California Air Resources Board

Join CARB's virtual meeting to learn more about the updated Community Engagement Model designed to improve collaboration with communities and enhance California’s air quality.

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) is a state agency working to protect the public from the harmful effects of air pollution and developing programs and actions to fight climate change. 

Join CARB staff for a presentation about the updated Community Engagement Model (Model). The Model is a tool to improve CARB’s community engagement efforts and guides staff in incorporating meaningful community engagement in CARB actions.  

Virtual Meeting

Date:             Thursday, January 16th, 2025 
Time:             6:00 - 7:00 PM 
Location:      Zoom 

For additional questions and information about the Model email communityengagement@arb.ca.gov, or call 279-216-0967. 

Background

In 2022, CARB responded to staff requests for resources and direction on community engagement. CARB created the Community Engagement and Capacity Building Workgroup, which consisted of staff from across the agency. The workgroup developed an initial Model informed by consulting internal and external partners and resources. From January 2023 through December 2024, CARB led a process to ground-truth the initial Model, gathered public recommendations, and revised the initial Model based on what was heard from the public.  

Milestones

• In January 2023, CARB hosted a public meeting to introduce the initial Model.  

• From October 2023 to October 2024, CARB collaborated with 19 contracted community experts.  

• From November 2023 to January 2024, CARB hosted a series of public dialogue sessions to revise the Model based on community needs, expertise, and lived experience.   

• These efforts generated over 2,800 comments, which were used to revise and develop the updated Model. 

The Model is a living internal guidance document containing information to guide CARB staff on appropriate community engagement practices. It aims to help CARB staff gain the knowledge, tools, and confidence needed to consistently design and implement effective community engagement strategies. Moving forward, this Model will help CARB improve its ability to build and maintain relationships with communities throughout the State, especially communities impacted by inequalities, including racial inequalities.  

The updated Model will also support CARB’s Racial Equity Lens. The Racial Equity Lens is an internal framework analysis that can be incorporated into the planning and implementation of CARB actions. Its goal is to ensure CARB actions and decisions result in equitable outcomes, prevent or mitigate disparate impacts and unintended consequences, and assist in evaluating these goals. This operationalizes racial equity as described in CARB’s Model of Organizational Change and supports CARB’s Vision for Racial Equity, the Racial Equity Framework, and Resolution 20-33.  

Public Meeting Details

This meeting will include a presentation covering the Model development process, including comments received and how they were addressed, its content, and next steps.

The updated Model, along with other meeting materials, will be released on the CARB Community Engagement Model website before January 16, 2025.

If you require special accommodation or need documents in an alternate format (e.g., Braille, large print) or another language, please email communityengagement@arb.ca.gov or call 279-216-0967 as soon as possible, but no later than 5 business days before the meeting.

Please check the CARB Community Engagement Model website for updates. Public outreach updates will be sent out via our electronic listserv. To subscribe, please enroll under the topic of Environmental Justice Stakeholders Group.