Diversity Relevancy and Inclusion

NPS Urban Agenda, 2015
As the Service aspires to meet its Centennial goals, it is now time that the NPS strategically organizes its many parks and programs to build relevancy for all Americans. As the Urban Agenda was developed, many National Park Service employees and partners shared their pioneering stories that embrace the urban mission as a critical component of our second century of National Park stewardship. The Agenda calls all urban park practitioners to embrace three bold principles:

- Be Relevant to All Americans
- Activate "ONE NPS"
- Nurture a Culture of Collaboration

Beyond Outreach Handbook: A Guide to Designing Effective Programs to Engage Diverse Communities, 2011
Engaging the full spectrum of Americans in the stewardship of our parks and special places is now recognized as crucial to the future of our national park system. This handbook represents an important tool to assist National Park Service (NPS) managers and practitioners and their partners in developing programs that successfully connect diverse communities with their local national parks. It guides practitioners through an assessment that identifies gaps in readiness and informs the development of an effective engagement strategy. The handbook is based on a research project that probed what constitutes good practices for engaging diverse communities and enhancing the relevancy of the national park system.

Stronger Together: A Manual on the Principles and Practices of Civic Engagement, 2009
In recent years, the NPS and its partners have undertaken various activities that have led to a deeper reflection on the importance of civic engagement in helping the public participate in dialogue and reflect on the value of American places and their resources and stories. The cumulative learning from these activities has informed this manual.

Engaging Young Adults in a Sustainable Future: Strategies for National Parks and Other Special Places 2009
The purpose of this project was to inform the National Park Foundation’s (NPF) program development strategy for engaging young adults age 18 to 25 in environmental sustainability through collaboration with national parks and their partners and communities. This project positions the NPF to capitalize on research- and experienced-based knowledge about engaging young adults in the design of new initiatives. Program development for this key age group is an essential part of the NPF’s overall strategy of engaging the full spectrum of youth audiences.

Keeping National Parks Relevant in the 21st Century, 2006 At the request of then Northeast Regional Director Bomar, the Conservation Study Institute prepared a report on a conference convened by the NPS Northeast Regional Office (NER) and the National Parks Mid-Atlantic Council at Independence NHP, October 14-15, 2005. The conference brought people together to have a serious conversation on relevancy and engaging an increasingly diverse population. This conference was described as a “foundational conversation: with the intent that there would be an ongoing dialogue and programs in the NER." Two task groups were created to carry this work forward.