Customized Training

In addition to the annual conference, there are other mechanisms to receive training at other points throughout the year and include:

Regional or Customized Conferences: Much of the content and format of the national conference targeted toward the establishment of new EPIC programs can be provided in a shorter workshop that might be more appropriate as a regional gathering or one organized by topic (e.g. sustainability) or constituent (e.g. national organization of city managers). This model was successfully piloted in the summer of 2015 through a special workshop for California universities organized and hosted by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  Eighty attendees from universities and communities attended this one and a half day event, with seven new programs making significant progress to launch programs of their own.

Site Visits: Two-day site visits to a university and surrounding communities have been effectively used in several instances to help build university support for this new model from the President to the student level, but with special focus on speaking with the Dean level and helping the future program coordinators organize effectively. In addition, site visits tend to also include meetings with potential community partners to help explain the framework and how to be effective partners. These site visits have frequently led to significant program revenue in the first year.

Individual and Group Remote Technical Assistance: Universities (or communities) can also contract with us if they want additional technical assistance as they are figuring out how to organize and eventually launch a pilot year program. This assistance can come in the form of ad hoc phone calls and emails to pre-scheduled conference calls.

EPIC-N has several trainers available. For information on customized training, please contact Marc Schlossberg or Nico Larco at the University of Oregon’s Sustainable Cities Initiative.