Grants & Fellowship Opportunities March 2023

 

Grants & Fellowships

 

 

MIT Water, Food, and Agriculture Innovation Prize MIT Water Innovation Prize March 20 See grant details here.

 

GrizzlyCorps Fellow AmeriCorps    California | Stipend  March 31 See position details here.

 

 

Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a webpage.

 

OFCCP Launches Mega Construction Project Initiative The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) today launched its Mega Construction Project (Megaproject) Program, an initiative to promote equitable hiring and fair workplaces by federal contractors in the construction trades on large federally funded projects. The landmark Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) is creating new good jobs in communities across the country. To deliver on America’s promise of equal opportunity for all and the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to building an economy where no one is left behind, OFCCP will bring together the public and private sectors in a comprehensive effort to remove barriers to opportunity in the construction trades and utilize the full talent across our communities. OFCCP will designate an initial group of BIL-funded projects from the Department of Transportation and the General Services Administration as Megaprojects. Construction projects eligible for designation as Megaprojects are valued at $35 million or more in funding, some part of which must be federal funding, and are expected to last for at least one year. For each Megaproject, OFCCP will provide free, continuous, on-the-ground assistance to help project owners with stakeholder outreach and information sharing, providing connections to recruitment sources in the community so that projects can fully utilize the local workforce to get the needed talent. From the earliest stages of a designated Megaproject, OFCCP engages a wide range of stakeholders in the community, including worker advocates, community-based organizations, and local recruitment sources, to remove barriers to opportunity and foster strong connections and build trust with the community.  OFCCP provides extensive and no-cost compliance assistance to contractors and subcontractors to strengthen recruitment, hiring, and employment practices, removing hiring barriers and promoting consideration of a diverse pool of qualified workers for jobs in the trades, including women, people of color, veterans, and people with disabilities. In addition, OFCCP conducts compliance reviews to evaluate contractors’ anti-discrimination and equal opportunity practices. The Megaproject Program launch coincides with Equal Pay Day, which marks how far into the year women must typically work to earn what men were paid the year before. Because 42% of the wage gap is related to differences in the industries and occupations where women and men work, the Biden-Harris Administration is using a whole-of-government approach to close gender and racial wage gaps by creating more opportunities for women and people of color in high-paying careers where they are currently underrepresented. Read OFCCP Director Jenny R. Yang’s blog post and OFCCP’s new fact sheet, Taking a Proactive Approach to Achieving Pay Equity, for more information.

 

OFCCP’s Mega Construction Project Program is an initiative within the agency’s broader construction enforcement and outreach program. This effort has proven in past administrations to be a powerful strategy to increase the representation of qualified workers from underrepresented groups in the construction trades and achieve greater progress to advance equal opportunity. Future Megaprojects could be BIL or CHIPS and Science Act-funded projects from the Departments of Transportation, Energy, Commerce, the General Services Administration, and the Environmental Protection Agency based on the requirement in their funding announcements or solicitations, where applicable, for selected recipients with projects involving construction to participate in the Megaproject Program.

Protecting Workers. Promoting Diversity. Enforcing the Law.

Food & Agriculture. National Security Interests

 

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT MARCH 14, 2023

 

Dole Foods Cyber Attack Shows Importance of Cyber Resilience Preparedness is key for keeping operations moving in the event of a cyber incident, like when Dole Foods didn’t know it had been the victim of ransomware until customers complained they couldn’t find their favorite products. READ MORE

 

Funding Availability. California. Due August 1, 2023.

 

 

Funding is Available through the Transformative Climate Communities Program

 

On March 8, 2023, our Transformative Climate Communities (TCC) Program staff released the Round 5 Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for approximately $99.2 million in awards. Alongside the NOFA, they have also posted the TCC Program’s Round 5 Final Guidelines. Applications for TCC Program Round 5 funding are due at 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time on August 1, 2023.

 

Learn More

 

We encourage potential applicants to attend upcoming Application workshops and office hours.   Application Workshop for All Audiences Wednesday, March 22, 2023 | 10:00 – 11:30 a.m.

 

Register Here

 

Application Workshop for Tribal Communities Thursday, March 23, 2023 | 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

 

Register Here

 

Application Workshop for Rural and Disadvantaged Unincorporated Communities  Thursday, March 23, 2023 | 1:00 – 2:30 p.m.

 

Register Here

 

Application materials, information about office hours, and additional workshop registration information can be found on the Current Application Materials webpage.

Gov. Newsom Issues Executive Order Allowing Floodwater to be Used to Recharge and Store Groundwater

Gov. Newsom Issues Executive Order Allowing Floodwater to be Used to Recharge and Store Groundwater

As storms continue to hit the state, Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order on March 10, 2023 to temporarily lift regulations and allow floodwater to be diverted to groundwater basins. The order suspends regulations and restrictions on permitting and use to enable water agencies and water users to divert flood stage water for the purpose of boosting groundwater recharge. “California is seeing extreme rain and snow, so we’re making it simple to redirect water to recharge groundwater basins. This order helps us take advantage of expected intense storms and increases state support for local stormwater capture efforts,” Newsom said. In August, Newsom’s Administration released "California’s Water Supply Strategy: Adapting to a Hotter, Drier Future” calling for investing in new sources of water supply, accelerating projects and modernizing how the state manages water through new technology. In a statement, Western Growers President & CEO Dave Puglia said Newsom’s plan “recognizes the urgent need to build new and improve existing infrastructure and to streamline and improve the practicality of the regulatory processes that govern them. Critically, that means new and expanded surface and groundwater storage to capture wet year flood flows that are too infrequent to be missed.” Today’s executive order can be read in its entirety here.