported great progress on their fellowship projects and learning objectives. This could not have been done without significant coordination and engagement from both the fellow and her EPA mentors.
Objective 5: 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; Percent of program participants who report “above average” or “outstanding” that their fellowship “provided opportunities to interact with experts in the field of public health”, that the fellowship “provided opportunities to develop specialized skills & apply them to project activities”, and on the “quality of overall fellowship experience”; and, Percent of mentors reporting “above average” or “outstanding” that their fellows “demonstrated professional development: has acquired appropriate knowledge & skills to augment academic background”; and on the “overall quality of the fellow’s project”.
Status: Completed
Summary of Progress & Results: During Year Four, ASPPH accomplished the following:
· Collected career path information from departing fellow, Dr. Dana Williamson. Upon ending the fellowship, Dr. Williamson accepted an FTE position in EPA’s Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO).
· Dr. Williamson reported the following in her final evaluation:
o Fellowship provided opportunities to interact with experts in the field of public health
o 4 - Above average
o Fellowship provided opportunities to develop specialized skills & apply them to project activities
o 3 - Average
o Quality of overall Fellowship experience
o 4 – Above Average
o ASPPH responded quickly & effectively to requests, questions & concerns:
o 5 – Outstanding
o ASPPH provided timely disbursement of stipend and reimbursements:
o 5 - Outstanding
Problems, Delays, Modifications: Dr. Williamson’s mentor did not submit an evaluation. We recognize that EPA mentors have many demands on their time and providing feedback on the work of the fellows and our performance may not be a priority. However, the feedback from the mentors is critical in our ability to continuously improve the quality of the program.
Progress and Final Reports:
Original AbstractThe perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.