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MassDEP makes community engagement a scored priority for watershed grants
Summary
MassDEP said proposals must include "active and comprehensive" two‑way community engagement that reaches all members of affected communities; presenters cited youth engagement and multilingual signage examples as high‑scoring activities.
MassDEP staff emphasized that community engagement is central to scoring under both 604(b) and 319 funding streams and that the department will give prioritization points to projects that move beyond one‑way outreach. "Active and comprehensive community engagement is a central component of our proposal," Panmini said, urging applicants to go "beyond flyers" and to include inclusive, multilingual outreach where appropriate.
She highlighted examples from previous projects — youth science engagement from Mystic River Watershed Association and multilingual signage used by the City of Framingham and Town of Braintree — and said such initiatives can earn substantial selection points (she referenced figures in the 20–25 point range for strong engagement). Applicants were advised to document participation strategies and how engagement will be sustained from project start to finish.
