Talk About Civil Engineering is taking the week off.

Best wishes for a safe and happy new year! See you in 2009!

You may have noticed that infrastructure has been in the news a lot lately – particularly when it comes to discussion of infrastructure investment as part of a federal stimulus package. Are you wondering how to make your Section or Branch’s opinion part of the discussion? Perhaps it’s a good time to consider pitching an op-ed to your local newspaper.

In a previous post, we talked about letters to the editor. Today, we’re going to take that a step further and focus on op-eds.

An op-ed is similar to a letter to the editor – it shares an opinion – but it’s a bylined article that you’ve pitched to your local paper. (“Pitching” refers to the letters, emails or phone calls made to editors and reporters suggesting story or op-ed ideas.) An op-ed isn’t written in direct response to a particular news article, but offers an opinion on a topic that has been in the news recently.

Let’s start with an example. Perhaps water infrastructure is of particular concern in your community because the city received a consent decree due to sanitary and storm sewer issues. As a result of the decree, the city is evaluating the existing water infrastructure. This is a great opportunity for your Section or Branch to position itself as an expert on local infrastructure issues. Be sure to mention any work your Section or Branch is doing to increase public awareness of water infrastructure issues, such as outreach conducted in conjunction with the Liquid Assets documentary or your local Report Card.

Visit your local newspaper’s Web site and find the contact for op-eds. Send that person an email introducing yourself and outlining your proposed topic and author. (The author should be a prominent person from your Section or Branch, such as the president or Report Card committee chair.) If the newspaper expresses an interest in your topic, begin researching and drafting your piece. Remember, just because a newspaper expresses an interest in reviewing your op-ed doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll print it. Don’t get discouraged! You can always begin the process again at another outlet.

If published, many papers require that your submission be exclusive to their paper, so make sure to review each newspaper’s editorial policy.

And don’t forget – the Communications staff at ASCE National is available to answer any questions and help you along the way!

Have you successfully placed any letters to the editor or op-eds? Tell us about them. What worked or didn’t work for you?

Karen Albers
Manager, State Public Relations

Okay – your Section or Branch has decided it wants to develop a pre-college outreach program, or perhaps build upon its existing program. But where should you start? What tools should you use? ASCE’s pre-college outreach resources are available to all members and can help you turn your next K-12 outreach event into a successful, rewarding experience for all.

ASCE’s strategic plan includes a targeted objective to attract and retain talented individuals to the profession starting at the K-12 level. Plus, outreach events are a great way to build relationships with schools and other organizations in your community. We can help you figure out what type of activity would work best for your event based on the age group, location and time frame.

ASCE has an assortment of resource materials available. These materials can enhance your event and some are even designed to be distributed to students as an excellent take-home item. With help from our partners at PBS, we are able to provide members and educators with a free copy of activity guides from television shows such as FETCH with Ruff Ruffman, Design Squad and many more. We also have a variety of posters, brochures and postcards. Where can you learn more and order materials? Contact us and we can help assist you through this process.

Now that you know what resources ASCE can offer, the next step is to sign-up to be an outreach contact. As an outreach contact, you’ll receive information about training and volunteer opportunities in your local area along with updates on new materials and helpful resources. You can forward the information to your Section and Branch members to encourage participation in K-12 outreach and increase awareness of both ASCE’s national and your local outreach programs.

To create even more awareness of your outreach event, don’t forget to contact your local media! Many Sections have been successfully featured in their local newspaper or on a local television station, just by inviting the media to their event.

Don’t forget to send us an email with all your pre-college outreach needs and questions.

Have you conducted any outreach events recently? How’d it go? What resources did you use? Leave you comments below. We’d love to hear from you!

Shana Gipson
Senior Coordinator, Diversity and Pre-College Outreach

In a recent discussion during a PR University training session, a group of civil engineers discussed the nation’s crumbling infrastructure and the occasional challenges conveying this message to the public.

Many go “straight to the top” – voicing concerns directly to community leaders and politicians. It’s important these leaders hear our concerns, but we must remember they have many constituents with many different (and sometimes conflicting) agendas. The more individuals voicing a particular concern, the more the issue will resonate with their leaders.

Much like the strategies used in the recent election season, perhaps we should look more to a grassroots approach to talk about infrastructure. (And in the process, increase the number of voices!) Civil engineers can speak to chambers of commerce, churches and service organizations. (Bonus points to those of you who already do this!)

Civil engineers are savvy and passionate about this topic, but sometimes in voicing their concerns, the technical nuances or the astronomical costs to repair the infrastructure can overshadow the message. Put yourself in your audience’s shoes. Instead of arriving with PowerPoint displays and note cards, simply set the table for a discussion on how crumbling infrastructure affects each audience member in his or her day-to-day life and why it should be important to solve the problem.

When prodded, these audience members may start sharing stories about the “pothole obstacle course” near their home, the bogged down highway entrance ramp or rising energy costs. Share practical, personal solutions with them and then brainstorm other big-picture solutions. (And remember, they want to hear from you!)

If we can reach enough of these people and they convey their concerns to their leaders, perhaps the crumbling infrastructure issue can be moved to the forefront of the political discussion.

Have you spoken to any local organizations about infrastructure? Tell us how it went!

Anthony Reed
Manager, External Relations