California Community Colleges Economic and Workforce Development Program

California Community Colleges Economic and Workforce Development Program

APPENDIXTO REQUEST FOR APPLICATIONS (RFA) SPECIFICATIONS

Attachment I

A.Education Code Section 88500 - 88551

Mission

Strategic Priority Areas

Responsibilities and Composition of the Advisory Committee

Criteria for Allocating Funds

Role of the Chancellor’s Office

Budget Act

Definitions

BRAIN Account

Legislative Intent for Program Services, Regional Centers, and Industry-Driven Regional Collaboratives

Eligible Activities

Career Technical Education Pathways Initiative

Job Development Incentive Training

Reporting

Program Sunset

B.Economic Development: "A Primary Mission of the California Community Colleges."

PART 52. CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY COLLEGES ECONOMIC AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

Mission

88500. The mission of the economic and workforce developmentprogram, subject to approval and amendment by the Board of Governorsof the California Community Colleges, shall include, but notnecessarily be limited to, all of the following:

(a) To advance California's economic growth and globalcompetitiveness through high quality education and services focusingon continuous workforce improvement, technology deployment, andbusiness development, consistent with the current needs of the state's regional economies.

(b) To maximize and leverage the resources of the CaliforniaCommunity Colleges to fulfill its role as the primary provider infulfilling the vocational education and training needs of California

business and industry.

(c) To work with representatives of business, labor, andprofessional trade associations to explore and develop newalternatives for assisting incumbent workers. A key objective is toenable incumbent workers to become more competitive in their region'slabor market, increase competency, and identify career paths toeconomic self-sufficiency and lifelong access to good-paying jobs.This includes, but is not necessarily limited to, career ladderapproaches.

(d) To collaborate with other state and local agencies, includingpartners under the federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (PublicLaw 105-220), and the Technology, Trade, and Commerce Agency, todeliver services that meet statewide and regional workforce, businessdevelopment, technology transfer, and trade needs that attract,retain, and expand businesses.

Strategic Priority Areas

(e) To develop local economic development agencies, the privatesector, and labor and community groups, innovative solutions, asneeded, in identified strategic priority areas, including, but notnecessarily limited to, advanced transportation, biotechnology, smallbusiness, applied competitive technologies, including computerintegrated manufacturing, production and continuous qualityimprovement, business and workforce improvement, environmentaltechnologies, health care delivery, multimedia/entertainment,international trade, and workplace literacy. Strategic priorityareas that may be explored if new or additional funding becomesavailable may include information technology, e-commerce and e-trade,and nanotechnology.

(f) To identify, acquire, and leverage community college and othervocational training resources when possible, to support local,regional, and statewide economic development.

(g) To create effective logistical, technical, and marketinginfrastructure support for economic development activities within theCalifornia Community Colleges.

(h) To optimize access to community colleges' economic developmentservices.

(i) To develop strategic public and private sector partnerships.

(j) To assist communities experiencing military base downsizingand closure.

Responsibilities and Composition of the Advisory Committee

88510. (a) The Board of Governors of the California CommunityColleges and the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges mayaward grants to districts for leadership in accomplishing the missionand goals of the economic and workforce development program, asdescribed in Section 88500.

(b) (1) The board of governors shall establish an advisorycommittee for the California Community Colleges Economic andWorkforce Development Program and determine the membership, pursuantto paragraph (2). The advisory committee shall guide overall programdevelopment, recommend resource development and deployment, andrecommend strategies for implementation and coordination of regionalbusiness resources. Based on new funding and information developedby the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges pursuant tosubdivision (d) and forwarded to the advisory committee, the advisorycommittee shall make recommendations to the chancellor and the boardof governors on whether new initiatives should be undertaken, andwhether existing initiatives should continue to be funded at theirexisting levels, their funding increased or decreased, or theirfunding terminated.

(2) The membership of the advisory committee shall includerepresentatives from labor; business; appropriate state agencies; afaculty representative; a classified employee representative; and onecommunity college chief executive officer representative from eachof the 10 regions of the California Community Colleges Economic andWorkforce Development Program.

(3) The advisory committee shall be organized so that its work isworkforce and business development driven, each leveraging the otherto achieve economic development.

Criteria for Allocating Funds

(c) The decision criteria for allocating funds to colleges shalltake into account all of the following:

(1) Regional workforce and business development needs.

(2) Emerging industries, labor market growth sectors, and gaps inservice provided by the community colleges of a region, as identifiedby the current regional business resource, assistance, andinnovation network infrastructure with identified strategic priorityareas.

(3) Performance of the college or district in the administrationand achievement of proposed results of recently awarded economicdevelopment projects.

(4) For service delivery projects, the cost of organizing,administering, and delivering proposed services relative to thenumber of clients to be served and the expected benefits. Forcapacity building projects, showing how the capacity of the collegeis improved in order to deliver services to employers and students.

(5) Demonstrated benefit to the college and faculty resulting fromthe services provided for in subdivisions (a), (b), (c), (h), and(j) of Section 88531.

Role of the Chancellor’s Office

(d) The chancellor's office shall provide systemwide oversight andevaluation of the economic and workforce development program.

(e) The chancellor may establish program requirements andperformance standards in the administration of the economic andworkforce development program and distribute funds as appropriate toimplement the program.

(f) The chancellor may provide technical assistance to communitycolleges for the purpose of improving the competitiveness of theirproposals.

(g) Funds shall be awarded for the program on a competitive basis.

(h) The chancellor, in awarding short-term competitive funds,shall take into account colleges in economically distressed urban andrural areas, and colleges that have not previously been successfulin the competitive bid process.

Budget Act

88515. This part shall be implemented only during those fiscalyears for which funds are appropriated for the purposes of this partin the annual Budget Act.

Program Definitions

88520. The following definitions govern the construction of thispart:

(a) "Business Resource Assistance and Innovation Network" meansthe network of projects and programs that comprise the CaliforniaCommunity Colleges Economic and Workforce Development Program.

(b) "California Community Colleges Economic and Workforce Development Program," "economic and workforce development program,"and "EDNet Program" mean the program.

(c) "Center" means a comprehensive program of services offered byone or more community colleges to an economic region of the state inaccordance with criteria established by the board of governors fordesignation as an economic and workforce development program center. Center services shall be designed to respond to the statewidestrategic priorities pursuant to the mission of the communitycolleges' economic and workforce development program, and to beconsistent with programmatic priorities, targeted industries,identified economic development, vocational education, businessdevelopment, and continuous workforce training needs of a region asidentified by regional business resource, assistance, and innovationnetwork infrastructure plans. Centers shall provide a foundation forthe long-term sustained relationship with businesses, labor, andcolleges in the region. They shall support, develop, and deliverdirect services to businesses, colleges, labor organizations,employees, and employers. Direct services shall include curriculumdevelopment, faculty training, assessment, one-on-one counseling,seminars, workshops, conferences, training, technology transfer, andeducational services. Centers shall provide developmental anddelivery support and technical assistance to colleges within theirregions as needed to meet the business and workforce education andtraining needs in their districts.

(d) "Industry cluster" means a geographic concentration oremerging concentration of interdependent industries with directservice, supplier, and research relationships, or independentindustries that share common resources and sell a significant portionof their goods or services outside of the region.

(e) "Industry-driven regional collaborative" means a regionalpublic, private, or other community organizational structure thatjointly defines priorities, delivers services across programs,sectors, and in response to, or driven by, industry needs. Theindustry-driven regional collaborative projects meet the needs andfill gaps in services that respond to regional business, employee,and labor needs. These service-delivery structures offer flexibilityto local communities and partners to meet the identified needs in aneconomic development region. Industry-driven regionalcollaboratives are broadly defined to allow maximum local autonomy indeveloping projects responding to the needs of business, industry,and labor. Industry-driven regional collaborative services respondto the statewide strategic priority pursuant to the mission of thecommunity colleges economic and workforce development program, andare consistent with the programmatic priorities, targeted industries,identified economic development, vocational education, andcontinuous workforce training needs of a region as identified byregional business resource, assistance, and innovation networkinfrastructure plans.

(f) "Initiative" is an identified strategic priority area that isorganized statewide, but is a regionally based effort to develop andimplement innovative solutions designed to facilitate thedevelopment, implementation, and coordination of community collegeeconomic development and related programs and services. Eachinitiative shall be workforce and business development driven by astatewide committee made up of community college faculty andadministrators and practitioners and managers from business, labor,and industry. Centers, industry-driven regional collaboratives, andother economic and workforce development programs performing servicesas a part of the implementation of an initiative shall coordinateservices statewide and within regions of the state as appropriate.

(g) "Job development incentive training" means programs thatprovide incentives to employers to create entry-level positions intheir businesses, or through their suppliers or prime customers, forwelfare recipients and the working poor.

(h) "Living wage" means family or personal incomes at or above 250percent of the poverty level, based on United States Census Bureaudata for the region. This definition may be amended upon review ofcurrent data and recommendation of the California Community CollegesEconomic and Workforce Development Program Advisory Committee andapproval of the board of governors.

(i) "Matching resources" means any combination of public orprivate resources, either cash or in-kind, derived from sources otherthan the economic and workforce development program fundsappropriated by the annual Budget Act, that are determined to benecessary for the success of the project to which they are applied. The criteria for in-kind resources shall be developed by the board ofgovernors, with advice from the chancellor and the CaliforniaCommunity Colleges Economic and Workforce Development ProgramAdvisory Committee, and shall be consistent with generally acceptedaccounting practices for state and federal matching requirements. The ratio of matching resources to economic and workforce developmentprogram funding shall be determined by the board of governors.

(j) "Performance improvement training" means training delivered bya community college that includes all of the following:

(1) An initial needs assessment process that identifies bothtraining and nontraining issues that need to be addressed to improveindividual and organizational performance.

(2) Consultation with employers to develop action plans thataddress business or nonprofit performance improvements.

(3) Training programs that link individual performancerequirements with quantifiable business measures, resulting indemonstrable productivity gains, and, as appropriate, job retention,job creation, or improvement in wages or living wages.

(k) "Region" means a geographic area of the state defined byeconomic and labor market factors containing at least one industrycluster and the cities, counties, or community college districts, orall of them, in the industry cluster's geographic area. For thepurposes of this chapter, "California Community College economicdevelopment regions" shall be designated by the board of governorsbased on factors, including, but not necessarily limited to, all ofthe following:

(1) Regional economic development and training needs of businessand industry.

(2) Regional collaboration, as appropriate, among communitycolleges and districts, and existing economic development, continuousworkforce improvement, technology deployment, and businessdevelopment.

(3) Other state economic development definitions of regions.

BRAIN Account

88525. The California Community Colleges Business ResourceAssistance and Innovation Network Trust Fund is hereby established inthe State Treasury as a special fund administered by the board ofgovernors. The board of governors may solicit direct contributionsfor deposit in the fund from various nonstate public and privatesources for the purpose of funding the California Community CollegesEconomic and Workforce Development Program. Special funds in thetrust shall be placed in a surplus money investment account to earninterest. Interest generated by funds deposited in this trust fundshall be reinvested in the fund, and may only be used to fundeligible projects and activities of the economic and workforcedevelopment program and related board of governors initiatives. Uponappropriation by the Legislature, the fund may be expended forpurposes of administering grants and contracts for providingservices, through the program, to public and private entities.

Legislative Intent for Program Services, Regional Centers,

and Industry-Driven Regional Collaboratives

88530. (a) It is the intent of the Legislature that the programsand services provided through the EDNet Program shall be flexible andresponsive to the needs identified through the statewide andregional planning process. Services shall be demand-driven, anddelivery structures shall be agile, performance-oriented,cost-effective, and contribute to regional economic growth andcompetitiveness. The use of economic and workforce developmentprogram centers, local economic development corporations,industry-driven regional collaboratives, and business networks,employers, and service providers shall provide a stable and flexibleresponse mechanism for the identification of training priorities andto focus resources on short-term intensive projects for high growthsectors. These networks shall have the flexibility to meet thedemand for new and emerging growth sectors and be formed, modified,eliminated, and reformed for short- or long-term responses customizedto the duration of the need. Programs and projects developed andimplemented at centers and industry-driven regional collaborativeprojects may act as catalysts for future vocational educationprograms in the system.

(b) It is the intent of the Legislature that centers shall beestablished as the long-term structure of the network's servicedelivery system. Centers shall provide regional sites to efficientlyrespond to employer and worker needs, and shall deliver services forthe strategic initiative areas pursuant to the mission of thecommunity colleges economic and workforce development program.

(c) It is the intent of the Legislature that industry-drivenregional collaboratives perform services as participants of regionalnetworks. Grants by industry-driven regional collaboratives shallprovide flexibility for local projects to assess and define theirindividual project needs. New local programs and equipment shall bekey components of these grants. Funding shall not be limited perproject, but shall be based on the merit and reasonable cost for theanticipated outcomes and performance of the project. Funding forindustry-driven regional collaboratives shall be limited to twoconsecutive fiscal years.

Eligible Activities

88531. Economic and workforce development program centers andCalifornia Community College participation in industry-drivenregional collaboratives may provide any or all of the followingservices and perform the following functions as participants ofnetworks, including, but not necessarily limited to, all of thefollowing:

(a) Curriculum development, design, and modification thatcontribute to workforce skill development common to industry clusterswithin a region.

(b) Development of instructional packages focusing on thetechnical skill specific to emerging occupations in targetedindustries and growing industry clusters.

(c) Faculty mentorships, faculty and staff development, in-servicetraining, and worksite experience supporting the new curriculum andinstructional modes responding to identified regional needs.

(d) Institutional support, professional development, andtransformational activities focused on removing systematic barriersto the development of new methods, transition to a flexible and moreresponsive administration of programs, and the timely andcost-effective delivery of services.

(e) The deployment of new methodologies, modes, and technologiesthat enhance performance and outcomes and improve cost effectivenessof service delivery or create new college programs.

(f) One-on-one counseling, seminars, workshops, and conferencesthat contribute to the achievement of the success of existingbusiness and foster the growth of new business and jobs in emergingindustry clusters.

(g) The delivery of performance-improvement training, which shallbe provided on a matching basis to employers to benefit workforceparticipants. This will promote continuous workforce improvement inidentified strategic priority areas, identified industry clusters, orareas targeted in the regional business resource assistance andinnovation network plans.

(h) Credit and noncredit programs and courses that contribute toworkforce skill development common to industry clusters within aregion or that focus on the technical skills specific to emergingoccupations in targeted industries and growing industry clusters, asidentified by regional needs assessment.

(i) Subsidized student internships on a cash or in-kind matchingbasis for program participants in occupational categories determinedto be consistent with the skill clusters necessary to be successfulin the identified strategic priority areas, identified industryclusters, or areas targeted by network infrastructure plans.

(j) Acquisition of equipment to support the eligible activitiesand the limited renovation of facilities to accommodate the deliveryof eligible services.

Career Technical Education and

Economic and Workforce Development Pathways Initiative

88532. (a) The board of governors shall assist economic andworkforce regional development centers and consortia, includingmiddle and junior high schools or high schools and regionaloccupational centers and programs, to improve linkages andcareer-technical education pathways between high schools andcommunity colleges for the benefit of pupils and students in botheducation systems. This assistance shall include all of thefollowing: