Region 11 Dept. of Education Grant
Designing a scalable, audience-centered communications system to align stakeholders and support a multi-state education initiative.
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Context
As the U.S. Department of Education consolidated Comprehensive Centers from 19 to 13, Region 16 sought to lead the newly formed Region 11 Comprehensive Center, serving five states.
The proposal required a communications and engagement plan that could reach diverse audiences, align stakeholders across geographies, and support long-term, equity-focused systems change—all within the constraints of academic-style federal grant writing with multi-level stakeholder input.
Strategy
- Design a continuous improvement communications system grounded in audience, outcomes, messaging, and evaluation.
- Align narrative with principles of targeted universalism and shared stewardship.
- Translate complex policy and research into accessible, narrative-driven communication.
- Identify strengths, gaps, and opportunities to continuously refine strategy and approach.
Tactics
- Develop a comprehensive communications and engagement framework spanning outreach, storytelling, and feedback loops.
- Define priority audiences and desired outcomes (know / feel / do) to guide messaging and dissemination.
- Establish channel strategies aligned with audience behavior and access.
- Integrate evaluation metrics to assess effectiveness and inform ongoing optimization.
outcome
A cohesive, scalable communications plan designed to position Region 11 to engage educators, families, Tribal leaders, and policymakers across five states.
The final deliverable balanced federal requirements with clear, accessible narrative, strengthening alignment and laying the foundation for sustained, equity-centered engagement.
R11CC Communications plan
Client
Region 16 Comprehensive Center
My Roles
Research, writing
Context
The Region 16 Comprehensive Center, funded by the U.S. Department of Education in 2019 as part of a five-year grant cycle, supported State Education Agencies (SEAs) in Alaska, Oregon, and Washington with initiatives in literacy, Native education, and community engagement.
As the grant cycle ended in 2024 and the Department consolidated its centers from 19 to 13, Region 16 submitted a proposal to lead the newly formed Region 11 Comprehensive Center, serving Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington.
Deliverable
I developed a comprehensive communications and engagement plan for the Region 11 Comprehensive Center (R11CC), prioritizing culturally sustaining, accessible, and inclusive communication strategies to engage diverse audiences across five states, including educators, families, Tribal leaders, and policymakers.
The plan leverages principles of targeted universalism and shared stewardship. It features strategic outreach, storytelling tactics, feedback mechanisms, and a robust communications toolkit to foster transparency, build trust, and drive equity-focused systems change.
While meeting the U.S. Department of Education's requirement for an academic writing style, I ensured the proposal aligned with Region 16's brand voice, blending accessible, engaging narrative with evidence-based approaches to craft a compelling yet research-backed communications and engagement plan.
An earlier, abbreviated version of this plan, which I expanded, was co-developed with Kristen Jaudon of Educational Service District 113; Kristen also handled the branding and design for the R11CC proposal.
