Review comments on final draft CCA reports-WF-12-23-19Hi Wayne -
I hope you don't mind me taking the liberty of sending the format guidance to the Pauls just now. I recognized you're probably in the final stages but also that I am not up to speed
on the current status of the deliverables. Hopefully this is still timely.
One question I had for you was where you landed on the decision to have one synthesized output vs. multiple documents?
I confess I haven't had a chance to give all 4 as thorough a read as I'd intended, particularly the Local Power ones which are long and dense reads. From my skimming, I did notice some
differences that go beyond style, MA-focus, and each consultants' perspective on the scope of "green program" activities that should be under the umbrella of CCA (something I know has
been a sticking point re combining outputs).
One such difference may be worth calling attention to: Local Power's language and framing with respect to race and class.
The phrase "the poor." This appears in both documents, and is often considered dated and perhaps paternalistic or even classist. Terms like low income (communities), LMI, disadvantaged,
underprivileged are generally preferred, at least in the U.S. and quite consistently within USDN. All that said, I think this is a difference between US and UK english and culture and
is probably a matter of opinion. Nevertheless my read is that some within the USDN community may find it jarring or inappropriate.
The racial framing of the national guidance. The opening of the Historical Context section felt concerning to me, particularly referencing slaves as "uncompensated labor" and the equivalency
implied by its juxtaposition with draft animals. USDN does not shy away from calling out racism as a driver of discrimination and disadvantage but this framing raises red flags. Moreover,
I found this section to be unnecessarily pontification that doesn't really advance the goals of the project so cutting back on the contextualization overall may be advisable in any case.
I'm happy to hop on the phone with you if it would be helpful to discuss any of the above and will otherwise defer to your judgment on if or how to raise these points or make changes
to the documents once they are delivered to you.
Apologies for the late input and also if any of the above is rendered moot by feedback already given or other changes already made!