Assessing the Information Needs of Pollution Prevention Technical Assistance Providers in the Great Lakes Region

The Great Lakes Regional Pollution Prevention Roundtable (GLRPPR) is a professional organization that facilitates networking among and develops and promotes information resources and training for sustainability professionals in the Great Lakes region of the U.S. and Canada. GLRPPR’s four focus areas are: Green Chemistry and Engineering; Technical Assistance; Behavior Change and Sustainability; and Sustainable Electronics. Because these focus areas are very broad, GLRPPR contracted with the University of Illinois’ Survey Research Laboratory (SRL) to conduct a regional information needs assessment in 2014. The assessment was designed to determine how pollution prevention (P2) technical assistance providers in the region currently locate and access information; how they stay up-to-date in the field; how they prefer to receive training; and what training and information gaps exist within these broad focus areas. GLRPPR staff worked with the SRL project manager to develop an assessment instrument, obtain Institutional Research Board approval, and encourage GLRPPR members to respond to the request to provide feedback. The full needs assessment report is available in IDEALS, the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign’s institutional repository, at http://hdl.handle.net/2142/73269.