Grantee Research Project Results
Final 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 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 Five, 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 Five, ASPPH accomplished the following:
· ASPPH staff worked with our EPA Project Officer to finalize the timeline for Year Three (2022 - 2023) of the grant cycle – the timeline was finalized on November 2, 2022 (during the previous reporting period.) Timeline milestones included:
o Developed electronic promotional and marketing materials for the fellowship program:
November 2022
o Updated the ASPPH website and the online application system to reflect new fellowship opportunities for 2022: December 15, 2022
o Announced new opportunities to ASPPH-member institutions: December 16, 2022
o Established application deadline for January 31, 2023
· Released the application announcement to ASPPH-member, CEPH-accredited schools and programs of public health on December 16, 2022.
· 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 public health programs located in the U.S.
· Received 43 applications for the program.
· Conducted preliminary review of all 43 applications to ensure applications were complete and applicants met all eligibility requirements; three applications were deemed either ineligible or incomplete.
· Identified 39 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 Five.
Objective 2: By the end of Year One, and annually thereafter through Year Five, 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
Status: Partially Completed
Summary of Progress & Results: During Year Five, ASPPH accomplished the following:
· Objective Review: From a pool of 50 reviewer volunteers, 12 objective reviewers, representing 12 ASPPH-member institutions, were identified to review the 39 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 23 semi-finalists for web-based, video-conference interviews with a panel of reviewers that included three former ASPPH/EPA Fellowship Program Participants. All 23 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, 21 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 Five.
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 October 2023 and, therefore, no new Program Participants were selected for placement during the 2023 – 2024 fellowship year (Year Six extension).
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 Five, ASPPH accomplished the following:
· There were no Program Participants placed in Year Five of the Project Period. Therefore, it was not necessary to complete the following activities: security clearance, orientation, professional
development training opportunities, Guidebooks and Fellowship Agreements, and payments to Program Participants.
· 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.
Problems, Delays, Modifications: There were no problems, delays, or modifications to the workplan for Year Five.
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: Not Applicable in Year Five
Summary of Progress & Results: During Year Five, ASPPH accomplished the following:
· Because there were no Program Participants placed in Year Five of the Project Period, these activities were unnecessary.
Problems, Delays, Modifications: N/A
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: Not Applicable in Year Five
Summary of Progress & Results: During Year Five, ASPPH accomplished the following:
· There were no program participants who ended the program in Year Five.
Problems, Delays, Modifications: N/A
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.