CARB Racial Equity Inventory

Community Partner Workgroup Solicitation

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Help Co-develop the California Air Resources Board’s Racial Equity Inventory 

Applications Due January 10th, 2025, by 5:00 PM PST 

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has partnered with scholars from the Institute for Social Transformation at the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC-IST) as well as with the University of Southern California’s Equity Research Institute to conduct a Racial Equity Inventory (RE Inventory). This effort aims to assess how well racial equity is currently integrated into CARB’s work, identify any barriers to advancing racial equity and environmental justice, and develop actionable recommendations to enhance CARB’s commitment to being an anti-racist organization.  

UCSC-IST is requesting applications for 10 passionate community leaders and racial justice experts to join the Community Partner Workgroup, an advisory body, to co-design the assessment approach for CARB’s RE Inventory and co-create an action plan to achieve the goals of the RE Inventory. 

Over the next few years (2025-2027), the Community Partner Workgroup will co-develop the RE Inventory by advising UCSC-IST partners and CARB staff and providing recommendations to shape CARB regulations, programs, policies, and practices that advance racial equity in California’s air quality and climate efforts.  

The Community Partner Workgroup will be expected to participate in quarterly meetings and provide ongoing suggestions and feedback to advise UCSC-IST scholars and CARB staff in the development of the RE Inventory. Compensation will be provided for community partners’ time and expertise in the form of honorariums. 

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Definitions 

The following are some definitions and identifiers that may be used as part of the RE Inventory process and/or Community Partner Workgroup solicitation: 

Background 

On October 22, 2020, CARB adopted Resolution 20-33, establishing an explicit commitment to advance racial equity and social justice measures in all CARB actions. This directive guides much of CARB’s racial equity work. It also supports CARB’s efforts to address Governor Newsom’s Executive Order N-16-22, which requires state entities to embed racial equity strategies in their work, in part by developing or updating strategic plans to promote equity and respond to identified disparities. As described in CARB’s Racial Equity Framework and Model for Change, a crucial element of CARB’s racial equity work is identifying, developing, and using data to drive organizational change.  

To help fulfill this commitment, CARB has partnered with UCSC-IST scholars as well as with the University of Southern California’s Equity Research Institute to conduct a RE Inventory.   

The RE Inventory will have the following four phases over the next few years (2025-2027):  

1. Gather data, research, and design a methodology to measure CARB actions on racial equity and environmental justice.  
2. Implement a pilot with selected CARB division(s); then analyze and refine the methodology.  
3. Implement and analyze an CARB wide inventory with actionable recommendations.  
4. Share information and build staff capacity on strategies to embed racial equity and environmental justice.  

This process aims to meaningfully incorporate community perspectives. So, UCSC-IST scholars (in collaboration with CARB staff) are convening a Community Partner Workgroup– comprised of community leaders and racial equity and environmental justice experts – to help design the methodologies used for conducting the RE Inventory and provide feedback on final RE Inventory report to inform CARB’s future work. 

Preliminary results after pilot implementation concludes, will be shared publicly. A public final RE inventory report will also be made available at the end.  

Who Should Apply for the Community Partner Workgroup? 

The community partners in the Community Partner Workgroup will be subject matter experts within their community, community-based group, neighborhood, and or field. They may have lived, professional, and/or leadership experiences uncommon in government bodies and industry. Ideally, community partners will have a particular experience as actively engaged members of their communities doing work related to racial equity and environmental justice.  

For example, community partners may be (but are not limited to): non-profit leaders, community organizers, service-based volunteers, staff experts, consultants, academics, organizational or board representatives, and engaged community residents. We encourage anyone with personal or lived experience as proponents of racial equity and/or environmental justice to apply. 

The Community Partner Workgroup is an advisory body and will be comprised of 10 community partners. 

Eligibility Requirements

Members of the RE Inventory’s Community Partner Workgroup should: 

• Be a resident of California and/or a member of a California Tribal Government. Geographic representation is preferred to gain a wide-ranged understanding of CARB’s environmental and racial impact across the state. Applicants may reside in the following regions (priority will be given to those from or representing a disadvantaged, low-income community and/or disadvantaged tribal land as defined in the Priority Populations Map):
  1. Northern California Region 
  2. Sacramento Valley Region 
  3. Bay Area Region 
  4. Los Angeles Region 
  5. San Diego Region 
  6. Central Coast Region 
  7. Southern California Region 
  8. San Joaquin Valley Region 
• Represent themselves as a California/regional resident or be affiliated with a Community Based Organization (CBO), Community Board or Academic Department. 
• Be able to demonstrate a proven track record of a commitment to racial equity and EJ. 

Please note there is a limit to one individual per organization/CBO sitting on the Community Partner Workgroup (not including coalitions, who may have members representing different groups). However, there can be more than one individual from the same community; this will be considered on a case by case. Any individual who is part of an existing CARB advisory committee (e.g., Environmental Justice Advisory Committee, Research Screening Committee, AB 617 Consultation Group, and Scientific Review Panel on Toxic Air Contaminants) can participate only in their individual capacity. 

Scope of Work and Expectations

The Community Partner Workgroup will lend their expertise, through verbal and/or written recommendations, to the RE Inventory process by providing feedback on work products, including the RE Inventory methodologies and the final report. 

Each community partner will: 

• Collaborate with the Community Partner Workgroup, UCSC-IST scholars, and CARB staff, from early 2025 through June 2027.
• Provide approximately 8 hours/year in meetings and approximately 4-6 additional hours outside of meeting times to complete review and feedback tasks as outlined in the project tasks table. 
• Attend 4 meetings via Zoom per year with the Community Partner Workgroup, UCSC-IST scholars, and/or CARB staff. The meetings will provide community partners an opportunity to consult, advise, and co-develop the RE Inventory throughout the duration of the contract. 
• Provide expertise on challenges related to racial equity and EJ, including by drawing on personal experience with CARB and/or other government actions. 
• Provide expertise on embedding racial equity and environmental justice into CARB actions and the role community engagement plays into informing research and providing tools and resources to communities. 
• Assist with additional outreach and/or getting feedback outside of the Community Partner Workgroup on the RE Inventory from their respective communities. 
• Conduct work remotely. Travel for one in person meeting may take place and, in the case that it does, will be fully covered by the UCSC-IST team. 

What Does the Compensation for Community Partners Look Like?

The Community Partner Workgroup is expected to begin work in early 2025. The 10 selected community partners will participate in four quarterly meetings a year. Community partners will also contribute their expertise in between meetings in the form of written and verbal comments on project materials listed below. All materials to be reviewed, discussed and commented on will be initially developed and presented by the UCSC-IST. Community partners will be compensated for their expertise via an honorarium on a quarterly basis after successful completion of tasks as listed below. Tables 1, 2, and 3 below provide a detailed breakdown of project tasks and compensation schedules. 

Please note, that the first year is expected to require the greatest level of outside-of-meeting work from community partners. As shown in Table 1, compensation is divided accordingly. 

Table 1: Community Partner Workgroup project task and compensation schedules for the first year (expected to begin in early 2025).

Task	Compensation	Estimated Work Schedule (from contract start date)
1: First meeting to discuss the contract  Deliverable: discuss the various aspects of this agreement including the project plan, details of performing tasks, budget, invoices, expectations, challenges, and other items that should be addressed before work can begin.	$125	Month 1
2: Second meeting to share input on the methodologies process   Deliverable: provide input on the methodologies and potential action plans for the RE Inventory.	$125	Month 3
3: (Outside of meetings) Review draft RE Inventory methodologies   Deliverable 1: review draft RE Inventory methodologies and action plan, using any personal experience with CARB or other government agencies to develop initial comments and/or recommendations that will support deliverables for Tasks 3 and 4.  Deliverable 2: provide written or verbal comments for the draft RE Inventory methodologies and action plan along with a written summary of recommended edits to the draft.	$300	Month 4-5
4: Third meeting to discuss comments  Deliverable: attend the third meeting to be presented with and discuss initial comments on the results of the draft pilot RE Inventory.	$125	Month 8
5: (Outside of meetings) Review results of the draft pilot RE Inventory  Deliverable: provide written and verbal comments for the RE Inventory. The revised draft will incorporate input which the UCSC-IST team will solicit from the public and first round of comments from community partners. Additionally, community partners will provide a written summary of recommended edits to the revised draft of the pilot RE Inventory.	$300	Month 9-10
6: Fourth meeting to discuss comments from Task 5  Deliverable: attend the fourth meeting and discuss comments from Task 5.	$125	Month 12
Total	$1100

Table 2: Community Partner Workgroup project task and compensation schedules for the second year. (This timeline and tasks are subject to change based on feedback obtained in Year 1).

Task	Compensation	Estimated Work Schedule
1: First meeting to discuss RE Inventory action plan	$125	Month 1
2: Second meeting to check in on RE Inventory action plan progress. Community partners may provide advisory feedback, which will be taken into consideration to make adjustments to the action plan as needed.	$125	Month 4
3: Third meeting to check in on RE Inventory action plan progress. Community partners may provide feedback, which will be used to make adjustments to the action plan as needed.	$125	Month 8
4: Fourth meeting to review RE Inventory preliminary action plan results. Community partners may provide advisory feedback, which will be taken into consideration to inform the first draft of the final report.	$125	Month 12
Total	$500

Table 3: Community Partner Workgroup project task and compensation schedules for the third year. (This timeline and tasks are subject to change based on feedback obtained in Year 1 and Year 2).

Task	Compensation	Estimated Work Schedule
1: First meeting to review full RE Inventory results and receive feedback from the Community Partner Workgroup on the initial presentation of the final report from the UCSC-IST Team	$125	Month 1
2: (Outside of meetings) Review RE Inventory report Deliverable:  provide written and verbal comments for the RE Inventory final report. The report will be generated by the UCSC team and shared with Community Workgroup members to review and provide feedback on prior to final submission to CARB.	$300	Month 2-3
3: Third Meeting to finalize feedback, recommendations and action items	$75	Month 4
Total	$500

Application Process 

If you are interested in co-developing the Racial Equity Inventory with UCSC’s IST, please submit your application by 5:00 P.M. PST on January 10th, 2025.

Your application should include a completed Application Form and your uploaded “Statement of Interest.”

If you have questions, you can reach out to Melissa Charles (mecharle@ucsc.edu) with the subject title “Racial Equity Inventory.”  

By early 2025, the most qualified candidates will be contacted to move forward in this process. 

Application Scoring Criteria 

The Community Partner Workgroup application will be scored using the criteria below. 

Interest:  Applicant communicates their specific interest to pursuing the objectives described in the solicitation and scope of work.

Experience:  Applicant demonstrates experience engaging stakeholders and other public entities from racially disadvantaged communities and/or communities impacted by environment inequity.

Application of Experiences:  Applicant’s written responses draw links between their experience and relevance to the contracting position.

Priority will be placed on community partners with a demonstrated commitment to or lived experience with racial equity and environmental justice and to those who live and/or work in low-income and disadvantaged communities. We encourage people with lived and non-traditional experiences in advocating for their own or others’ racial and/or environmental equity to apply.  

Scoring Rubric and Criteria 

The application consists of three questions. Each question has a maximum of 10 points, for a total of 30 points. The rubric for each application question is provided below. 

Question 1:  Do you live in or does your organization represent an environmentally disadvantaged community? CARB’s Priority Populations Map identifies specific vulnerable communities according to SB 535 (Disadvantaged community designation), AB 1550 (Low-income definitions), and disadvantaged community Tribal land areas which you are encouraged to reference. If so, which one/ones.  

Guide to using the map: 1) locate the search bar, it is on the upper left-hand side of the screen; 2) type your location [e.g., zip code, address, city, or census tract]; 3) click on your census tract, a box will appear with the designations identifying your census tract as disadvantaged, low-income, and/or disadvantaged communities Tribal lands.   

• The applicant will receive 10 points if they answer the question fully, and if they live in or work in an SB 535 or AB 1550 community or disadvantaged community, Tribal land areas, or can otherwise demonstrate living in or representing an environmentally disadvantaged community.
• The applicant will receive 5 points if they answer the question fully, and they do not live in or work in an environmentally disadvantaged or SB 535 or AB 1550 community or disadvantaged community Tribal land areas, but the applicant is the only applicant from a certain region of the state that is not represented by another applicant. This will help provide a regional balance of community partners.  
• The applicant will receive 3 points if they answer the question fully, but they do not live in an environmentally disadvantaged or SB 535 or AB 1550 community or disadvantaged community Tribal land areas, and there are multiple applicants from their region. 
• The applicant will receive 0 points if they do not answer the question. 

Question 2:  Why are you interested in advancing racial and environmental equity? How does your skillset match the description of the criteria?

• The applicant will receive 7-10 points if they answer the question fully and clearly, and if they provide linkages to criteria. 
• The applicant will receive 1-6 points if they do not answer the question fully and clearly, but they do provide some linkages to criteria. 
• The applicant will receive 0 points if they do not answer the question. 

Question 3: Why do you believe community engagement is essential for this work? What experience do you have engaging with your community?

• The applicant will receive 7-10 points if they answer the question fully and clearly, and if they provide examples of experience working within their community. 
• The applicant will receive 1-6 points if they do not answer the question fully and clearly, but they do provide some examples of details about experience with community engagement. 
• The applicant will receive 0 points if they do not answer the question.