sc2 network nofa fr-5600-n-39 final 11.27.pdf

DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-5600-N-39]

Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for the Strong Cities, Strong Communities (SC2)

National Resource Network

A. Federal Agency Name: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of

Policy Development and Research

B. Funding Opportunity Title: Strong Cities, Strong Communities National Resource Network

C. Announcement Type: Initial announcement

D. Funding Opportunity Number: FR-5600-N-39

E. Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number: 14.534. The OMB control number for this NOFA is 2528-0289.

F. Dates: Deadline for Receipt of Applications is January 28, 2013.

G. Eligible Applicants: Eligible applicants who may apply to this NOFA include the following entities: Nonprofit organizations, foundations, anchor institutions, for-profit companies, or a consortium of these entities with demonstrated ability to raise philanthropic support. In addition, under the NOFA process, the applicant that is selected to become the

Administrator must meet all threshold requirements contained in HUD’s Fiscal Year 2012

NOFA General Section, including requirements addressing civil rights and other cross-cutting requirements applicable to federal funding. Where an application involves multiple entities, each entity must meet the civil rights threshold requirement of “Resolution of

Outstanding Civil Rights Matters.” Please see section III.A. Eligible Applicants for full details.

H. Additional Information:

This NOFA announces HUD’s proposal to award approximately $10 million to a single grantee

(that may be comprised of a single entity or a consortium) through the form of a cooperative agreement to administer, manage and implement the Strong Cities, Strong Communities National

Resource Network (SC2 Network). The SC2 Network will offer a centralized portal to connect

America’s most economically distressed communities to national and local experts with wide-ranging expertise and skills. The focus of the SC2 Network will be to strengthen the foundation for economic growth and resiliency in these communities—namely, local technical capacity, comprehensive planning, and regional collaboration.

The SC2 Network will help HUD build on its direct relationships with communities, and continues its founding mandate under the Department of Housing and Urban Development Act of 1965, which prescribes HUD to “[e]xercise leadership at the direction of the President in coordinating activities affecting housing and urban development; provide technical assistance and information, including a clearinghouse service to aid State, county, town, village, or other local governments in developing solutions to community and metropolitan development problems.”

To administer the SC2 Network, HUD will select an Administrator as defined in section

I.B.2 Definitions of this NOFA. Interested applicants are invited to submit applications to be reviewed by HUD for consideration.

While there is no match requirement for the SC2 Network, HUD recognizes that the scope of work required of the program may exceed the funds that are available for this cooperative agreement. Therefore, HUD expects that the Administrator will secure additional funding and in-kind support from philanthropic organizations and other public and private sector entities to fulfill the scope of work for the SC2 Network. (Please see section I.B.4 Engagement and Rating

Factor 3: Leveraging of Other Funds for full details on leveraging.)

HUD will launch the SC2 Network using a combination of FY2012 and FY2013 funds for a total award of approximately $10 million. Approximately $5 million will come from its Fiscal

Year 2012 appropriation for the Transformation Initiative, and $5 million will come from Fiscal

Year 2013.

FULL TEXT OF ANNOUNCEMENT

A. Background on the Strong Cities, Strong Communities (SC2) Initiative.

In July of 2011, the Obama Administration launched SC2, an innovative and flexible pilot initiative to strengthen local capacity and spark economic growth in distressed local communities while ensuring taxpayer dollars are used wisely and efficiently. SC2 evolved from ongoing conversations with mayors, foundations, nonprofits, and Members of Congress working in economically distressed communities who consistently highlighted challenges of local governments, the inadequacy of disjointed programs, and the need for a strong, clear and coordinated relationship with the federal government. SC2 focuses on five goals to accomplish this:

Improve the relationship between local and federal government: SC2 seeks to break down traditional local and federal government silos, allowing the federal government to partner more effectively with localities that have faced significant long-term challenges.

Provide coordination and support: SC2 provides on-the-ground technical assistance and planning resources tailored to a city's needs, while also offering guidance to use federal funds more efficiently and effectively. SC2 provides the necessary technical expertise to help cities focus efforts around populations served by both federal and local programs.

Partner for economic growth: SC2 assists cities in developing critical partnerships that focus on job creation, workforce improvement and economic development with key local and regional stakeholders that include municipal and state governments, the business community, non-profits, faith-based institutions, and other public, private, and philanthropic leaders. SC2 provides a customized approach to supporting communities on the ground in their efforts to create jobs and revitalize their economies.

Enhance local capacity: Every community is unique, with its own set of challenges and opportunities. SC2 emphasizes inclusive comprehensive community planning and economic visioning. The key to winning the future is empowering communities to frame their own economic vision and then partnering with them to identify, strengthen and leverage the tremendous physical, commercial, and social assets that they possess.

Encourage regional collaboration: Recognizing that regions are unique, SC2 helps build relationships between the cities, towns, and counties, and fosters new connections in order to strengthen regional economies to compete in an increasingly globalized world. Through enhanced technical capacity, collaboration, and comprehensive planning at the regional level, local governments can best take advantage of economic development opportunities.

1. SC2 Components.

At this time there are four major components to SC2: The Community Solutions Teams (CSTs), Fellowship Program, Economic Visioning Challenge and the SC2 Network. At present, the CSTs and Fellowship Program operate in six pilot locations that were selected to participate in SC2 following a rigorous city assessment: Chester, PA; Detroit, MI; Fresno, CA; Memphis, TN; New

Orleans, LA; and the Northeast Ohio region of Cleveland and Youngstown. While the CSTs and

Fellows are currently engaged in these six locations, the Economic Visioning Challenge and SC2

Network will focus on additional economically distressed cities. The four components are described below:

SC2 Community Solutions Teams (CST). Since summer 2011, CSTs comprised of federal employees from numerous federal agencies have been working directly with cities to support the mayors in the six pilot locations. Embedded in city hall, CSTs assist cities with issues mayors have identified as vital to their economic strategies, including but not limited to efforts to build on local assets, strengthen regional economies, develop transportation infrastructure, improve job-training programs and support comprehensive community revitalization.

SC2 Fellowship Program. Operating in the SC2 pilot locations, the fellowship program has selected, trained, and placed early- to mid-career professionals in local government positions to serve two-year terms and build additional local capacity. Through a competitive process, the German Marshall Fund was selected in December 2011 to administer the fellowship program. Fellows were deployed in September 2012. The program is funded by the Rockefeller Foundation, which donated $2.5 million in initial funding to HUD.

SC2 Economic Visioning Challenge. In addition to the SC2 pilot locations, the

Economic Development Administration (EDA) has launched an Economic Visioning

Challenge designed to help additional cities develop economic blueprints. This national grant competition will enable cities to adopt and implement innovative economic development strategies to support comprehensive city and regional planning efforts.

Cities have been competitively selected to receive a grant of approximately $1 million that they will use to administer an “X-prize style” competition, whereby they will challenge multi-disciplinary teams of experts to develop comprehensive economic and land use proposals for their city.

SC2 National Resource Network (SC2 Network). The SC2 Network—the subject of this NOFA—will amplify the model of SC2 to a broader array of local governments, offering a single portal to a wide range of technical experts for shorter-term engagements.

The extent of each engagement will be scaled to ensure a measurable impact, both for the community’s growth and resilience and the efficiency of public funds, particularly the federal funding streams they already receive.

2. Executive Order.

To help oversee and guide and the various components of the SC2 initiative, on March 15, 2012, President Obama signed an Executive Order establishing a White House Council on Strong

Cities, Strong Communities (SC2 Council) composed of 27 senior leaders representing federal agencies and key White House offices. The Council’s goals include coordinating agency efforts to ensure communities had access to comprehensive, localized technical assistance and planning resources to develop and execute their economic vision and strategies, as well as providing recommendations to the President. These recommendations would include:

Policies for building local expertise in strengthening local economies;

Changes to Federal policies and programs to address issues of special importance to cities and local governments that pertain to local capacity and economic growth;

Implementing best practices from the SC2 initiative government-wide to better support cities and local governments; and

Opportunities to increase the flexible utilization of existing Federal program resources across agencies to enable more performance and outcome-based funding.

B. SC2 Network Program.

1. Program Purpose

Rising costs and declining revenues have pushed local governments closer to insolvency and further from solutions to the ever more complex challenges face by their communities. Almost all state and local governments are required to balance their budgets, leaving no buffer during these tough economic times.

Local governments have many partners willing to assist with the various issues faced, but a major impediment to supporting and developing the capacity of these places with chronic challenges is the limited number of organizations with expertise in turning whole regions and cities around. The field is rich with organizations and intermediaries with experience in neighborhood development and revitalization, but very thin in organizations that take a holistic approach to urban and regional economic development. Much of this expertise is spread across a variety of organizations that play critical niche roles—public management, fiscal reform, land use development, business attraction and retention, workforce development, etc. This is also true in the cases of many federal programs and government institutions dedicated to improving urban and regional economic conditions that do not take a comprehensive approach to deploying technical assistance for the purposes of helping distressed communities. As a result, local governments often find it difficult to determine which agency and program to approach for aid when their challenges cut across agency jurisdictions and priorities.

2. Definitions.

Below are definitions for key terms used in this NOFA presented in alphabetical order:

a. Administrator. The entity that will manage and implement the SC2 Network.

b. Anchor Institutions. Entities that represent educational institutions, or regional and national organizations that support economic drivers such as in housing, infrastructure, and/or economic and workforce development.

c. Community(s). HUD uses this term to broadly encompass cities, counties, regions, townships, or municipalities.

d. Eligible Applicants. Entities eligible to apply to be the Administrator of the SC2 Network.

(Please see section III.A. Eligible Applicants for a full description of eligible applicants).

Throughout this NOFA, HUD will also use the term “applicant” interchangeably.

e. Grantee. The selected eligible applicant chosen by HUD to become the Administrator of the SC2 Network.

3. SC2 Network Program Description.

The SC2 Network will align federal resources as well as coordinate distinct and wide-ranging pools of technical experts and assistance programs with the needs and priorities of each engaged community to help them make more effective and efficient local investments. Essentially, the

SC2 Network serves as a “one stop” shop to connect and supply economically distressed communities with an array of technical assistance to support place-based approaches to long-term challenges. The SC2 Network will match technical experts and assistance programs with the needs and priorities of each engaged community to help them make more effective and efficient local investments.

HUD anticipates that distressed communities who apply to the Administrator for assistance may be from entities such as local government; non profits, think tanks or anchor institutions with a history of strong community presence and engagement; regional organizations like

Metropolitan Planning Organizations, Regional Councils of Governments and other forms of regional partnerships; or a consortium of the aforementioned entities with a “lead entity” specified.

The objectives of the SC2 Network are as follows:

Provide communities facing long-term economic challenges with easily accessible and comprehensive technical assistance that can help retool them for future economic growth;

Build capacity in distressed communities by connecting them with philanthropic organizations, non profits, public and private sector entities to facilitate long-term partnerships and economic investments;

Develop a set of best practices and policy recommendations that can be disseminated and shared across all communities facing similar economic challenges;

Improve the alignment of federal programs, resources, technical assistance, as well as strengthen federal and local partnerships.

The SC2 model reflects the idea that local issues do not stop at the boundaries of individual federal agency jurisdictions, and that effective technical assistance must also target issues that cross federal funding sources. While HUD will host the SC2 Network, the SC2 Network is expected to help communities find expertise across a wide range of federal agencies and outside partners.

It should be noted that SC2 Network assistance is not intended to replace or recreate any technical assistance already provided by the federal government or another external party, but aims to maximize federal technical assistance already on the ground. Also it will build general local capacity by effectively helping communities access, and connecting them to such programs.

4. Required Activities of the Administrator.

To achieve the SC2 Network program objectives, HUD will select one grantee through a competitive process to administer the SC2 Network. As the Administrator of the SC2 Network, the grantee will have five categories of activities: Structure Development, Engagement, Local Resource Network, Evaluation, and Policy Recommendations. Each category is described in detail below. Applicants must respond to all five activities; however, depending on circumstances (described below under “Local Resource Network”), the “Local Resource

Network” activity may not be a required part of the grant performance.

a. Structure Development. In this first category, the Administrator will develop the SC2

Network structure to include a team of expert technical service providers (pro bono or paid) that represent the breadth of relevant expertise needed to address the long-term, economic challenges of communities. This responsibility also includes developing a Peer-to-Peer network to share lessons learned and best practices.

As a pilot, the SC2 Network must first establish its operating procedures. Under this category, up to 20 percent of the applicant’s proposed budget for years 1 and 2 (12 - 24 months) may be allocated for administrative costs. For the remainder of the grant period, no more than 15 percent of the applicant’s proposed budget for year 3 (25 - 36 months) will be used for administrative costs. Please see section VI.A.3 Budget for HUD’s definition of administrative costs. The responsibilities of the Administrator under this category are as follow:

(1) Developing a Pool of Technical Experts. Because the SC2 Network will offer a broad range of technical assistance to communities, the Administrator will be responsible for identifying and providing technical experts from a wide-array of fields that can fulfill the anticipated needs of communities that apply to the SC2 Network for assistance. Here, the

Administrator will be responsible for developing the structures necessary to obtain, support and nurture a roster of both paid and pro-bono experts.

(2) Marketing to Distressed Communities. The Administrator will be responsible for advertising the SC2 Network’s availability to economically distressed communities utilizing a variety of engagement strategies.

(3) Developing a Clearinghouse of Federal, State and Local Technical Assistance

Programs. The Administrator will identify and maintain a catalog of other federal, state and local technical assistance programs eligible to local governments that can be shared, easily navigated by communities, and disseminated publicly, either through the peer-to-peer network

(described below under “Peer-to-Peer Network”) or a user-friendly website. HUD anticipates that the clearinghouse will be invaluable to communities seeking, and connecting to, technical assistance programs. Therefore, in identifying and maintaining a list of programs for this catalog, HUD expects the Administrator to have demonstrated knowledge, expertise and understanding of how these programs operate and how they can be used to assist distressed communities. This clearinghouse will catalog existing technical assistance programs that include, but are not limited to: Economic Development (economic visioning, job market analysis, cluster analysis and engagement); Workforce Development (job training strategies, industry needs analysis, cradle-to-career education reform); Public Safety (juvenile justice, corrections restructuring, policing strategies); and Sustainable Land Use (brownfield redevelopment, corridor planning, consolidated transportation & housing plans).

(4) Peer-to-Peer Network. In addition to the above responsibilities, the Administrator will develop a Peer-to-Peer Network. The Peer-to-Peer Network is a vital aspect to SC2 and will serve as its “central hub” to link all of the other components of SC2 (described in section I.A.1.

SC2 Components) in a manner that promotes peer exchanges, and the continued sharing and dissemination of information and best practices.

HUD also envisions that the Peer-to-Peer Network would function as an “innovations lab” where communities, anchor institutions, non-profits and other public and private organizations can connect, communicate, share knowledge, recommend federal policy changes, and inspire new ideas that can be tested out in their own localities.

HUD expects the Peer-to-Peer Network to facilitate the following activities:

(a) House background information on SC2 that is accessible to the public online;

(b) Maintain an easily accessible online resource bank of significant materials generated in SC2 and its four components that could have utility for other governments and practitioners.

This may also include a clearinghouse of federal, state and local technical assistance programs that was described in the last section, part (3) Developing a clearinghouse of federal, state and local technical assistance programs;

(c) Routinely transmit and disseminate information and best practices among cities, SC2 stakeholders and interested parties that are working to devise solutions to address their economic challenges;

(d) Utilize meetings, webinars and online forums to aggregate and distribute information and resources that promote knowledge sharing and allow for the participation of communities, SC2 stakeholders and interested parties.

b. Engagement. In this second category, the Administrator will develop the engagement strategy for how the SC2 Network will select and assist economically-distressed communities.

This responsibility also includes managing the expected high demand for community engagements by prioritizing the level of assistance for each community and matching the level of assistance based on local needs.

Individual engagements with local communities are the core of the SC2 Network’s activities. Under this category, the Administrator must allocate a minimum of 50 percent of the SC2 Network’s funds. In addition, the Administrator will use a portion of these funds to finance operational assessments for the cities receiving EDA grants under the Economic

Visioning Challenge (described in this section in detail below under (3) Assessment and

Deployment). An operational assessment allows the Administrator to evaluate a community’s operational issues.

As stated, the SC2 Network will provide a range of technical assistance to communities, and

HUD anticipates that the level of engagement undertaken by the Administrator towards those communities seeking assistance also will be wide-ranging. Some requests may require no financial assistance, such as connecting a city to a potential federal program that may better assist them, while other requests may require financial assistance, such as procuring a technical assistance expert to help establish a vacant property management plan. Regardless of the request, HUD expects the Administrator to determine in a systematic way how it will take-in, address and prioritize the service requests of communities given the limited resources of the

SC2 Network.

Given the breadth and scope of the SC2 Network, the Administrator will be responsible for allocating limited resources in the most meaningful, productive and effective manner.

Under this “Engagement” category, the Administrator has five key responsibilities: Initial

Intake, Prioritization, Assessment, Documentation, and Leveraging. The five responsibilities are described in detail below.

(1) Initial Intake: The Administrator will have a system in place for the initial intake of technical assistance requests. HUD anticipates that the Administrator may receive a large number of requests that will require more detailed follow-up. At a minimum, HUD expects that this intake would include the following information:

(a) Who is making the request and contact information such as name, address, phone number, and email;

(b) The city (and, if relevant, partnering entities) that the request is for;

(c) Whether or not a request placed was made as a result of a referral from a federal agency or congressional member;

(d) A general description that describes the problem that the community is trying to resolve;

and

(e) Date of request.

(2) Prioritization. The Administrator will have a system in place to filter and prioritize requests and determine the appropriate level of response or engagement. HUD recognizes that a community applying to the SC2 Network may need help in identifying its key challenges.

Therefore, the Administrator will be responsible for helping a community first articulate and define what it is trying to achieve from its request. Once priorities and community needs are defined, the Administrator will determine the appropriate level of engagement. Here, HUD recognizes that some communities may be helped by simply connecting them to the appropriate federal, state or local resource, while other communities need more intense engagement, requiring them first to receive an operational assessment (described in detail below under (3)

Assessment and Deployment). To make this determination, the Administrator will develop selection criteria to determine which communities that are likely to require more intense engagements receive operational assessments. The Administrator also must make the criteria public to add transparency to the prioritization process so that communities understand why they did or did not qualify for an operational assessment.

HUD anticipates that communities requesting assistance would fall into one of three categories:

(a) Those communities that can be easily served by connecting them to the appropriate resource (such as those resources provided in the clearinghouse described under I.B.4.a

Structure Development).

(b) Those communities that might require a deeper engagement and might qualify for an operational assessment and SC2 Network assistance (described in detail below under (3)

Assessment and Deployment). However, more information is necessary to determine if an operational assessment is the appropriate engagement.

(c) Those communities where it is clear that they will require an operational assessment for

SC2 Network assistance.

HUD anticipates that the Administrator is likely to receive a high number of requests that may require an operational assessment. Therefore, the selection criteria are important to prioritizing communities requesting assistance given the limited resources of the SC2 Network.

Below, HUD has proposed criteria that an applicant could use to develop its selection criteria. At minimum, the Administrator must include, as part of its criteria, the demonstrated commitment from local government and community leadership to act on its findings should it receive and operational assessment. In developing the selection criteria, the applicant might also consider the following:

(a) A dedicated team in place comprised of local agencies, philanthropy or other public and private sector organizations with funding, staff time and/or resources committed to implementation;

(b) The community’s ranking on a relative distress scale (using data provided by HUD, other SC2 agencies and other sources as appropriate);

(c) Scope or estimated cost of the request;

(d) Willingness of local government to commit to attaining certain performance standards;

(e) Demonstration of existing and on-going partnerships or collaborations between local government offices and public/private entities;

(f) Referral from another SC2 agency technical assistance program that is assisting the community but recommends broader assistance beyond its allowed scope;

(g) Compelling evidence that the community has made, or is making efforts to address the issue, but is in need of additional assistance;

(h) The amount of existing unexpended federal funding; and

(i) Other criteria the applicant deems important and can provide a justification of its importance in its NOFA application.

(3) Assessment and Deployment. For those communities that are selected for an operational assessment through the intake and prioritization process, the Administrator will deploy technical assistance experts to conduct these assessments to identify a broad range of solutions for a community. The Administrator also will be responsible for developing and providing operational assessments to the cities receiving EDA grants under the Economic Visioning

Challenge.

(a) Operational Assessment. Driving the bulk of the SC2 Network’s technical assistance is the operational assessment that evaluates a community’s operational issues. These issues include, but are not limited to, the evaluation of legacy systems that may impede the effectiveness of local government; revenue/service analysis to determine a community’s cash flow; and performance management that affects government efficiency.

Because the SC2 Network specifically targets low-capacity governments, HUD expects budget shortfalls and operational and program efficiency issues to be common across most, if not all, communities assisted. Therefore, HUD believes that conducting an operational assessment will provide a solid foundation from which the SC2 Network can clearly identify other technical assistance needs.

HUD recognizes that providing operational assessments to communities will require significant funding resources from the SC2 Network. Therefore, a community must first undergo an operational assessment where the Administrator has determined that its technical assistance request would require a deeper engagement, and thus, funding from the SC2

Network. Furthermore, because these assessments will evaluate the operational capacity of local governments, a community will be required to demonstrate strong buy-in from its local government before an assessment is initiated by the Administrator (as discussed in section (2)

Prioritization regarding the selection criteria).

Here, eligible applicants should note that they will have to propose in their application what criteria they will use for an operational assessment, a plan for how they will identify the technical experts needed to make the assessment, and how they plan to assess the community using their proposed operational assessment. These assessments may evaluate a range of factors that include a community’s existing legacy system, performance management, revenue intake and program service expenditures. The assessment also may map out other resources and assets in a community that could be used to leverage and strengthen a community’s operational capacity.

While HUD will evaluate the quality of an applicant’s proposed operational assessment, the agency recognizes that it is likely that any proposed operation assessment will need to be further refined as HUD learns more about the communities that are requesting assistance from the SC2 Network. Therefore, because the operational assessment is the cornerstone of the program’s engagement strategy, HUD will work closely with the Administrator to improve, amend, and enhance their proposed operational assessment to ensure that it effectively evaluates each community and comports to the needs and goals of the SC2 Network.

Under this “assessment activity,” the Administrator will work with communities that it has determined would require an operational assessment through the following stages:

(i) Evaluation. The Administrator will evaluate communities that have qualified for an operational assessment. Here, the Administrator will identify technical experts who will be deployed to the community to conduct the operational assessment.

(ii) Planning. Upon completing the operational assessment, the Administrator will work with the community to establish a range of solutions that would address the challenges identified in the operational assessment. Here, the Administrator will develop a reasonable technical assistance plan with the community to achieve a community’s desired results.

(iii) Resource Deployment. After the development of a technical assistance plan, the

Administrator will work with the community to determine which challenges and solutions to address based on what desired outcome a community wants to achieve. Here, the Administrator may identify and fund appropriate technical assistance providers (either those already in the

SC2 Network, or contract new ones as described in I.B.4.a Structure Development) who can administer the services set out in the technical assistance plan. These technical assistance providers may also come as pro-bono consultants, or where possible, permanent or part-time federal staff engaged in SC2. In addition, the Administrator may also assist the community in identifying other federal, state, local, and privately-funded programs and services that could be appropriate to support the work identified in the technical assistance plan.

Under the “Resource Deployment” stage, technical assistance providers funded by the

SC2 Network may be engaged in a community for up to 12 months (this includes the operational assessment process). In addition, HUD has not set a limit on the level of funding that could be used towards each engagement, but expects the Administrator to be judicious in how it allocates its funding and resources in the most effective manner. However, HUD and the

SC2 Council will have the option to extend any engagement if there are compelling reasons and sufficient resources in the SC2 Network. In these instances, the Administrator may advise and recommend to HUD and the SC2 Council on possible extension options for consideration.

(iv) Operational Assessment for Cities Receiving EDA Economic Visioning Challenge Awards. In addition to conducting operational assessments for communities requesting assistance, the Administrator will be responsible for conducting operational assessments for the cities receiving grants from EDA through the Economic Visioning

Challenge (as described in I.A.1. SC2 Components).The EDA assessment process will function similarly as explained in the stages of “Evaluation” and “Planning” as described in the above sections. However, the technical assistance plan will take into account how the cities can act on their new economic blueprints funded by EDA.

(4) Documentation. To track the activities under the “Engagement” category, the Administrator will have a system in place to document and track technical assistance requests, and the proposed scope of work as outlined by any technical assistance plan including follow-up work and expected results via a technical assistance plan. The Administrator also will monitor engagements and track key milestones of projects.

(5) Leveraging. While there is no match requirement for the SC2 Network, HUD recognizes that the scope of work required of the program may exceed the funds that are available for this cooperative agreement. Therefore, the Administrator will be responsible for leveraging the additional resources necessary to meet the program objectives of the SC2 Network. HUD believes that leveraging the funds of the SC2 Network will make its investment go further and the SC2 Network less dependent on a single funding stream. Moreover, leveraging outside investments helps to align and engage the expertise that already exists in the philanthropic, non-profit, and private sectors, as well as connect technical assistance efforts and programs already underway. Therefore, improving the alignment of various efforts will allow communities to maximize their resources and work towards mutual improvements.

The Administrator may leverage the SC2 Network’s fund by securing, for example philanthropic funds, or in-kind resources that could include, but are not limited to the services of pro-bono consultants and issue area experts. Financial resources must be shown to be dedicated solely to the efforts of the SC2 Network. HUD expects the Administrator to work to secure additional funds and resources for the SC2 Network engagement efforts.

c. Local Resource Network. In this third category, the Administrator will increase the capacity of participating governments by helping them establish a Local Resource Network

(LRN) for communities with potential private and philanthropic resources to sustain local capacity building over a longer term. Unlike the other four categories described in this NOFA, this category is not a required activity, and the Administrator will only support and implement an LRN if it is considered appropriate by HUD and the SC2 Council.

HUD recognizes that some places have community or local foundations, as well as engaged private industries that are able to provide resources which, if properly aligned, might replicate the objectives of the SC2 Network on a local level. These “locally” scaled versions of the SC2

Network would sustainably support local government capacity, and under appropriate conditions, could be spun off into an independent entity—an LRN. With the creation of an

LRN, HUD believes that a community would be more economically resilient to declines in city revenues or federal funding because the LRN will serve to supplement funds and resources.

HUD recognizes that in a limited number of communities, the SC2 Network may also be ripe for supporting an LRN which, if properly developed, would directly help communities build sustainable capacity. Given this recognition, the Administrator, under the counsel of HUD and the SC2 Council may choose to allot no more than $500,000 of the SC2 Network’s funds to finance the development of one or more LRNs. The three activities of this category are described below.

(1) Administrator Responsibilities under Local Resource Network. In this category, the

Administrator will be responsible for:

(a) Identifying communities where LRNs may be viable;

(b) Working with HUD and the SC2 Council to determine whether or not an LRN should be funded in a community; and

(c) Developing the foundation of an LRN, as applicable.

(2) Basic Criteria for Identifying Communities for LRN. In identifying communities where the climate is ripe to appropriately support an LRN, HUD has established some basic criteria as follows:

(a) A community that has strong assets that include anchor institution, philanthropic support and a sufficient set of private sector or non-profit partners with appropriate pro bono technical services to contribute;

(b) A community that already has matching funds from a foundation, local non-profit or private source that is committed to the LRN’s development; and

(c) A community that demonstrates the strong support of its local government, as well as an existing base of cross-sector leadership.

In addition, applicants will be required in their application to provide additional criteria to identify the appropriate communities, and provide solid justification for those criteria.

(3) Administrator Duties in Developing LRN. Once the Administrator has identified a list of communities, they will work with HUD and the SC2 Council to determine which of those places should be funded. If it is decided that a place should receive funding, the Administrator will be responsible for developing the LRN in the following manner:

(a) Recruit additional local lead organizations, private or non-profit partners where appropriate;

(b) Provide funds to a local lead organization to create a business plan for the LRN that would also assess local capacity;

(c) Support assembling a leadership team from the public, private, and non-profit sectors;

and

(d) Provide additional technical assistance to support implementation efforts such as support for convenings.

Finally, it should be noted that while HUD has allocated funding to support an LRN, HUD expects the LRN to operate on its own after it has been established by the Administrator. As a result, the LRN likely will be reliant on pro bono support from consulting, accounting and legal firms.

d. Evaluation. In this fourth category, the Administrator will carefully document and evaluate interventions to build a series of best practice strategies that can benefit places with similar challenges and develop forums for sharing this knowledge. As a pilot initiative, SC2 allows the federal government to test various place-based strategies that help to enhance local capacity, inform future federal policies, and better assist local governments.

Under this activity, HUD has not prescribed a funding allotment. Rather, eligible applicants in their application will be required to specify as part of their budget the funding amount allocated towards evaluating the SC2 Network and its activities. There are three areas of responsibilities for the Administrator:

(1) Coordinating with the SC2 Council on Performance and Evaluation Metrics. The SC2

Council is developing a set of metrics to evaluate the SC2 initiative. To streamline this effort, the Administrator will be required to coordinate its performance metrics, where relevant, with the SC2 Council, as well as its efforts to track comparable outputs and outcomes of the overall

SC2 initiative (HUD will provide the Administrator with a list of metrics generated by the SC2

Council). The types of outputs that may be relevant to the SC2 Council would include, but are not limited to the number of SC2 Network recommendations implemented; the amount of funding leveraged as a result of the SC2 Network; how quickly the SC2 Networks assistance has improved a communities ability to expend federal funds; and the number of collaborative stakeholder networks supporting the implementation of a community’s technical assistance plan.

(2) Developing Metrics that can be Applied Across All Technical Assistance Engagements.

The Administrator will be expected to develop and track output and outcome measures, and benchmark milestones that can be applied across all technical assistance engagements. This includes developing a comprehensive performance measurement system that incorporates long-term outcome goals that cross every engagement.

3. Developing metrics tailored to communities and/or projects. The Administrator will be expected to develop and track output and outcome measures, and benchmark milestones that are tailored to meet the goals and objectives of each community as prescribed by a technical assistance plan.

In developing metrics, it should be noted that the Administrator should consider both quantitative and qualitative metrics.

Because the SC2 Network seeks to have lasting impact on some of the long-term issues affecting local governments, HUD recognizes that not all outcomes will be realized during the duration of the cooperative agreement period. Rather, HUD will evaluate an application based on its ability to identify potential outcomes an applicant seeks to achieve in their community engagements, and the specificity of the benchmarks it establishes to measure progress toward a completed product that guides all of the necessary work. Essentially, HUD wants to know that if an applicant is selected to administer the SC2 Network, the applicant can create a clear model describing issues targeted, what it seeks to achieve, the specific benchmarks that show success, and the steps the SC2 Network will take to reach success. Once an Administrator is selected, HUD and the SC2 Council will work closely with the Administrator to improve, amend, and enhance their proposed metrics to ensure that it effectively evaluates each community served, and comports to the needs and goals of the SC2 Network.

HUD recognizes that there will be a feedback loop between policy areas of interest, community interventions and the evaluation of such engagements, and policy recommendations.

As a result of this feedback, HUD expects the Administrator to take into account each of these areas when designing its evaluation to inform and guide future policymaking.

e. Policy Recommendations. In this fifth category, the Administrator will identify for the SC2

Council the federal policy changes that could help local governments better achieve their economic development visions, as well as highlight other policies, systems, and practices that support holistic and sustainable economic development.

A critical aspect of the SC2 Network Administrator’s responsibilities is to provide recommendations to HUD and the SC2 Council on how federal policy changes could help local governments better achieve their economic development visions and support holistic sustainable economic development. The Administrator is expected to help the agency better understand the following policy areas:

(1) How the federal government can improve its allocation of technical assistance funds;

(2) How technical assistance programs can be aligned so that it is more effective at the local level;

(3) What key challenges local governments face and the strategies for addressing those challenges, including any barriers that may result from existing federal regulations and policies and proposed revisions to these regulations and policies; and

(4) How the SC2 Network can be improved programmatically to address the needs of local governments, including operational capacity constraints.

HUD views this activity as more than simply a reporting requirement of the Administrator, but a means to identify specific challenges and potential solutions or strategies to better assist communities as well as emerging policy lessons. Given the Administrator’s direct role and relationship with the communities it assists, the Administrator’s insights on trends, practices, and barriers will be invaluable to the initiative, and would inform the ongoing policy deliberations of the SC2 Council. Under this category, the Administrator will be expected to regularly report to HUD and the SC2 Council to address the following issues:

Identification of potential regulatory barriers identified through SC2 Network projects;

Recommended changes to federal policies and programs to address issues of special importance to cities and local governments that pertain to local capacity and economic growth;

Recommended policies for building local expertise in strengthening local economies;

Recommended strategies to implement best practices learned through the SC2 Network on a government-wide basis to better support localities; and

Identification of opportunities to increase the flexible utilization of existing federal program resources across agencies to enable more performance and outcome-based funding.

Given the Administrators discussion on the aforementioned issues, HUD and the SC2 Council will work with the Administrator to determine potential solutions and next steps where appropriate.

In addition to these five categories (Structure Development, Engagement, Local Resource

Network, Evaluation, and Policy Recommendations), the Administrator will also work with the other components of SC2 (described under I.A.1. SC2 Components), as well as the SC2 Council (described under I.A.2 Executive Order) to meet the broad goals and objectives of the initiative.

II. AWARD INFORMATION

A. Type of Award.

HUD will select one grantee to administer approximately $10 million for the SC2 Network. HUD will execute a cooperative agreement with that grantee that delineates the objectives, roles and responsibilities for HUD and the grantee.

HUD recognizes that the success of the SC2 Network will require flexibility and adaptability in design and implementation. Therefore, the cooperative agreement will allow HUD to work closely with the grantee to help fine tune activities as needed to ensure that activities are implemented in a manner that is consistent with the objectives of the SC2 Network, SC2 initiative and the SC2 Council. HUD anticipates that it will have substantial involvement in the work being conducted under the award to ensure that the purposes of the SC2 Network are being carried out, and that technical service providers and units of local government are following through on their commitments to local and regional development. HUD’s involvement includes, but is not limited to, monitoring progress that is being made in meeting established performance metrics and ensuring consistency in projects across community engagements.

B. Cooperative Agreement Period.

Approximately $10 million for the SC2 Network will be made available to the Administrator to be expended over the course of 36 months from the date of the cooperative agreement. HUD will monitor the Administrator to ensure that the funds are effectively and efficiently utilized over the 36 month period.

In addition, HUD must approve a grantee’s work plan and budget before a grantee can begin work with each community receiving services under the cooperative agreement.

III. ELIGIBILITY

A. Eligible Applicants.

Eligible applicants for the SC2 Network Administrator may include the following entities:

Nonprofit organizations, foundations, anchor institutions, for-profit companies, or a consortium of these entities with demonstrated ability to raise philanthropic support.

The Administrator must have a demonstrated ability to engage and maintain relationships with a diverse group of technical service providers across a broad range of disciplines, and partner with philanthropies and units of general local government to advance the objectives of the SC2 Network program. The Administrator must also have a demonstrated ability to obtain other community, private sector, and federal resources that can be combined with HUD’s program resources to achieve program objectives. In general, an ideal Administrator will have most or all of the following characteristics:

1. Place-based. The selected Administrator, buoyed by support of agencies and the philanthropic community, will have experience working in many distressed communities, and will be able to match these communities to relevant technical experts quickly and efficiently, understanding the unique characteristics of each community and the importance of place.

2. Resource-maximizing. The selected Administrator will have a national scope and will be well-accustomed to the challenge of distributing scarce resources across communities with distinct needs. The ability to effectively evaluate requests for service will be paramount to using the SC2 Network’s resources to their greatest potential.

3. Nimble, Responsive, and Service-oriented. The SC2 Network will be designed to provide very timely assistance that can thoroughly understand and adapt to needs on the ground.

Therefore, the selected Administrator will have, or can quickly pull together a deep team of technical experts, and, when necessary, develop partnerships between…