Northwest Indiana Regional Planning Commission
It all began when Northwest Indiana Regional Planning Commission (NIRPC) in Portage, Indiana, joined It All Adds Up to Cleaner Air as one of 14 communities to test the It All Adds Up messages and materials.
NIRPC was an enthusiastic and successful participant, receiving the Indiana Department of Environmental Management's Outstanding Public Outreach Award in 2000 for its extensive It All Adds Up campaign and has remained a committed partner of the It All Adds Up initiative ever since.
Big Program, Small Budget
NIRPC has made extensive use of the free outreach materials provided by It All Adds Up, particularly the radio spots and the tagline. "If it weren't for the It All Adds Up spots, we wouldn't be able to run radio ads, because they're so expensive to produce," said Reggie Korthals, NIRPC's director of environmental planning and programs. "I also am not shy about borrowing other agencies' great materials, such as those available from U.S. EPA's Communities in Motion partners."
Reggie explained that this community partnership program also has been valuable in enabling her to learn from other communities and share her experiences with them. NIRPC works closely with the Partners for Clean Air groups in Chicago and Milwaukee to successfully leverage partnerships with other local government agencies, organizations, and businesses that provide in-kind contributions.
It's Who You Know
NIRPC has secured a number of partners to help them distribute the It All Adds Up materials and messages for little or no cost. In the summer, they continue their partnership with the county solid waste districts and the Lake Michigan Household Hazardous Waste District to collect old gas cans and distribute new environmentally safe gas cans. The collections are held in different locations around the region each weekend, and they serve as an ideal way to distribute It All Adds Up materials to the community. This partnership has proven so successful that it is being considered as a State Implementation Plan control measure. To increase awareness of the events, NIRPC partners with the local radio network to provide informational radio spots the week before the Saturday events, as well as live broadcasts at the collections.
NIRPC partnered with the Gary South Shore RailCats, the area's minor league baseball team, to provide NIRPC sponsored giveaway bags that feature It All Adds Up print ad artwork and messages (
sample 1 (PDF, 740KB) ). In turn, it received free advertising opportunities: free radio time, the opportunity to make clean air announcements at all RailCats' games, a full-page ad (sample 2 (PDF, 323KB)) in the season program, and opportunities to present giveaways at special events.
NIRPC partners with area gas stations in August to promote the It All Adds Up summer seasonal theme, "Don't Top Off Your Tank," using It All Adds Up-themed gas-pump "toppers" as well as live radio broadcasts at a number of gas stations.
Vehicle emissions testing, mandatory because Northwest Indiana is in severe non-attainment of the national ozone standard, presented another partnership opportunity for NIRPC. The testing company, Clean Air Car Check, agreed to distribute vehicle maintenance information to drivers and even helped pay for some of the materials as well as other promotional items. The information proved to be extremely effective in reducing resistance to emissions testing. NIRPC has extended this "inspection and maintenance" partnership to include the Northwest Indiana Partners for Clean Air, who will use their volunteers to distribute vehicle maintenance information and literature on the new PM 2.5 standards at county fairs in July and August. The partners will also sponsor special radio-promoted events at the fairs, which draw over 450,000 people from the region each summer.
NIRPC doesn't stop at forming local partnerships, however. It collaborated with a fellow It All Adds Up participant, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, and the Illinois Department of Transportation to develop a high school driver education curriculum on transportation and air quality, titled XRT: eXtraordinaryRoadTrip. The project includes a computer-based strategy game focusing on vehicle technologies and eco-driving skills, a teacher's guide, and a Web site.
As a result of its successful public education efforts and Korthal's leadership, NIRPC has seen a fourfold increase in its CMAQ funding—from $50,000 in 1999 to $600,000 for 2003-2005—which has helped to strengthen and expand the outreach program. With U.S. EPA's eight-hour standards resulting in additional non-attainment areas, Korthals anticipates that state CMAQ money will be spread more thinly in upcoming years. So, NIRPC will continue to implement its partnership—building strategies that have allowed it to create such a successful "big air quality program with a little budget."
For more information on NIRPC's activities, contact Ms. Reggie Korthals at (219) 762-1653 or rkorthals@nirpc.org or visit their Web site.