Chancellor’s Office
California Community Colleges
Economic Development and Workforce Preparation Division
REQUEST FOR APPLICATIONS
FOR NEW GRANT AWARD
Specifications, Instructions
Terms, and Conditions
Workforce Innovation Partnerships (WIPs)
Request for Application
FISCAL YEAR 2009-2010
Governor’s Career Technical Education Initiative
(SB 70/1133)
Due Date: No Later Than 5 p.m.
March 12, 2010
RFA Specification for New Grant Award
RFA Specification Number:09-142
RFA Specification Title:Workforce Innovation Partnerships
Career Technical Education/Economic and Workforce Development
Division Vice Chancellor:José Millan
Program Staff Contact:Jackie Escajeda
Funding Performance Period:May 1, 2010 – January 31, 2012
Funding Category:Career Technical Education/Economic Development Pathways
Total Amount Available:$2,700,000
Maximum Award Amount:$150,000
Number of Awards:18
Match Required:10% of Grant Award
I.Introduction
II.Program Overview
III.Category for Which Funding is Available
IV.Eligibility/Fiscal Agent
V.Application Format and Instructions
A.Partners
B.Contact Information (Fiscal Agent)
C.Project Team
D.Project Abstract
E.Project Justification
F.Project Methodology
G.Sectors
VI.Application Budget Summary
A.Indirect Administrative Costs
B.Matching Funds
C.Travel
VII.Change Summary
VIII.Face Sheet
IX.Overall Feasibility of the Project
X.Statewide Representation
XI.Legal Terms and Conditions
XII.Calendar of Key Dates
To qualify for the Workforce Innovation Partnerships (WIPs) grant, the applicant must currently manage a Career Technical Education (CTE) Community Collaborative Project. The CTE Community Collaborative grant serves as a foundation to support the Workforce Innovation Partnerships grant.
I.Introduction
This Request for Applications (RFA) Specification describes the project requirements for theWorkforce Innovation Partnership application. This is an onlineapplication, When preparing an application for this project, applicants must use the Instructions contained in this document and the online application guide located within the online application entitled Online Project Instruction. These Instructions contain the required elements for the application and must be followed in developing the proposals and implementing the projects.
Applicants are encouraged to review the Grants and Contracts Guidelines, ( which aredesigned to assist college staff in preparing applications or administering grants. It is organized to follow, as closely as possible, the chronological steps in the grant process from development of an RFA to the submission and review of reports.
Applications must be submitted using the format and sequence described in these Instructions and address the RFA Specifications for the project for which funding is sought.
II.Program Overview
The intent of the Workforce Innovation Partnerships (WIPs) grant is to develop projects such as 2 + 2 programs and create career pathways aligned with selected Economic and Workforce Development (EWD) Program Strategic Priority Areas (see below) to prepare the future workforce of California with the skills needed for emerging high skill, high opportunity industry areas, and add alternatives for those not immediately pursuing a four-year degree.
EWD Program Strategic Priority Areas:
- Advanced Transportation Technologyand Energy;
- Applied Competitive Technologies/Manufacturing;
- Biotechnologies/Biosciences;
- Environment, Health, Safety, and Homeland Security (Environmental Technologies);
- Geographic Information Systems (GIS)/Geographic Positioning Systems (GPS);
- Allied Health Occupations; and
- Multimedia/Entertainment.
Participating colleges must have expertise in economic and workforce development, demonstrative faculty support, and a strong capacity to implement extremely visible, high impact projects that can demonstrate needed innovations in the area of CTE. High schools must have a pathway focus or small learning community format which provides a ready 2 + 2 linkage. Projects will use economic development strategies and build on regional economic trends, targeting high wage, high skill jobs of the future for students. High school students should benefit by having clear pathways to exciting career fields and a better understanding of future high wage, high skill jobs. Community colleges’ strengths in economic and workforce development will aid in providing applied academics.
Moreover, the Workforce Innovation Partnerships shall be workforce and business development driven with advisory input from faculty, administrators, practitioners and managers from business, labor, and industry. Projects will work with regional partners to efficiently support and respond to employer, student and workforce needs through the system’s community colleges and their partners. Projects should strive to identify high quality career pathways and training priorities and focus resources for high growth sectors and develop innovative service delivery projects with the flexibility to meet the demand for new and emerging growth sectors and be formed, modified, eliminated, and reformed for short- or long-term responses customized to the duration of the need.
III.Category for Which Funding is Available
The following category is available for funding in this RFA:
RFASpecification Number / Specification Title / Number of Grants Available / Funds Available perGrant / Term of Grant09-142
/ Workforce Innovation Partnerships / 18 / $150,000 / 21 monthsIt is the intent of the Chancellor’s Office that all regions of the State be represented in the distribution of the grants, in a variety of industry sectors, and with a variety of program models. Therefore, the CCCCO reserves the right for making final awards.
IV.Eligibility/Fiscal Agents
Only California Community College districts are eligible to be the fiscal agents for these grants. However, funded projects must have a pre-approved CTE Community Collaborative with the required partners, which include all applicable K-12 districts, community colleges, ROCPs and adult schools within the service area; business and industry participation; and the collaborative utilizes a shared management or steering committee that is representative of its members to provide planning, coordination, and broad advisory oversight.
V.Application Format and Instructions
The following instructions prescribe the format and sequence for the development and presentation of the application. In order to receive the highest possible score, the application format instructions must be followed, all questions must be answered, and all requested data must be supplied. Applicants will have to provide a needs statement, a project workplan, an abstract, a budget summary, and budget detail for this RFA. Applicants are required to use the online system to complete the application.
The Chancellor’s Office may require the applicant to make adjustments in the budget, project workplan, or other aspects of the application prior to funding the grant.
A.Partners
In the Partner section, provide partner name, contact name, title, phone number, email address and mailing address of the contact person in each partner office.
B.Contact Information (Fiscal Agent)
In this section, each of the following will need to be inputted, along with their contact information, such as Name, Title, Phone, Fax, and Email:
- District Superintendent/President (or authorized Designee)
- Responsible Administrator (Appropriate Program Area - Cannot be the same as the Project Director)
- Project Director
- Business Officer Project Director (Person responsible for conducting the daily operation of the grant)
- Grant Writer (As appropriate)
C.Project Team
In this section, you will designate which of the partners (including but not limited to the community college applying) will be on the Project Management and Project Advisory Committee. We encourage you to work with your collaborative and obtain their input and decisions on priorities to be supported by this RFA.
D.Project Abstract
This section is designed to allow the applicant to summarize the overall intent of the application. This is the opportunity the applicant has to “sell” the application. It is limited to 4000 characters (not words), and should be clear and concise. Provide a description of the intent of the project including the objectives below:
- Optimize access to community colleges' economic and workforce development services.
- Develop strategic public and private sector partnerships.
- Collaborate with local economic development agencies, the private sector, labor and community groups to identify strategic priority areas and innovative solutions.
- Develop and implement projects that act as catalysts for the development and improvement of future CTE programs in the community college system.
- Working in partnership with K-12 and ROCPs, maximize and leverage the resources of the California Community Colleges partners to fulfill its role as the primary provider in fulfilling the vocational education and training needs of California business and industry.
- Collaborate in partnerships to deliver services that meet statewide and regional needs in any of the following areas that attract, retain, and expand businesses: workforce, business development, technology transfer, and trade needs.
- Identify, acquire, and leverage community colleges and other vocational training resources when possible, to support local, regional, and statewide economic and workforce development.
E.Project Justification
The Workforce Innovation Partnershipsapplicants will be required to provide narrative to justify actions. Narrative boxes will be provided to capture this information.
In this section, the Statement of Need will be inputted. Please note that the Statement of Need is limited to 1000 characters (not words). This is also where the scope of the problem being addressed will be inputted, and whether the scope of the problem is a local, regional, and/or a statewide issue. You will need to support the scope of the problem with reference source(s) for substantiation of need statement. This information could come from a variety of resources, including but not limited to, Labor Market Information Division data, Centers of Excellence Scans, Department of Labor data, etc. This information must include the needs in the K-12 (middle schools, high schools, and ROC/Ps) andcommunity colleges that do not fall into any of the above categories. An inventory of existing CTE related resources within proposed service areas is also required within this section. This is meant to include high level detail, such as “This area has 2 Regional Occupational Centers and Programs, 1 Workforce Investment Board, and 4 CTE pathways established.” There is a 500 character limit to each text box, so be clear and concise.
Need Statement
a. Scope of problem being addressed:
Local
Regional
Statewide
b. Reference source(s) for substantiation of need statement
c. Target group(s)
Middle schools
K-12
CCC
Out of school youth
d. Inventory of existing CTE related resources within proposed service area
Funded SB 70 projects
Economic Workforce Development projects
Tech Prep Pathways
Partnership Academies
F.Project Methodology
This is the section in which the applicant will detail their methodology. It includes the following sections (which are limited to 500 characters each):
- Describe Proposed Methodologies and solutions that will address the identified need.
- Describe the CTE Community Collaborative and the roles partners play.
- Describe the capacity of the applicant to successfully implement the project.
This section also includes the question “Although not required and not a funding requirement, does the project include a "Green" theme?” Green is a term used to imply that a service, product or technology is environmentally friendly (i.e. Sustainable).
G.Sectors
A budget detail must be completed for each Sector. The dollar amounts for the budget detail will populate into the budget summary; however, the applicant must verify the accuracy of the calculations,and must not exceed the grant amount.
In general, projects will be described either by industry sector(s) chosen, or “across all industry sectors.” A drop down menu will allow single or multiple industry sectors to be chosen.
Applicants will choose from California Basic Educational Data System (CBEDS) Course Codes and Definitions to identify which secondary CTE educational opportunities will be offered. Information on CBEDS codes is available at See CTE section. Applicants will choose California Community Colleges TOPS codes that connect with each chosen industry sector. Information regarding these codes is available at
Using a drop down menu, multiple proposed activities or grant supported areas will be indicated for the industry sector. Below is a preliminary listing of proposed activities or grant supported areas:
1.Academic Counseling
2. Advertising
3. Advisory Councils
4. Articulation
5. Career Exploration Development for 7th & 8th Graders
6. Career Guidance
7. Communication Costs
8. Curriculum development
9. Direct Administrative Expense (5% of the grant)
10. Dropout Prevention and Reentry
11. Dual Enrollment/Concurrent Enrollment
12. Education and business partnerships - Develop/Improve
13. Equipment
14. Institutional Memberships
15. Instructional Equipment Purchase/Replacement
16. Instructional Materials Purchase/Replacement (including software)
17.Integration of Academic and Career Technical Instruction
18. Labor Market & Workforce Research/Needs Assessment of Business and Industry
19. Maintenance and Repair Costs
20. Meeting Expenses
21. Outreach Strategies to Encourage Parent Participation
22. Outreach Strategies to Encourage School/College Personnel Participation
23. Outreach Strategies to Encourage Student Participation
24. Placement Services
25. Preparatory Services
26. Professional and Consultant Services
27. Professional Development (in-service) for Administrators
28. Professional Development (in-service) for Counselors
29. Professional Development (in-service) for teachers, and/ or faculty
30. Program External Coordination -Consultation with Business, Industry, Institutions of Higher Education, and Labor Organizations
31. Program Marketing and Outreach
32. Programs of Study - Develop/Improve
33. Publication and Printing Costs
34. Supplies/Materials
35. Teacher and Faculty Externships in Business and Industry
36. Travel - In state
37. Travel - Out of state
38. Travel - International
39. Work-based Learning (internships, cooperative education, school-based enterprises, job shadowing, etc.)
40. Other (specific in narrative box)
For each activity indicated, complete the following:
1) Start date
2)End date
3)Responsible party
4)Current status, including quantitative description (as appropriate)
5)Anticipated improvement or outcome, include quantitative descriptions (as appropriate)
6)Indicate if activity is on-site or off-site.
VI.Application Budget Summary
The purpose of the budget is to indicate that the project is well planned and reasonable in scope. A sub-budget for the industry sector project will be required. It will be composed as a budget detail. The database will roll up multiple sub-budgets and create one Budget Summary.
There is a requirement of matching funds, which is 10 percent of the grant total. In the Budget Summary, the applicant must indicate the amount of the matching funds and provide a description of the matching funds. Matching funds can also be in-kind, such as donated equipment, staff time, etc.
Complete an Application Budget Summary. (See RFA Specification for details.) When entering dollar amounts, round to the nearest dollar. Do not include cents.
1.An applicant may not propose to use grant funds to cover staff costs or to compensate any outside individual or firm for services associated with preparing the grant application.
2.Equipment purchases may not exceed 25% of total grant funds. Equipment purchases must be justified as dedicated and necessary for successful implementation of the project. Applicants intending to purchase equipment must justify the purchase in terms of the intended usage of the equipment and its accessibility to multiple users. (Note: See Article II, paragraph 19, in the Appendix regarding property purchased with program funds.)
A.Indirect AdministrativeCosts
The indirect administrative costs (overhead) for this project cannot exceed four percent (4%) of the total direct costs (line 8 of the Application Budget Summary). This amount must be subtracted before taking a percentage of the total. The indirect cost line item number nine may not exceed four percent (4%) of the total direct cost line item number eight.
Use the following formula:
Total grant - (total grant/1.04) = indirect administrative costs.
Example 1: $200,000 – ($200,000/1.04) = $7,692
Total grant = $200,000 = $192,308 + $7,692
B.Matching Funds
A key factor in considering the award of funds is the commitment of partners. Projects are required to show a 10 percent match to Program funding. Matching resources may come from various sources and may be cash or in-kind. Additional match from outside sources indicates a stronger project. Match must be dedicated to the real costs of the project.
Examples of match include, but are not limited to:
- Staff time of industry partners attending advisory committee meetings or serving as mentors to students and/or faculty.
- Facilities donated by industry for classes and/or meetings.
- Paid internships (business partners paying students’ salaries)
- Federal grants (example: faculty/staff salary directly related to this project)
- Other state grants directly related to this project.
- Foundation grants directly related to this project.
- Categorical funds directly related to this project.
- Equipment donationsdirectly related to this project.
NOTE: Grantees will be expected to report all match actually generated in the final report.
C.Travel
District travel and reimbursement policies apply for Travel (Object 5000). Only travel necessary to implement the project is allowed. List the purpose of travel and estimated cost.
If the grantee intends to use any project funding for out-of-state travel, a detailed explanation and justification must be provided on an out-of-state travel form. List any proposed out-of-state travel as a separate line item in the budget. The project monitor must approve out-of-state travel in advance for the district to be reimbursed. Out-of-State travel to Hawaii and Alaska are not allowable.
This grant will start its performance on May 1, 2010. Funds must be either expended or encumbered (i.e., committed to an account payable) by January 31, 2012. Unencumbered funds will be recovered and revert to the State General Fund. The performance period and term of the individual grant will be on the grant agreement face sheet that is signed by all of the parties to the agreement. Budgets need not be broken down by fiscal year.
VII.Change Summary
No information required for this RFA