Introduction

This policy is intended to help P2Rx Centers consistently collect information about business environemental assistance programs so that the data:

• can be integrated into a national programs directory
• can be integrated into other P2Rx products

This policy is not intended to limit regional applications outside of national products nor to standardize appearance of data on regional sites.

The policy includes definitions for :

1. Collection Structure
2. Scope of Collection
3. Collection Maintenance

Why Develop and Publish a Collection Development Policy?

The value of this policy is to:

• Assure consistency in collections that are developed by a distributed team
• Assure that data will combine in predictable ways
• Allow more flexible use of data between applications
• Maintain the quality of the national collection

Audience

There are many potential audiences for programs data since it can be used in a variety of contexts. Program information will commonly be used to refer to expert sources. EPA, topic hub users and other partner organizations (like NPPR) and businesses are potential users in this context. P2Rx Centers themselves are a primary audience in terms of keeping current and knowledgeable about the agencies in our regions. Programs data is also a core marketing tool for P2Rx by virtue of being a record of the audiences we intend to serve.

While users of this type of information are many, the scope of collection (described below) will limit the types of data collected. Therefore, in the case of program information, P2Rx will provide a relatively narrow collection to a broad audience.

Collection Structure

For data to be shared easily and used as a uniform P2Rx product, all databases must contain fields with these content elements. To facilitate sharing and searching of the programs data on the national level, controlled vocabularies for particular fields must be exactly the same (see Descriptive Information below).  * Indicates that this field is required during data entry.

Programs Database Fields

The programs database will also record "affiliations" for programs (i.e. "member," "associate member," or "non-member" of organizations such as NPPR, P2Rx, P2WIN). The center managing the data will accomplish this by filling in an additional "affiliations" table which includes:

• programID
• attribute (member, associate member, etc.)
• value (NPPR, P2Rx, etc.). (Table needs to made and distributed to web group.)

The official source code for the programs database is available for viewing at http://kirk.p2pays.org/cgi-bin/viewcvs.cgi/p2rx-programs/. A visual interpretation of the data that must be collected and how this can be offered to site visitors as a search is shown in the sample display document.

Scope of Collection

This section defines minimum standards for Centers to follow. If data from regional Centers does not conform to these criteria, it cannot be included in national products. Centers are free to go beyond these minimums to enhance regional use of data so long as it does not interfere with P2Rx participation.

1. Types of Programs

Centers will identify and describe active programs in their region that provide pollution prevention and energy efficiency assistance. Such programs may include PPIS grantees, local P2 programs, university-based P2 programs and non-profit pollution prevention organizations. At least one program in each state must be identified. If pollution prevention or energy efficiency is a focus for SBDCs, MEPs, SBAPs and other organization types, they should be included. Additional programs associated with P2Rx topic hubs will also be included in regional databases.

For various reasons, programs may be excluded from their appearance in certain applications (national directory, regional directory, topic hubs, etc.). Centers will choose to include programs in publication of various products by filling in the comma-delimited "Scope" field with pre-defined text indicating which product the organization is allowed to appear. Allowed values currently include:

"P2Rx"	- use to include in publication of national directory
"newmoa" "wrrc" "glrppr" "swp2c" "p2ric" "p2p" "??p2west" "pprc"	- use to include in publication of regional directories
"all"	- use to include in all pre-defined products

2. Descriptive Information -

Beyond basic contact information, organizations in the directory are required to have the following descriptive data:

• time zone where the organization is located (common vocabulary required)
• profile or narrative description including the organization's mission, goals, etc.
• geographic scope of service area (common vocabulary required)
• type of program (common vocabulary required)
• topic hub expertise (programs are directly related to hubs if applicable)
• services offered by the organization (common vocabulary required)
• clients served by the organization (common vocabulary required)

TimeZone Vocabulary Eastern Central Mountain Pacific Atlantic Other GeoServiceArea Vocabulary National   State   Regional     Local   International

ProgramType Vocabulary Federal Government State Government Local Government Educational Institution Non-Profit Vendor Consultant Small Business Assistance Program NIST - Manufacturing Extension Program Recycling Program Material Exchange Program Small Business Development Center Energy Efficiency Program

Services Vocabulary (Daeho is looking at what is currently in use and a predefined list will be constructed) Awards Bank Loans Compliance (assistance) Computer modeling Curricula Energy Auditing Facility Design Inspection (delete?) Intern Programs Internet (delete?) Grants in Aid Information Services Library Materials Exchange Permits Site Assessments Research Training Technology Verification Hotlines Workshops Other

Clients Vocabulary (of the oranganization being described) Educational Institutions Industrial Organizations Non-profit Organizations Small Business Administrative Agencies Consumers

Additional description of what expertise programs offer is recorded in the database by "Sector", "Process" and Material". (Need to make new fields for each of these???). Centers or programs in the database may self-describe what they do (not using a pre-defined list of terms). If terms are used that are not currently in the P2 Thesaurus/keywords list, they will be added to the P2Rx central keywords table as "pending" until a review changes their status to "approved" or "disapproved".

A sample data input form that visually shows the descriptive information requested for each program is shown in the sample display document (on pages 1 and 2).

3. National Directory Search -

The National Programs Directory will offer the user both simple and advanced search options. The simplest level of searching will include the following options:

• Search by state (drop-down list)
• Search by area of expertise (drop-down list; areas offered will be topic hubs)
• Search by word or phrase (user types in a word or phrase - searches all fields)

A visual of the search is shown in the sample display document (on page 4).

Collection Maintenance

Information about programs is maintained regionally to insure accuracy not possible at the national level.

1. Regional Maintenance - When a new program is included in the database, the regional P2Rx Center will input data as they know or can find on the organization's web site. The program will then be asked to verify the information for accuracy and completeness. At least annually, P2Rx Centers will contact each program they have cataloged to check accuracy and update information as needed. Organizations will also be asked to rate their satisfaction with and use of the the national and/or regional Programs Directory by means of several short answer questions. Do we need to develop a couple of questions?

2. National Maintenance - If Centers are requesting changes to the National Directory, they will submit updates in a format prescribed by the managing P2Rx Center.

Additional work items discussed in Omaha 8/03

- add search engine page to allow EPA and other search engines access to the data

- create wddx packet for other programs (e.g. ChemAlliance) to pull and republish the directory.

Contact Us

P2 Network / Web Library / Directory / Topic Hubs™ / Search
Operated by MSU Extension Service / Funded by EPA Region 8 / Member P2Rx™