Insights into the Interactions between Educational Messages: Looking across Multiple Organizations Addressing Water Issues in Maricopa County, Arizona

Abstract

The public receives environmental information from a variety of sources. Evaluation of a single program or one organization's effort is incomplete. Through surveys and interviews, we evaluate the cumulative impact of outreach by 20 water-related organizations in Maricopa County, Arizona. Household water conservation is a topic addressed by 18 organizations whereas 2 share information on water policy. Similar foci across organizations may help reinforce messages about water conservation, quality, or drought, but can also lead to gaps in water education. These gaps may decrease the relevance of water information to some audiences. Future research should examine additional ways that interorganizational relationships affect the geography of information opportunities and its relevance to unique populations.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We acknowledge Bill Edwards and Kim Michel for help with the survey design and implementation, and Patricia Gober, Ann Kinzig, and three anonymous reviewers for their comments on earlier drafts. This material is based on work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. SES-0345945 Decision Center for a Desert City (DCDC). Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.