Workforce Innovation Fund

The Workforce Innovation Fund (“the Fund”) is one of several new Federal grant programs (including the Department of Education’s Investing in Education Fund (I3) and The Corporation for National and Community Service’s Social Innovation Fund) in which grantor agencies fund projects that seek to use evidence to design program strategies. Grants made under the Fund will provide funds to states, local workforce areas, and entities eligible to apply for WIA Section 166 grants to a) retool service delivery strategies and/or policy and administrative systems and processes to improve outcomes for workforce system customers and b) evaluate the effectiveness of such activities. Why are we interested in both service delivery innovation and systems reform? While employment and training outcomes rest on the effectiveness of service delivery strategies, the policy and administrative frameworks in which these strategies are developed and implemented also have an enormous effect. ETA believes that innovation at the systems level, where policies, organizational structures, planning processes, performance measurement, procurement, investment priorities, and information management systems reside, is necessary to support service delivery strategies that result in better outcomes and lower costs. In support of such goals, the Administration is seeking ways to remove administrative, statutory, and regulatory barriers to support greater coordination in the delivery of services, particularly among agencies and programs with overlapping missions and clients2. Through the Workforce Innovation Fund, ETA seeks to support changes in structures and policies that enable a closer alignment and integration of workforce development, education, human services, social insurance, and economic development programs.

By focusing on change at both the service delivery and the systems levels, and by requiring rigorous evaluation of each investment, ETA seeks to ensure that these investments form the basis for broader change and continuous improvement in the operation of the public workforce system. By adding new value for our customers, ETA seeks to contribute to the identification and documentation of evidence-based practice within the field of workforce development.

Anticipated number of awards: 20-30
Full guidance: http://www.doleta.gov/grants/pdf/SGA-DFA-PY-11-05.pdf