Contracting Best Practices: Education and Outreach
Some local governments handle education and outreach programs directly while others require very specific outreach and education programs via contracts of franchise agreements. Contracts can set community education and outreach requirements on specific topics such as:
- Benefits of waste reduction, reuse, composting and recycling
- New billing procedures
- Program implementation information
- Information on proper sorting
Some communities require a separate contractor be used for education and outreach to obtain specialized marketing or multilingual outreach capabilities or to ensure dedicated outreach staffing.
Examples of outreach that can be specified in contracts include:
- Traditional outreach: Bin tags, bill inserts, brochures (can require multi-lingual materials)
- Direct outreach: Community event outreach and/or door-to-door customers visits (can require multilingual outreach capacity)
- Online and social media: Websites, campaigns or competitions using specified online platforms and tools
Case Studies: Fresno, CA | Napa, CA | San Jose, CA
Advantages
- Contractor engagement: Education clauses can tie the contractor's success to the quality or time spent on outreach rather than just the tonnage processed.
- Program effectiveness: Effective education and outreach can improve program coordination and support in the community.
Disadvantages
- Difficult to measure: Education is less quantifiable than other requirements and the effectiveness of education and outreach can be difficult for local government to monitor.
