Fund the introducing youth to american infrastructure INC. (iyai) sustainable mobility career awareness and innovation challenge program for youth/young adults predominately 18-25 years of age and…

Ended Cooperative Agreement Awarded Last action

Award ID
AL2024027
Recipient
Awarding agency
Obligated
$100,000

Award facts

Completion date
Funding
  • $50,000.00 Federal
  • $50,000.00 Non-federal
Place of performance
Alabama, USA

Award details come from USAspending.gov.

Description

As the agency reported it.

Purpose
The purpose of this project is to fund the introducing youth to american infrastructure INC. (iyai) sustainable mobility career awareness and innovation challenge program for youth/young adults predominately 18-25 years of age and develop a virtual innovation challenge planning guide and toolkit in 2025 that builds on its experiential youth voice and active community engagement program elements implemented in 2023-2024 including best practices and lessons learned. The resulting guide and toolkit will inform plans for future workforce programming. And provide readily available tools to assist other agencies and communities interested in integrating this type of youth personal and professional career awareness and community engagement opportunities into their local plans and programs.
Activities
The deliverable for this project is a virtual innovation challenge planning guide and toolkit for implementation in 2025 informed by an assessment of iyai+s 2023 and 2024 pilot virtual innovation challenge initiative lessons learned and new insights on best-in-class virtual experiential learning processes based on a literature review/scan of existing virtual interactive youth-centered educational programs. Feedback and analysis that will assist other transport agencies and communities to include this type of youth-focused professional career awareness and community engagement opportunity into their local plans and programs. Direct participant feedback from local hosts youth participants national judges and iyai+ team members/advisors -- utilizing survey data listening sessions 1-1 feedback and FTA recommendations will be focused on the user/participant perspective regarding the content that would be most useful to include in the virtual guidebook and toolkit. Along with input regarding challenge participation goals and measures of success the identification of important preparation (pre-planning) planning implementation operational; and other important considerations like group size(s) organizational/people-readiness and capacity. Accompanied by a scan of emerging best practices replicable models new technologies and lessons learned in virtual experiential youth-centered programming. An important overall goal of this phase 1 work is to identify program enhancements that can facilitate replicability and ease of adoption into existing youth transportation career programs. The specific tasks to be performed are summarized below -- accompanied by a chart which includes the task# and period of performance.specific tasks include:task #: activity/performance periodtask 1: project management/18 months task 2: project assessment plan/1-4 monthstask 3: data compilation assessment research/5-8 monthstask 4: conduct virtual practice scan/5-7 monthstask 5: implement 2025 challenge/7-13 monthstask 6: develop guide and toolkit/13-16 monthstask 7: federal product review/16-18 months
Expected outcomes
This project specifically addresses public transportations well-documented people-readiness challenges including the need to urgently address significant projected retirements in essential frontline positions (approximately 80% of the public transport workforce). And directly aligns with usdots equity-centered strategic plan which includes the elevation of people-readiness. To be future-ready IT is imperative to significantly increase next GEN career awareness interest motivation participation and retention of younger employees (18-30 years of age). The target population for this funding and iyai+s expanded youth program is predominately within this age range with emphasis on engaging youth/young adults from historically under-represented groups and disadvantaged communities. Unfortunately a workforce demographic that has nationally posed difficult recruitment and retention issues for our nations critical infrastructure sectors including transportation. Much of which stems from limited career awareness and image issues.uniquely iyai+s virtual sustainable mobility career awareness innovation challenge program helps to creatively address the limited career awareness and image issues. Reframing and elevating the image and narrative around public transportation careers to one of community-building and civic engagement which focuses on local problem-solving interdisciplinary learning civic engagement career development teamwork and other important relationship building leadership development and life success skills helps to provide both professional and personal development opportunities. And when well-planned and supervised the same skills that can lead to direct employment (and advancement) opportunities within the transportation sector and related areas through broader career awareness mentoring industry exposure and networking opportunities.providing expanded opportunities to historically under-represented youth/young adults to connect with public transport organizations and local communities -- expand their local career awareness opportunities -- coupled with meaningful public engagement on issues that matter personal professional development mentoring and industry networking opportunities is a potential game-changer. And at a minimum will help to address the documented lack of career awareness image issues and level the playing field. All factors and indicators that can be assessed both quantitatively and qualitatively.
Intended beneficiaries
The intended beneficiaries are at three (3) levels--- national; local; and individually-- all of which can potentially be quantitatively and qualitatively assessed. Beyond identification of the intended beneficiaries some of our thinking in this area is provided below. That said performance measurement is an element of the assessment and will be addressed as a part of the overall work plan.(a) nationally (industry-wide) adds another powerful tool (youth voice) to help address the public transport sectors national career awareness image importance (community-building) and diversity challenges. And at a minimum could be another powerful targeted group at the national level for telling our story.(b) locally provides local transportation organizations (management labor public and private sector) and important community partners/constituencies with another tool (a readily available set of resources and a growing community of practice) to address ways to collaborate and increase transport career participation for critical positions. And at the same time build and expand important interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral local and regional career opportunities/clusters. For starters making the guidebook and toolkit broadly available coupled with tracking of its dissemination and follow-up on usage; along with the potential to build a usdot community-builders community of practice (user/participants) starting with local hosts (and their local partners) and a complementary youth network.(c) individual professional and personal development - expanded career awareness knowledge options and professional/personal networks and relationships.

Transactions

Action Federal Non-federal Date
Amendment $0 $0
Original award $50,000 $50,000

Quick answers

Who received award AL2024027?

AL2024027 was awarded to Introducing Youth To American Infrastructure, Inc. by Federal Transit Administration (Department of Transportation) on September 5, 2024.

How much is award AL2024027 worth?

$100,000 has been obligated on AL2024027: $50,000 in federal funding and $50,000 in non-federal funding.

On GovTribe

See this award's full record

  • Every transaction and subaward
  • The recipient's other awards and teaming partners
  • Similar grant awards
  • Ask GovTribe AI about this award
Try for free Login