Topics Of Interest

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has allocated $5.4 billion in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Disaster Recovery funding to five states and New York City, representing the first round of CDBG grants from the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act of 2013 signed into law by President Obama on January 29. This is the fastest HUD has ever allocated CDBG funding to grantees following the passage of a funding bill.

The CDBG Disaster Recovery funding gives grantees significant flexibility in determining how best to use their funds to meet the greatest unmet needs. In general, the funds are intended for the restoration of housing and infrastructure as well as economic revitalization in disaster-impacted areas. The funds are to meet recovery needs that are not otherwise covered by insurance, FEMA, SBA, or other sources. HUD expects the first round of allocations to focus largely on housing and small business needs.

The allocations represent 34 percent of the $16 billion in CDBG funding included in the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act. The first allocation is distributed as follows:

• New York City - $1.77 billion
• State of New York – $1.71 billion
• New Jersey – $1.83 billion
• Connecticut - $71.8 million
• Maryland - $8.6 million
• Rhode Island – $3.2 million

The White House has announced that applications are now being accepted for Round Round 2 of the Presidential Innovation Fellows program.

Launched last year, the Presidential Innovation Fellows program recruits top innovators and entrepreneurs from the private sector for 6-12 month "tours of duty" in government to help develop innovative solutions in areas of national significance.

For additional information and the application link, please visit the February 5, 2012 blogpost by Todd Park, US Chief Technology Officer, and Steven VanRoekel, US Chief Information Officer.

The authors note, in part: "We are also inviting applications from those who would like to help launch the following new projects:

• Disaster Response and Recovery will collaboratively build and "pre-position" critical tech tools ahead of future emergencies or natural disasters in order to mitigate economic damage and save lives.
• Cyber-Physical Systems will work with government and industry to create standards for a new generation of inter operable, dynamic, and efficient "smart systems"—an "industrial Internet"—that combines distributed sensing, control, and data analytics to help grow the economy and new high-value American jobs.
• 21st Century Financial Systems will work to move the financial accounting systems of Federal agencies out of the era of large-scale, agency-specific implementations to one that favors more nimble, modular, scalable, and cost-effective approaches.
• Innovation Toolkit will develop a suite of tools that empowers our Federal workforce to respond to national priorities more quickly and more efficiently.
• Development Innovation Ventures will help enable the US government to identify, test, and scale breakthrough solutions to the world's toughest problems."

The competitiveness of U.S. businesses and their ability to hold and return manufacturing jobs to the United States will depend in part on success in advanced manufacturing, according to a report recently released by the National Governors Association (NGA).

Advanced manufacturing applies to both the production of tailor-made goods aimed at specific individuals and industry users and an array of product and process innovations being adopted by manufactures that include robotics, nanotechnologies and advanced materials. "Making" Our Future: What States Are Doing to Encourage Growth in Manufacturing through Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Investment chronicles the progress of eight states in preparing new strategies intended to build a foundation for success in advanced manufacturing by combining workforce education and support for business innovation, university-industry partnerships and public and private sector entrepreneurship.

"Making" Our Future focuses on the results of an NGA Center for Best Practices Policy Academy where teams from eight states -- California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Kansas, Massachusetts, New York and Pennsylvania -- participated in an intensive, year-long strategic planning process to support advanced manufacturing. Together, these states represent 30 percent of total manufacturing gross domestic product, one-third of U.S. manufacturing jobs and more than 25 percent of U.S. exports of manufactured goods.

As a result of the NGA Policy Academy, states:

• Established new programs;
• Redesigned organizations or created new ones;
• Passed legislation; and
• Secured funding allocations for their manufacturing priorities.

This report offers all states a unique look at the policy steps taken by the eight states to encourage growth in manufacturing through innovation, entrepreneurship and investment.

NGA collaborated with and received funding support from the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology Manufacturing Extension Partnership Program and the U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration. To learn more, please visit www.nga.org/cms/center/ehsw.

News Release

The NGA Center for Best Practices' Economic, Human Services & Workforce (EHSW) Division focuses on best practices, policy options, and service delivery improvements across a range of current and emerging issues, including economic development and innovation, workforce development, employment services, research and development policies, and human services for children, youth, low-income families, and people with disabilities.

Also see:

Advanced Manufacturing Competency Model

The American National Standard Institute (ANSI), coordinator of the U.S. voluntary standardization system, and the Interstate Renewable Energy Council, Inc. (IREC) are pleased to announce that the ANSI-IREC program for the accreditation of renewable energy and energy efficiency certificate programs has completed its pilot phase and is now accepting general applications.

The program, which began in pilot form in January 2012, evaluates certificate-awarding schools, colleges and other institutions against requirements for equipment, curriculum, facilities, administration, and personnel set forth in the IREC Standard 14732: 2013, General Requirements for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Certificate Programs. Accreditation under the ANSI-IREC program demonstrates to students, policymakers, funders, and employers that programs have demonstrated meeting all requirements in the standard and provides third-party verification that certificate programs have demonstrated meeting the requirements for issuing a market-valued certificate. Students who have graduated from an ANSI-IREC accredited program will improve the quality of work in the marketplace and help to establish benchmarks for the renewable energy and energy efficiency sector.

Successful applicants will join three organizations currently accredited against the prestigious 14732 Standard:  CalCERTS, Midwest Renewable Energy Association, and National Solar Trainers.

The ANSI-IREC program follows the evaluation process outlined in the international standard ISO/IEC 17011, which represents the highest globally accepted practices for accreditation bodies. Under this process, trained assessors review documents submitted by applicants, conduct on-site assessments, and make recommendations to the accreditation committee.

Program staff will host a February 14 webinar to discuss the new Program. Register here to take part in the webinar.
For more information, visit the program website, or contact ANSI’s Diana Singhavong (DSinghavong@ansi.org) or IREC’s Pat Fox (patfox@irecusa.org).

The Annual Update of the HHS Poverty Guidelines was published in the Federal Register on January 24, 2013.

2013 HHS Poverty Guidelines

Also see:
Employment and Training Administration’s Lower Living Standard Income Level Guideline Webpage