2: Awareness and Partnerships
Expand the capacity of federal agencies to raise public awareness of civil rights and efficiently and effectively execute
their civil rights enforcement responsibilities by engaging in strategic partnerships
Other Information:
Working cooperatively and constructively with other federal agencies leverages Commission resources. Partnering, however,
is more than a cost-savings measure; it also creates an opportunity for the Commission to identify issues of mutual interest
or concern and make a significantly larger impact in the civil rights arena. In soliciting stakeholder input for the creation
of this strategic plan, the Commission reached out to a number of agencies with responsibility for enforcing federal civil
rights laws. Staff identified a number of opportunities for inter-agency cooperation and coordination. For instance, working
with one or more agencies to develop a government-wide portal (i.e., web site) for employment discrimination using “FirstGov”
as a model, sharing civil rights complaint data for the purpose of identifying trends and areas needing concentrated attention,
and partnering to produce public service announcements. 1. How the Goal Will be Achieved The Commission will partner or collaborate
with other federal agencies to increase or identify new ways in which they can more effectively and efficiently carry out
their civil rights program, develop and interpret civil rights laws and policies, and inform the public of civil rights enforcement
and remedies. The Commission will accomplish partnering on issues of mutual interests or concern by: • Studying the role and
effectiveness of the different federal enforcement agencies and making recommendations as to how those agencies might enhance
their effectiveness. • Partnering with other federal civil rights agencies to raise public awareness of civil rights laws,
remedies, and enforcement agencies. • Partnering with other civil rights agencies to collect and analyze data on various civil
rights topics. • Partnering with other civil rights agencies in studying the effectiveness of current civil rights laws, in
developing reasonable interpretations of unclear laws, and in making recommendations for updates or changes to current law.
Because the Commission is not an enforcement agency itself, it is in a unique position to provide leadership and advice on
civil rights enforcement within the executive branch. The Commission will incorporate into its program planning one report
per fiscal year that addresses how a particular civil rights agency might enhance its effectiveness. Partnering with other
federal agencies can be accomplished on both a formal and informal basis. In a formal relationship, the Commission will seek
to enter into at least one Memorandum of Understanding with another federal agency to complete a joint project that will raise
public awareness of civil rights laws. Additionally, the Commission will seek to collect data from other agencies on complaint
types which will inform both agencies on trends in discrimination. For example, such data collection may reveal differences
between geographic areas. These types of partnerships will serve to generate public awareness of civil rights laws. To provide
more direct guidance to civil rights agencies about the effectiveness of current laws, the Commission will seek to participate
in major civil rights working groups established by the executive branch. In this role, the Commission will be positioned
to issue guidance on enforcement efforts of current law, the development of new civil rights policy or enforcement efforts
and coordination with enforcement agencies during times of crisis. The partnerships between the Commission and federal enforcement
agencies will be useful to Congress in providing substantial insight and direction on proposed civil rights agenda items.
2. How Results Will Be Measured The Commission will position itself as a strategic asset in the Federal government’s common
mission to ensure equal opportunity for all under the law. Success will be measured in part by: • Producing one report annually
evaluating or studying the effectiveness of the civil rights program of one or more federal agencies, including conducting
exit or follow-up activities with agencies. • Implementing a memorandum of understanding with at least one federal agency
aimed at raising public awareness of civil rights laws. • Participating in at least one major executive branch civil rights
working group annually with a particular interest in those areas where the Commission has invested investigative resources
in the past and areas where the Commission has explicit statutory authority such as voting rights. • Providing assistance
to members of the public who seek advice and information about protecting their civil rights by offering a complaint referral
service to various federal, state, and local resources. • Participating in inter-agency working groups responsible for developing
and proposing civil rights policy as substantive experts. • Increasing Commission participation in public policy symposia
and venues in which the agency can share its expertise, including research and studies, on civil rights policies. • Posting
all Commission meeting and briefing transcripts, and approved reports, on the Commission’s website. • Cooperating and coordinating
with civil rights enforcement agencies during times of national emergencies, such as significant natural disasters and homeland
security emergencies, to support the continuity of civil rights protections and enforcement.
Objective(s):
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