$6 million for Erie airport

July 12, 2010 [From Congresswoman Dahlkemper's website] Erie, Pa.—Congresswoman Kathy Dahlkemper (PA-3) presented a ceremonial check for $5,990,221 to the Erie International Airport to complete the funding package for the first phase of construction for the Runway 6-24 Improvement Project.

“We are delivering the final piece of funding with this $6 million check,” Congresswoman Dahlkemper said. “This federal funding will allow the first construction phase of this project to be completed on schedule, which is exciting for everyone given the positive impact the runway extension will have on the economy in Erie and the region.”

The improvements are expected to contribute significantly to the region’s economy by removing a major hindrance to existing corporate expansion. The airport runway extension is also expected to foster entrepreneurial business opportunities previously hampered by inadequate airport capacity.

CommunityMatters grants

The Strong Communities: Engaging Citizens, Strengthening Place, Inspiring Change competition is open to all types of individuals and organizations (charitable and non-profit organizations, private companies, or public entities). We consider all entries that:

• Reflect the theme of the challenge: Strong Communities: Engaging Citizens, Strengthening Place, Inspiring Change. The scope of the competition is to identify innovative projects and ideas that engage citizens to steer change and build strong communities across the United States and Canada. Entries are invited from individuals and organizations.
• Indicate growth beyond the conceptual stage and have demonstrated impact and sustainability. While we support new ideas at every stage and encourage their entry, the judges are better able to evaluate projects that are beyond the conceptual stage and have demonstrated a proof of impact.
• Are located in the United States or Canada.
• Are submitted in English.
• Have NOT received material support from the Orton Family Foundation.

CommunityMatters is interested in solutions from a variety of disciplines including (but not limited to) conservation, planning, economics, politics, education, deliberative democracy and the arts, and especially encourages submission of interdisciplinary approaches. CommunityMatters has a special interest in receiving submissions from young people.

Please complete the entire entry form and submit by August 11, 2010 US at 5:00 PM EDT. All decisions of the judges will be final.

EDA Innovation Awards

EDA is now soliciting applications for the 2010 Innovation in Economic Development Awards. The deadline for submitting an entry is August 27, 2010. Awards winners will be announced on October 27, 2010. EDA's Innovation in Economic Development Awards (Formerly the EDA Excellence Award Program) recognize innovative economic development projects or strategies of national significance. The awards are designed to showcase best practices and highlight outstanding results.

This year's award categories are:
# Innovation in Regional Innovation Clusters (RICs)
The entry advances the development of geographic concentrations of firms and industries that do business regionally, across sectors.
# Innovation in Commercialization
The entry promotes the commercialization of university research and technology, business incubators and research parks to foster job creation.
# Innovation in Global Export Promotion
The entry successfully promotes American goods overseas and manufacturing revitalization, bolstering competitiveness abroad and creating higher-skill, higher-wage jobs.
# Innovation in Green Technology
The entry promotes innovative strategies in the development of environmentally-friendly technology, projects, or partnerships that attract substantial private capital investment and create higher-skill, higher-wage jobs.

For information on the application process and selection criteria, download the Entry Brochure. Once you've read the Entry Brochure and are ready to submit your entry, Click Here for the online application form.

DOLETA seeks grant panelists

The Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (ETA) used a peer review process for the review and selection of Recovery Act grants. Building on the positive feedback, ETA has decided to continue this process for our appropriated competitive funds into the future.

To ensure an ongoing talent pool, ETA will recruit experts to serve as grant review panelists on a continuous basis. ETA is seeking a diverse pool of expertise from the workforce system, institutions of higher education, community and faith-based organizations, labor, business and industry partners, and other related organizations to review and score these applications along with federal staff. The resumes will be kept on file for future ETA competitions unless otherwise directed by applicants. We anticipate the wide ranging expertise of selected panelists in assisting us in continuing to award grants of the highest quality.

We welcome potential panelists with these particular areas of expertise:

• Delivering services in the Public Workforce Investment System;
• Analyzing labor market information and research;
• Administering or teaching in a technical college, a community college or a four year college with an interest in workforce connections;
• Creating or implementing an apprenticeship program;
• Creating or implementing a training program focused on career pathways, career clusters, or competency models;
• Developing or operating training or hiring outreach programs for energy efficiency and renewable energy businesses and related industries;
• Providing supportive services to individuals engaged in training;
• Recruitment or retention of out-of-school youth in job training programs;
• Human resources strategies within a business or industry;
• Experience and knowledge in implementing training programs with a track record in recruiting, placing and retaining populations with multiple barriers to employment (this population may include but is not limited to: seniors, veterans, displaced homemakers, low-income adults, disconnected youth, limited English proficient persons.)
• Designing or delivering:
• Clinical training in the health care industry;
• integrated basic reading, numeracy, writing or English language skills with occupational skills training.

Susan Harwood Training Grants

This notice announces grant availability of approximately $2.75 million for the Susan Harwood Training Grant Program for Targeted Topic training grants. The complete Harwood solicitation for grant applications (SGA) for Targeted Topic training grants is available at: http://www.grants.gov. Targeted Topic training grants will support the development of quality safety and health training materials and/ or the conduct of training for workers and/or employers at multiple worksites addressing one or more of the 30 occupational safety and health hazards OSHA has selected for this grant solicitation. The full list of selected training topics is listed in the solicitation for grant applications that is available on grants.gov. The Agency may award grants for some or all of the listed Targeted Topic training topics. Targeted Topic training grants will be awarded for a 12-month project performance period. Applications are due August 6, 2010.

Partnerships for Innovation

One of the general goals of the Partnerships for Innovation Program (PFI) is to stimulate the transformation of knowledge created by the research and education enterprise into innovations that create new wealth; build strong local, regional, and national economies; and improve the national well-being. Aligned with this goal, the PFI competition for FY 2011 funds will provide support for innovation capacity building to sustained, dynamic interactive knowledge-enhancing partnership groups composed of academic researchers and small business (as defined by the Small Business Administration (SBA)) practitioners focused on intense exploration, re-definition, and creation of novel platforms for translating research and moving it towards impact. The basic organizational core of each proposed knowledge-enhancing partnership group must be composed of an academic lead institution and, at a minimum, two small businesses.

These newly created partnership groups will provide small group process models for innovation, their hallmark being a collaboration in which research and its translation paths are shaped and expanded from both the research and the business perspectives. While the center-piece of this group is academe and small business, large businesses and non-profits may participate in this core knowledge-enhancement partnership unit, which in turn may be embedded in the broader network of a PFI partnership.

Expected Number of Awards: 11
Estimated Total Program Funding: $7,000,000

Rural Cooperative Development grants

Rural Cooperative Development grants are made for establishing and operating centers for cooperative development for the primary purpose of improving the economic condition of rural areas through the development of new cooperatives and improving operations of existing cooperatives. The U.S. Department of Agriculture desires to encourage and stimulate the development of effective cooperative organizations in rural America as a part of its total package of rural development efforts.