Strengthening Community Colleges Training Grants (Round 6)

Financial System Risk Assessment -fillable 8.17.23.pdf

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR -EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ADMINISTRATION (ETA)
FUNDING OPPORTUNITY ANNOUNCEMENT: FINANCIAL SYSTEM RISK ASSESSMENT
SECTION A: PURPOSE
The financial responsibility of grantees must be such that the grantee can properly discharge the public trust which accompanies the authority to
expend public funds. Adequate administrative and financial systems including the accounting systems should meet the following criteria as contained
in 2 CFR 200 and 2 CFR 2900.
(1) Accounting records should provide information needed to adequately identify the receipt of funds under each grant awarded and the expenditure
of funds for each grant.
(2) Entries in accounting records should refer to subsidiary records and/or documentation which support the entry and which can be readily located.
(3) The accounting system should provide accurate and current financial reporting information.
(4) The accounting system should be integrated with an adequate system of internal controls to safeguard the funds and assets covered, check the
accuracy and reliability of accounting data, promote operational efficiency, and encourage adherence to prescribed management policies.
SECTION B: GENERAL
1. Applicant Legal Name (as it appears in SAM.gov):
a. When was the organization b. Principal Officers Names, Title, Email Address
founded/incorporated (month, day, year):
President/Chair Board of Directors:
Chief Executive Officer:
Chief Financial Officer:
c. Employer Identification Number:
A ccounting/Budget Officer:
d. Number of Employees
Full Time: Part Time:
2. Is the organization or institution affiliated with any other organization: Yes No 3. Total Sales/Revenues in most recent
If yes, please provide details as to the nature of the company (for profit, nonprofit, LLC, etc) and if it accounting period. (12 months)
provides services or products to the organization in relation to this grant. $
SECTION C: ACCOUNTING SYSTEM
NOTE: Provide a detailed response (on a separate page on your organization’s letterhead and signed/dated by a Principal Officer) for any items 2-9
of Section C that have “No” or “Not Sure” answer(s), providing enough information to clearly reflect the expertise of the organization in these areas.
1. Has any Government Agency rendered an official written opinion concerning the adequacy of the accounting system for the collection,
identification, and allocation of costs under Federal contracts/grants? Yes No
a. If yes, provide name, and address of Agency performing review: b. Attach a copy of the latest review and any subsequent correspondence,
clearance documents, etc.
2. Which of the following best describes the State Internally Web-based
accounting system: administered developed
3. Does the accounting system identify the receipt and expenditure of program funds separately for Yes No Not Sure
each contract/grant?
4. Does the accounting system provide for the recording of expenditures for each grant/contract by the Yes No Not Sure
component project and budget cost categories shown in the approved budget?
5. Are time distribution records maintained for an employee when his/her effort can be specifically Yes No Not Sure
identified to a particular cost objective?
6. If the organization proposes an overhead rate, does the accounting system provide for the Yes No Not Sure
segregation of direct and indirect expenses?

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7. Does the organization have an approved indirect cost rate or cost allocation plan? Yes No Not Sure
If so, who approved it (Federal Cognizant Agency or a Pass-through Entity)? What are the effective
dates?
8. Does the accounting/financial system include budgetary controls to preclude incurring obligations
in excess of:
a. Total funds available for a grant? Yes No Not Sure
b. Total funds available for a budget cost category (e.g., Personnel, Travel, etc.)? Yes No Not Sure
9. Does the organization or institution have an internal control structure that would provide reasonable Yes No Not Sure
assurance that the grant funds, assets, and systems are safeguarded?
SECTION D: FINANCIAL STABILITY
1. Is there any legal matter or an ongoing financial concern that may impact the organization's ability to manage and administer the grant? Yes
No
If yes, please explain briefly.
SECTION E: FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
1. Did an independent certified public accountant (CPA) ever examine the financial statements? Yes No
2. If an independent CPA review was performed, please attach a copy of their latest report and any management letters issued.
E nclosed N / A
3. If an independent CPA was engaged to perform a review and no report was issued, please provide details and an explanation below:
SECTION F: PAYMENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM ACCOUNT
1. ETA uses the Department of Health and Human Services Payment Management System (PMS). If your organization has an ETA PMS account,
provide the PMS EIN and the PMS account (e.g., 89X7X) where grant funding should be placed if selected for award.
SECTION G: ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
1. Use this space for any additional information (indicate section and item numbers if a continuation)

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SCC6 FOA-ETA 26-40 Amendment One.pdf

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employment and Training Administration
Funding Opportunity Announcement
FOA-ETA-26-40
Amendment One
Strengthening Community Colleges Training Grants (Round 6)
AGENCY: Employment and Training Administration, Department of Labor
ACTION: Amendment to FOA-ETA-26-40
SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Labor announced on February 17, 2026, the availability of
funding for the Strengthening Community Colleges Training Grants (Round 6) to be awarded
through a competitive process.
The document is hereby amended as follows:
Cover Page of the Funding Opportunity Announcement
The following is added:
On approximately March 17, 2026, a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) page about the
Strengthening Community Colleges Training Grants FOA will be available at
https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/grants/apply/find-opportunities. Please check this link
frequently for future updates, as additional FAQs may be added.
Section II.A. Eligible Applicants
The following is added (in bold):
1. The following organizations are eligible to apply:
Public and State controlled institutions of higher education
Tribally controlled colleges and universities
The Department will award grants under this program to lead applicants that are community colleges
as defined in Section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act, and at which the associate degree is
primarily the highest degree awarded, as shown by the college's designation at
https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/. The Department is requiring community colleges to apply for
this funding as a consortium of institutions of higher education. Thus, a community college must
apply as a lead of a consortium of institutions. Consortium members may include community
colleges and public and private, non-profit four-year institutions, as defined in Section 101(a) of the
Higher Education Act.
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An institution consortium must include, at a minimum, the consortium lead and a majority of
community colleges located in the state (defined as 50 percent or greater)or a comparable
demonstration of majority engagement that is relevant to community colleges, but the
Department strongly encourages applications that encompass a statewide system of community
colleges, where feasible, to support the priorities of SCC6 related to statewide impact. The
institutional consortium must form an SCC Partnership as described below in Section III.H.
Required Partnerships. Grants will be awarded to the lead applicant of an SCC Partnership, which
will serve as the grantee and have overall fiscal and administrative responsibility for the grant.
The third paragraph is deleted and replaced with the following:
NOTE: The Department does not intend to fund more than one successful application per state;
however, dependent on the quality of the applications received, among other factors, the Department
may consider an award to a qualifying tribal consortium within a state that otherwise may receive an
award. Tribally controlled colleges and universities may also be part of the state consortium and are
not required to apply as separate consortium applicants. See Section VI.C. Review and Selection
Process for further information.
The following is added (in bold):
3. State Leadership Letters of Support
To be eligible for consideration, each application must include a letter of support from any one
official listed in “Group A” and one letter from any one official in “Group B.” The letters should
speak to the commitment to state-level coordination activities to support data integration and data
sharing priorities described in Section III.B.3.b.
Group A:
• The Governor
• Executive Director/Chief/Chair, Governor’s Workforce Cabinet
• State Workforce Board Chair
• State Workforce or Labor Agency Head/Chief
• Tribal Chief/Governor/Chairperson (if pursuing separate tribal consortium)
Group B:
• Chief State Education Office/SHEEO
• Chief State School Officer
• State CTE Director
• Community College Board Chair (if pursuing separate tribal consortium)
Section III.H. Required Partnerships
The fourth and fifth paragraphs aredeleted and replaced with the following:
Required Institution Consortium
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The Department is requiring applicants to apply for this funding as a consortium of colleges,
comprised of a sufficient demonstration of community college engagement to support the statewide
impact necessary. This requires that applicants’ consortia include, if not a majority of the
community colleges (or tribally controlled community colleges) within the state, then a comparable
demonstration of majority engagement that is relevant to community colleges. Each applicant
consortium is required to explain what measurement they are using to identify majority engagement
and how they have identified the numerators and denominators for the ratios they are providing and
to provide assurance they are meeting the requirement. See Section IV.C.3.i. for more information.
a. Required Institution Coordinating Entity
Applicants must include in their SCC Partnerships at least one state-level, community college
district-level, or tribal entity within the state, referred to in this FOA as the institution coordinating
entity. The institution coordinating entity must be a state-, district-level, or tribal entity with
oversight within the state that is responsible for regulating, governing, advising, and/or
coordinating the institutions of higher education in the institution consortium. Examples include,
but are not limited to, a state governing body for community colleges or for institutions of higher
education more broadly; a statewide association of community colleges; a community college
district (or equivalent) entity; or an identified entity within the tribe that provides governance for
one or more of the tribally controlled colleges or universities in the consortium. The identified
institution coordinating entity will play an important role in supporting the statewide or large-scale
impacts of the grant and its role in doing so must be consistent with the objectives outlined in the
Core Elements of the FOA (Section III.B.) and the requirements in Section IV.C. Project Narrative.
Section IV.C.3.i. Institutions of Higher Education Selection (Up to 4 Points)
The second bullet is deleted and replaced with the following:
• Applicants that do not apply as a statewide community college system must describe how
they have defined a majority of community colleges within their state or comparable
demonstration of majority engagement that is relevant to community colleges, convincingly
demonstrate that their proposed institution consortium members (described in Section
III.A.5) meet the required majority threshold for the state as they have defined it, and
describe how the colleges are organized relative to the labor market area(s) described in
response to the Statement of Need (Section IV.C.1).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE EMAIL SCC6_FOA-ETA-26-40@dol.gov.
Signed March 18, 2026 in Washington, D.C. by:
Brinda Ruggles
Grant Officer, Employment and Training Administration
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SCC6 FOA-ETA-26-40.pdf

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employment and Training Administration
NOTICE OF AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS AND FUNDING OPPORTUNITY
ANNOUNCEMENT FOR: Strengthening Community Colleges Training Grants (Round 6)
ANNOUNCEMENT TYPE: Initial
FUNDING OPPORTUNITY NUMBER: FOA-ETA-26-40
ASSISTANCE LISTING NUMBER: 17.280
Submit all applications in response to this announcement through https://www.grants.gov.
FUNDING DETAIL:
Expected Total Available Funding $65,000,000
Expected Number of Awards 6–10
Funding Range Per Award $6,500,000–$10,800,000
Awards made under this Announcement are subject to the availability of federal funds. The
Department reserves the right to apply funding from the FY 2026 appropriation, up to an
additional $65,000,000, to this FOA, should the Department receive sufficient qualifying
applications. In the event that sufficient applications are received, we reserve the right to use
these funds to select more grantees from the applications submitted in response to this
Announcement.
KEY DATES:
05/20/2026. We must receive applications no
Application Deadline
later than 11:59 pm Eastern Time.
Expected Period of Performance Start Date 09/01/2026
Period of Performance Length 48
On approximately March 4, 2026, a pre-recorded Prospective Applicant Webcast will be
available at https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/grants/apply/find-opportunities and available for
viewing any time after that date. While review of this Webcast is strongly encouraged to support
successful grant applications, it is not mandatory.

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Table of Contents
I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ......................................................................................................... 2
II. ELIGIBILITY ............................................................................................................................ 3
A. Eligible Applicants ................................................................................................................. 3
B. Cost Sharing ........................................................................................................................... 4
C. Period of Performance ............................................................................................................ 4
III. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION .................................................................................................... 5
A. Purpose ................................................................................................................................... 5
B. Program Goals and Objectives ............................................................................................... 6
C. Expected Performance Outcomes ......................................................................................... 11
D. Funding Type ....................................................................................................................... 13
E. Eligible Participants .............................................................................................................. 15
F. Program Authority ................................................................................................................ 16
G. Funding Restrictions, Policies and Limitations .................................................................... 16
H. Required Partnerships........................................................................................................... 18
IV. APPLICATION CONTENT AND FORMAT ....................................................................... 20
A. SF-424, Application for Federal Assistance......................................................................... 20
B. Project Budget, Composed of the SF-424A and Budget Narrative ...................................... 20
C. Project Narrative ................................................................................................................... 20
D. Attachments to the Project Narrative ................................................................................... 28
V. SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS AND DEADLINES ........................................................ 31
A. How to Obtain an Application Package ............................................................................... 31
B. Unique Entity Identifier and System for Award Management ............................................. 31
C. Submission Instructions ........................................................................................................ 31
D. Intergovernmental Review ................................................................................................... 31
E. Other Submission Requirements .......................................................................................... 31
VI. APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION......................................................................... 31
A. Responsiveness Review ....................................................................................................... 31
B. Review Criteria ..................................................................................................................... 32
C. Review and Selection Process .............................................................................................. 33
D. Risk Review ......................................................................................................................... 33
VII. AWARD NOTICES .............................................................................................................. 33
A. Award Document ................................................................................................................. 33
B. Award Timing and Notification to Applicants ..................................................................... 33
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VIII. POST AWARD REQUIREMENTS AND ADMINISTRATION ....................................... 34
A. Administrative and National Policy Requirements .............................................................. 34
B. Reporting .............................................................................................................................. 35
IX. RESOURCES ......................................................................................................................... 35
X. OMB INFORMATION COLLECTION ................................................................................. 36
APPENDIX A: RESOURCES ON EMPLOYER ENGAGEMENT AND CAREER
PATHWAYS ............................................................................................................................. 36
APPENDIX B: RESOURCES ON WIOA STATE ELIGIBLE TRAINING PROVIDER LIST
(ETPL) ....................................................................................................................................... 37
APPENDIX C: SUGGESTED PROJECT WORK PLAN FORMAT ...................................... 38
APPENDIX D: RESOURCES ON EVALUATION ................................................................ 42
APPENDIX E: SUGGESTED ABSTRACT FORMAT ........................................................... 43
I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Employment and Training Administration (ETA), at the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL, or
the Department, or we), announce the availability of grant funds for Strengthening Community
Colleges Training Grants (Round 6).
Round 6 of the Strengthening Community Colleges (SCC or SCC6) grants will fund community
colleges, with a singular focus on building program and system capacity for implementing and
scaling access to short-term training opportunities through Workforce Pell Grants—i.e.,
promoting industry-driven strategies, worker mobility, and integration with the larger state
workforce system (e.g., Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) partners) for
statewide impact. This sixth round of funding builds on the lessons learned from earlier SCC
rounds, as well as the legacy of the four rounds of Trade Adjustment Assistance Community
College and Career Training Grants. SCC6 aims to prioritize funding for statewide community
college systems, or consortia of multiple community colleges, to support states to build capacity
for the state-level workforce and education data sharing and data systems integration activities
necessary to demonstrate effective outcomes for programs seeking eligibility for the newly
authorized Workforce Pell Grants.
SCC6 also presents an opportunity for community colleges to continue their strong engagement
with industry, supporting coordination and alignment with employers to develop and/or enhance
existing high-quality, short-term programs for the newly authorized Workforce Pell Grants.
These programs must be portable and stackable along a career pathway, articulating into credit,
while also meeting the hiring requirements of employers in in-demand industries.
Eligible participants for SCC6 represent the broad population of community college students at
distinct and varied points in their education and workforce pathways, including new entrants to
the workforce, dislocated workers who have lost employment, and those currently working but
seeking additional skills.
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For further information or technical questions about this FOA, please contact Sarah Medley,
Grants Management Specialist, Office of Grants Management, at SCC6_FOA-ETA-26-
40@dol.gov and specifically reference FOA-ETA-26-40. This Announcement is available on
the ETA website at https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/grants and at https://www.grants.gov.
II. ELIGIBILITY
A. Eligible Applicants
1. The following organizations are eligible to apply:
• Public and State controlled institutions of higher education
The Department will award grants under this program to lead applicants that are community
colleges as defined in Section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act, and at which the associate
degree is primarily the highest degree awarded, as shown by the college's designation at
https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/. The Department is requiring community colleges to apply
for this funding as a consortium of institutions of higher education. Thus, a community college
must apply as a lead of a consortium of institutions. Consortium members may include
community colleges and public and private, non-profit four-year institutions, as defined in
Section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act.
An institution consortium must include, at a minimum, the consortium lead and a majority of
community colleges located in the state (defined as 50 percent or greater), but the Department
strongly encourages applications that encompass a statewide system of community colleges,
where feasible, to support the priorities of SCC6 related to statewide impact. The institutional
consortium must form an SCC Partnership as described below in Section III.H. Required
Partnerships. Grants will be awarded to the lead applicant of an SCC Partnership, which will
serve as the grantee and have overall fiscal and administrative responsibility for the grant.
NOTE: The Department will not fund more than one successful application per state. See Section
VI.C. Review and Selection Process for further information.
To be eligible as either a lead applicant or as a consortium member, all institutions must, by the
closing date of this FOA and throughout the entity’s performance in this grant program, be
accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency or association that has been recognized
by the U.S. Department of Education. A database of institutions that are accredited by bodies
recognized by the U.S. Department of Education can be found at http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/.
Note that the Department will check the accreditation status of lead applicants and consortium
members as part of the screening process. Applications that do not meet this requirement will not
move forward through the merit review process or be considered for an award.
An entity cannot serve as more than one type of required partner in the SCC grants for the
purpose of meeting FOA requirements. For example, a lead or consortium member institution
cannot also serve as the required workforce development system partner.
Please note that all elements of 2 CFR Part 200 (Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost
Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards) and 2 CFR Part 2900 (DOL’s
Supplement to 2 CFR Part 200), including the monitoring and examination of records, apply to
any entity that carries out a federal award as a recipient or subrecipient, including for-profit
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organizations. In addition, the entity may not earn or keep any profit resulting from federal
financial assistance.
2. Number of Applications Applicants May Submit
We will consider only one application from each applicant applying on behalf of a consortium as
the lead institution. If an applicant submits multiple applications, only the most recently
received application that meets the deadline will be considered. If the most recent application is
disqualified for any reason, we will not replace it with an earlier application.
3. State Leadership Letters of Support
To be eligible for consideration, each application must include a letter of support from any one
official listed in “Group A” and one letter from any one official in “Group B.” The letters should
speak to the commitment to state-level coordination activities to support data integration and
data sharing priorities described in Section III.B.3.b.
Group A:
• The Governor
• Executive Director/Chief/Chair, Governor’s Workforce Cabinet
• State Workforce Board Chair
• State Workforce or Labor Agency Head/Chief
Group B:
• Chief State Education Office/SHEEO
• Chief State School Officer
• State CTE Director
B. Cost Sharing
This program does not require cost sharing (including matching) funds. Applicants that include
such funds will not receive additional consideration during the review process. Instead, the
agency considers any resources contributed to the project beyond the funds provided by the
agency as leveraged resources. Section IV.B provides more information on leveraged resources.
For a complete understanding of this application requirement, see the 2026 Application Guide,
Section II.B Cost Sharing.
C. Period of Performance
The performance period on the front page of this FOA includes all necessary implementation and
start-up activities.
The performance period is 48 months with an anticipated start date of September 1, 2026, and
includes all necessary implementation and start-up activities.
We expect that start-up activities, such as hiring appropriate grant program staff and project
design activities, will begin immediately after grant award. Grantees are required to procure a
third-party developmental evaluator, as described in Section III.G.7. below, by the end of month
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six, if such a timeline is possible under required federal, institutional, and any other relevant
procurement guidelines.
Written requests for prior approval to acquire grant-funded special purpose equipment and/or to
alter space must be submitted no later than 12 months after the award date of the grant; DOL
strongly encourages grantees to submit such requests within the first 90 days. Grant Officer-
approved special purpose equipment and/or altered space must be acquired, completed, and
available for use in support of the project’s statement of work no later than 24 months after the
award date of the grant; DOL strongly encourages grantees to begin to use such investments
sooner. Grantees are expected to start enrolling participants in high-quality, short-term programs
seeking Workforce Pell eligibility by at least month 12, with consideration of academic
calendars, though sooner is preferred. We strongly encourage grantees to develop their project
work plans and timelines accordingly.
Grantees must plan to fully expend grant funds during the period of performance. DOL does not
anticipate period of performance extensions under this FOA.
III. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
A. Purpose
This sixth round of SCC intends to promote statewide capacity building efforts to develop and/or
expand high-quality, short-term programs that will seek eligibility for the newly authorized
Workforce Pell Grants. Section 83002 of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (Public Law 119-21)
authorizes Workforce Pell Grants to provide access to federal financial aid for students enrolled
in high-quality, short-term workforce programs that are defined as at least 150 clock hours of
instruction and less than 600 clock hours (or the equivalent in credit hours) and at least 8 weeks,
but less than 15 weeks, in duration, that have demonstrated success in job placement and
completion rates for students.
SCC6 will focus on the design and delivery of education and training programs that meet
employers’ hiring requirements and have strong employment outcomes. The intent is to fund
programs that will be positioned, in relatively short order, to meet the eligibility requirements for
Workforce Pell Grants. These efforts may include both the development of brand-new programs,
in consultation with employers, that are designed to meet Workforce Pell eligibility requirements
and fill critical workforce skill gaps, as well as efforts to enhance existing programs, such as
stacking multiple shorter complementary trainings into a program that both meets the clock
hours and duration requirements for Workforce Pell, as well as the desired competency and skill
needs of employers.
This round of funding will continue to support capacity-building efforts that strengthen the
connection between community colleges and industry to ensure that employers are playing a
central role in defining in-demand skills, validating curricula and credential or certification
programs, and developing clear pathways via the new Workforce Pell programs into high-skill,
high-wage, or in-demand job opportunities in collaboration with the community college grantees.
Improved integration between education and state workforce systems is also a key component of
this round of funding. Such integration will ensure the effective development and expansion of
the newly created programs and support the expected statewide coordination that is necessary for
successful implementation of Workforce Pell Grants. Workforce Pell Grants’ program eligibility
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requires program providers to coordinate with Governors to report accurate data on employment
and program completion outcomes. Additionally, Executive Order 14278: Preparing Americans
for High-Paying Skilled Trade Jobs of the Future and America’s Talent Strategy: Building the
Workforce for the Golden Age prioritize data integration and streamlining the tracking of
education-to-employment outcomes through improved federal coordination and opportunities to
reduce duplication and better align data. Requiring SCC6 grantees to undertake collaborative
state-level data system integration with workforce partners will enhance data collection and data
sharing necessary for Workforce Pell Grants eligibility determinations and address barriers to the
consistent inclusion of community college programs of study on State Eligible Training Provider
Lists.
Note that the Department is most interested in prioritizing funding for applicants that can
demonstrate strong efforts toward developing an integrated state-level data system but that have
not yet accomplished the necessary data sharing to facilitate such integration. See Section
IV.C.1.ii. Education and Workforce Data Sharing and Systems Integration.
B. Program Goals and Objectives
To ensure that SCC6 grant projects accomplish the goals of the FOA, the Department will fund
applications that address, in their proposals, how the project will expand statewide capacity of
Workforce Pell-eligible programs through each of the required SCC6 Core Elements:
• Core Element 1: Industry-Driven Strategies with Demonstrated Employer Value
• Core Element 2: Worker Mobility through Career Pathways Programs
• Core Element 3: Workforce System Integration to Expand Training Options
1. Core Element 1: Industry-Driven Strategies with Demonstrated Employer Value
To ensure that the projects funded by the Department support industry engagement and provide
value to employers, applicants must demonstrate existing strategic partnerships that can be
leveraged and further developed to support the significant capacity-building efforts required
under this FOA. Successful applicants will identify one or more industry sector(s) on which they
will focus. They will also identify initial employer partners, as described in Section III.H.
Required Partnerships. These employer partners may be new partners that are being brought into
the project to support this effort, or they may be existing partners that have been engaged in
some or all of the key areas below.
In addition, applicants will demonstrate that the industry sector(s) are in demand, both through
their employer partners’ commitment and engagement and by inclusion of Labor Market
Information (LMI) data that demonstrates the industry sector(s) and occupations have projected
significant job growth and/or a significant impact on the regional, state, or national economy.
The Department has particular interest in supporting high-growth and emerging industries
critical to American competitiveness and reindustrialization that can offer students and workers
short-term training pathways directly into employment. These industries include, but are not
limited to, in-demand skilled trades including shipbuilding occupations, occupations essential to
the buildout of AI infrastructure, advanced manufacturing, nuclear energy, domestic mineral
production, and information technology, including AI.
Applicants will also actively engage their employer partners, including through industry or sector
partnerships, to support the development of high-quality programs that will meet the hiring
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requirements of employers in the focus industry sector(s) for Workforce Pell Grants eligibility to
ensure that they are aligning with the needs of industry. Employers will support program
development through four key areas: (1) providing leadership to and setting strategic direction
for the project; (2) informing the identification and mapping of the necessary skills,
competencies, and employer-valued credentials for the program(s); (3) assisting with curriculum
development and program design, which may include cross-walking and matching course
competencies to industry-recognized, skills-based job descriptions used by employers; and (4)
donating resources, such as facilities, equipment, staff time, or other contributions to support the
proposed project. Projects funded under this grant program will maintain relationships with
employers and regional industry representatives throughout the duration of the project with the
intention of sustaining them beyond the grant period.
Community colleges must be able to demonstrate that they understand how to engage employers
and industry representatives and to provide the training outcomes that employers require in order
to meet the job placement and earnings requirements for Workforce Pell Grants. This includes
describing the ways in which they have collaborated with industry to encourage investment in
prior initiatives. Forging strong, or deepening existing, relationships with employers through the
SCC6 grant enhances labor market focus and connects participants to high-paying work
opportunities after program completion. Employers engaged in the partnership strategy should, if
feasible, commit to hiring opportunities for qualified program participants completing the
training. Successful applicants may use grant funds to work on developing partnerships, adapting
curriculum, and implementing the data sharing necessary to align their program offerings with
the needs of industry.
2. Core Element 2: Worker Mobility through Career Pathways Programs
A career pathways program offers a clear sequence, or pathway, of education coursework and/or
training credentials/certifications aligned with employer-validated work readiness standards and
competencies. It enables individuals to enter and exit training at various levels, with each step on
the pathway designed to help them move to the next level and progress over time to higher skills,
recognized credentials, and jobs with higher pay. See also WIOA’s definition of career pathways
identified in WIOA Section 3(7). Career pathways programs are recognized as effective in
supporting positive employment outcomes for community college students.
Workforce Pell Grants support worker mobility by providing high-quality, short-term training
that meets the hiring requirements of employers while also leading to portable, stackable
credentials that articulate to credit, allowing workers to continue to advance their skills along
their chosen career pathway. While the focus of SCC6 is to increase the availability of programs
seeking Workforce Pell eligibility, these programs can be the starting point of a broader career
pathways strategy that encompasses additional education and training programs, designed to
meet workers’ current skills and experiences, as well as to prepare them for the next destination
point on their career path. Additionally, community colleges offer longer-term certifications and
degrees for which programs seeking Workforce Pell eligibility can be foundational stacking
certificates, degrees, and/or college credits.
One example of how these programs can fit into a career pathways strategy is as a component of
Registered Apprenticeship. Programs seeking Workforce Pell eligibility may serve as the related
instruction (RI) component of a Registered Apprenticeship program, where feasible, to further
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reduce the cost of related instruction and expand access to the proven model of Registered
Apprenticeship.
Successful applicants under this FOA will demonstrate how their capacity-building efforts
through this funding opportunity will support worker mobility and ensure programs seeking
Workforce Pell eligibility lead to a recognized postsecondary credential that is stackable and
portable across more than one employer, and articulate to credit, including by:
• Identifying the proposed Workforce Pell-eligible programs that will be developed within
each identified industry sector of focus.
• Describing the career pathway stacking opportunities that may be built from the
developed Workforce Pell-eligible programs (which may include additional credentials or
licensures, Registered Apprenticeship programs, associate and bachelor’s degrees, as well
as Integrated Education and Training programs, the Ability to Benefit provision, and
competency-based articulation agreements and credit for prior learning equivalencies,
among others).
• Identifying how the project will support institutions of higher education on developing or
enhancing written agreements to ensure the award of academic credit towards a
certificate or degree program upon a student’s successful completion of the Workforce
Pell-eligible program and enrollment in the certificate or degree program.
3. Core Element 3: Workforce System Integration to Expand Training Options
Community colleges’ capacity to access, analyze, and report students’ educational and
employment outcomes data supports their ability to provide programs seeking Workforce Pell
eligibility that meet the hiring requirements of employers, and the skills and competencies
required by industry. The Department believes that strong connections between community
colleges and the public workforce development system ensure quality training and career
pathways and hold both education and workforce systems accountable for the use of taxpayer
dollars.
Under this FOA, successful applicants will strengthen their collaboration with WIOA and other
workforce system partners to accelerate career pathways programs through the development and
expansion of programs seeking Workforce Pell eligibility that will create statewide impact. This
statewide impact will be felt through the expanded training options available through Workforce
Pell Grants and the more rapid skills gains realized by workers in support of the state’s most
critical industries. This impact will also be demonstrated through the pursuit of two specific
goals of this funding opportunity, as follows:
a. Statewide Data Integration and Use
Data transparency is a valuable goal that state education and workforce systems strive toward,
providing job seekers and other interested parties necessary information on the outcomes and
impact of education and training programs broadly. For Workforce Pell Grants, this goal is a
material requirement, as eligibility for the Grants necessitates quality outcomes data on
completion and employment of those in the programs seeking Workforce Pell eligibility. Yet,
collection and reporting efforts can be hampered by inconsistent, incomplete data with long time
lags and insufficient context to meaningfully understand or use the information provided. To
address these challenges and support improved data transparency, applicants must collaborate
with their state workforce development systems to identify strategies that better integrate and use
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education and workforce development system administrative data, both for Workforce Pell Grant
eligibility requirements and broader beneficial statewide impacts that will result. These strategies
may include:
1. integrating data systems that contain both employment and educational outcomes data
from multiple institutions through a single, unified data warehouse or data management
system;
2. creating linkages between separate data systems through a management information
system (MIS) that creates record linkages, the use of administrative data research
facilities, or another model that the applicant proposes;
3. additional methods to address data integration and/or secure data sharing at the state level
between education and workforce data; or
4. develop talent marketplaces composed of credential registries (e.g., publishing education
and training programs in structured, open, linked, and interoperable data formats), skills-
based job description generators, comprehensive learner employment records (CLR) or
learning and employment records (LER) that connect students, employers, and education
providers through a common currency of skills.
Integrated data systems or system linkages that allow state matching of individual records to
allow calculation of program outcomes will enable community college staff to access current
information on education and employment outcomes of participants in grant-funded programs of
study and to establish a mechanism for colleges to access future information on SCC-funded
programs and on broader career pathways program outcomes. This system integration or linkage
will be critical to ensure that college student data can be securely received by states, matched to
existing outcome information, and returned accurately to the education entity for performance
accountability purposes.
In addition, statewide integrated data systems could allow staff to better assess participants’
progress in completing SCC-funded programs and other programs of study. Most importantly,
increasing visibility regarding the employment outcomes of training programs informs
jobseekers’ choices about effective training and education, and inclusion on state ETPLs
increases individuals’ access to the high-quality training community colleges have to offer.
Examples of activities that fall within these categories include, but are not limited to, the
following:
• Internal Data Reporting Capacity
o Develop and adopt standard definitions for a common set of reporting elements
for those students enrolled in non-credit and adult education courses that align
with those elements collected for students enrolled in credit-bearing courses.
o Integrate data on students in both credit and non-credit courses and programs into
institutional and statewide data systems.
o Integrate data on attainment of recognized postsecondary credentials into the
common set of institution-wide reporting elements.
o Develop machine-readable articulations between credit, non-credit, and employer
programs based on competencies.
o Adopt standard policies for complying with Family Educational Rights and
Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 U.S.C. § 1232(g); 34 CFR Part 99) requirements, such
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as policies for accessing student education records when connected with audit or
evaluation of federal or state programs and enforcement of or compliance with
federal legal requirements of those programs, standard practices or agreements for
disclosing Personally Identifiable Information (PII) through written agreements,
and other PII and records management practices. See Training and Employment
Guidance Letter (TEGL) 7-16: Data Matching to Facilitate WIOA Performance
Reporting for information on the circumstances under which educational
institutions may lawfully submit PII from education records to state
unemployment compensation or workforce agencies for wage record matching).
• Labor Market Information and Employment Outcomes
o Partner with state workforce agencies to obtain and understand LMI for state and
regional labor markets. Leverage the expertise of the workforce development
system to inform faculty and admissions counselors on effective use of LMI and
other resources to assist prospective students in selecting programs leading to
training-related employment. Provide current and prospective students with
extensive guidance on use of LMI resources to make program choices that lead to
training-related employment.
o Partner with state agencies that have undertaken administrative data matching or
longitudinal data systems that calculate employment outcomes of education
program completers. In particular, participate in statewide feedback discussions
on how best to enhance unemployment insurance wage records to support or
deepen program-to-occupational linkages, cross-walking education and training
programs to competency-based, industry-recognized qualification frameworks
and data sharing.
o Partner with state unemployment compensation (UC) agencies and state agencies
that administer WIOA programs to develop a comprehensive data system that
uses administrative data from these state systems. (Note: Since state laws and
regulations on confidentiality and disclosure vary across states, applicants must
consult with their state’s UC agency to determine the appropriate course of action
to gain access to confidential UC data for purposes of measuring employment
outcomes. All disclosures of confidential UC information must comply with
federal regulations at 20 CFR 603.22.) Per TEGL 7-16 (noted above), educational
institutions may disclose PII directly to the state UC agency provided certain
agreements are in place (see page 40 of “Joint Guidance on Data Matching to
Facilitate WIOA Performance Reporting and Evaluation” Attachment).
o For those states where sharing of data between state education and workforce
agencies is limited, applicants may seek to partner with their state’s Performance
Accountability and Customer Information Agency (PACIA) to explore
participation in the State Wage Interchange System (SWIS) data sharing
agreement. These partnerships can expand the types and availability of reports on
performance and evaluation of programs. As an alternative, applicants can seek to
partner with relevant state agencies on the use of administrative data research
facilities as a method of data matching and analysis.
The Department funds grant programs that encourage data integration within education and
workforce development systems. The Department has funded the Workforce Data Quality
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Initiative (WDQI) to support the development or enhancement of longitudinal administrative
workforce development system databases that will allow the creation of linkages to the state
education data systems. For more information, see the WDQI initiative.
b. Inclusion on State Eligible Training Provider List (ETPL)
WIOA Title I offers career services and training to reskill and upskill Americans with a variety
of work histories and experiences. Managed by states and operated in local areas, WIOA training
is often funded through an individual training account (ITA) that is used to purchase training
from a State Eligible Training Provider List (ETPL). The ETPL should be composed of training
programs that provide the necessary skills and credentials for high-demand and growing jobs.
DOL wants to ensure that these programs seeking Workforce Pell eligibility are leveraging the
public workforce system through inclusion on state ETPLs, as these programs must provide data
about their job placement rates using administrative data sources, which are more easily
available at the state level, underscoring the importance of gaining access to the ETPL.
Community colleges can assist with this effort by specifying competencies from their training
programs that are matched to the hiring requirements of employers of regional and statewide in-
demand occupations. Aligning ETPL programs of study and community colleges’ programs
seeking Workforce Pell eligibility can ensure that the occupational training available to workers
in the state is high-quality and responsive to the state’s labor market.
Thus, all applicants will build the institutional capacity needed to submit, within the grant period
of performance, all programs seeking Workforce Pell eligibility to state workforce agencies for
inclusion on ETPLs, along with the data that states require (such as data on program students) to
calculate employment outcomes. Specifically, successful applicants will actively engage their
local and state workforce board partners to introduce innovations around and reduce barriers to
participating on the ETPL. To improve the uptake and effectiveness of community college ETPL
engagement, applicants will address challenges related to (among other things) accurately
identifying data cohorts, reporting timelines, data elements, and data formats under WIOA; and
submitting accurate and timely performance data and cost information for both initial eligibility
and continued eligibility. See Appendix B for more information on the ETPL process and
requirements.
C. Expected Performance Outcomes
1. Performance Outcomes and Grantee Accountability
To ensure program accountability, document the effectiveness of the statewide impacts
undertaken, and track the required student outcomes for Workforce Pell eligibility, grantees will
track and report two sets of data: capacity-building indicators and performance outcomes.
a. Capacity-Building Indicators
To quantify the benefits of SCC6 statewide capacity-building efforts, grantees will track the
following:
• Total number of programs seeking Workforce Pell eligibility developed using grant funds
• Total number of new recognized postsecondary credentials or certifications created using
grant funds
• Total number of programs added to the ETPL
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• Progress toward the development of the applicant’s selected method to address data
integration and/or data sharing at the state level between education and workforce data,
which may include an integrated data system, system linkage(s), or another proposed
output that makes sense in the context of the applicant’s data landscape
Grantees will report these indicators in the required Joint Quarterly Narrative Performance
Report (see Section VIII.B. Reporting).
b. Performance Outcomes
Grantees will report employment and educational outcomes by tracking aggregated student
enrollment, completion, credential attainment, and job placement from relevant programs
seeking Workforce Pell eligibility.
The following indicators will be used to report Workforce Pell Eligibility progress for all
awarded grants:
• Student Enrollment in Program(s) Seeking Workforce Pell Eligibility
• Student Completion Rate of Program(s) Seeking Workforce Pell Eligibility
• Job Placement Rate of Students in Program(s) Seeking Workforce Pell Eligibility
(Employment Rate – 2nd Quarter After Exit (WIOA))
• Credential Attainment (WIOA)
Applicants are not required to provide targets for these outcomes. After award, additional
guidance will be provided to grantees regarding the options for collecting and reporting
performance outcomes, which will require grantees to track and report individuals via the use of
the Participant Individual Record Layout (PIRL) and upload into the Workforce Integrated
Performance System (WIPS), with the WIOA indicators generated by DOL using the Common
Reporting Information System (CRIS) where grantees do not have sufficient data sharing or
integration with their state systems to support the necessary collection and reporting. See Section
VIII.B. Reporting of the 2026 Application Guide for more information. See also Section
IV.C.2.ii. Participant Tracking Plan.
The Department may also use CRIS to collect additional WIOA outcomes data (such as Median
Earnings – 2nd Quarter After Exit) to support ETPL data quality; this will not be used for the
purposes of making eligibility determinations for Workforce Pell Grants.
For the purposes of this FOA, there is a distinction between all students enrolled in programs
seeking Workforce Pell eligibility, who must be tracked in order to capture the necessary
performance outcomes required for Workforce Pell eligibility, and SCC6 program participants,
who may also be enrolled in programs seeking Workforce Pell eligibility but who are further
served by the grant program through additional program services funded by the grant (see
III.D.a. Participant-Related Costs) and therefore may have additional reporting requirements.
Grantees are responsible for tracking these participants in more detail, including data on
enrollments, program services and activities, as well as the performance outcomes listed above.
2. Project Work Plan
Applicants must present a comprehensive project work plan demonstrating a cohesive, well-
designed approach to implementing the project that is realistic and measurable. Applicants must
also demonstrate the capacity to manage the project and specify the role that employers will play
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in supporting these activities. A Suggested Project Workplan can be found in Appendix C, and
an Excel version is available on the grants.gov FOA page, under Related Documents.
D. Funding Type
Funding will be provided in the form of a Grant. Throughout this FOA, all references to grants
are applicable to cooperative agreements.
We expect availability of approximately $65,000,000 to fund approximately 6–10 grants.
Awards made under this Announcement are subject to the availability of federal funds. The
Department reserves the right to apply funding from the FY 2026 appropriation, up to an
additional $65,000,000, to this FOA, should the Department receive sufficient qualifying
applications. In the event that sufficient applications are received, we reserve the right to use
such funds to select additional grantees from applications submitted in response to this
Announcement. Applicants may apply for awards ranging from $6,500,000 to $10,800,000.
Allowable Activities
A wide range of activities may assist applicants in their efforts to create and enhance career
pathways that include quality curricula and credentialing. Activities must relate directly to grant
objectives. That is, for costs associated with an activity to be allowable with grant funds, the
grantee must undertake the activity in relation to a grant-enhanced career pathway program, and
the activity must have a clear connection to one or more of the three core elements described in
Section III.B.
In general, activities related to the requirements in the core elements are allowable:
• Industry-driven strategies with demonstrated employer value, as described in Core
Element 1
• Worker mobility through career pathways programs, as described in Core Element 2
• Workforce system integration to expand training options, as described in Core Element 3
Other allowable activities that support the purposes of the FOA include:
• Data disaggregation, analysis, and application to the project.
• Professional development for faculty and/or staff.
• Activities necessary to support required evaluation(s) (see Section III.G.4. Grantee-
Contracted Third-Party Evaluation and Section VIII.A.5.a. DOL Evaluation).
• Preparing learning resources to be shared as open education resources (OER), affixing
the open license to them (see Section III.G.3.), and making them publicly available for
use and adaptation via a public distribution platform.
• Purchasing or upgrading classroom supplies and equipment and/or educational
technologies that will contribute to the instructional purpose in education and training
courses supported by the grant. Note that all equipment must be used in the classroom
(in-person or virtual), clearly tied to the competencies required for the proposed career
pathways program(s) and must not be purchased without prior approval from the Grant
Officer.
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• Activities necessary to align program offerings with the requirements of Workforce Pell.
Minor alterations, renovations, or rearrangements (with prior approval from the Grant
Officer), if specific to the project.
• Any additional grant requirements, such as performance reporting, credential
transparency, and other requirements.
a. Participant-Related Costs
While the following costs are allowable with grant funds, the Department expects grantees to
leverage existing college infrastructure, WIOA funding, Federal Perkins and Pell Grants,
including Workforce Pell Grants, and other available sources to cover such participant-related
costs, where feasible:
• Conducting outreach and recruitment of eligible participants.
• Implementing an initial assessment of skill levels, aptitudes, abilities, competencies,
integrated participant services, supportive service, and employment needs.
• Providing job development, job search and placement assistance and, where appropriate,
academic and career counseling.
• Providing case management services.
• Providing supportive services that will allow individuals to participate in and successfully
complete the training provided through the grant, such as access to childcare,
transportation, housing, counseling, work tools, and work clothes.
For this round of funding, costs for participant tuition and fees are not allowable with grant
funds.
Wherever feasible, grantees are required to leverage existing open educational resources (OER)
instead of duplicating existing open learning objects as components of their proposed programs.
See Section III.G.3 Open Educational Resources for more information.
Per the SCC appropriations language, any grant funds used for apprenticeships shall be used to
support only apprenticeship programs registered under the National Apprenticeship Act and as
referred to in section 3(7)(B) of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.
Applicants should refer to Section VIII.A. of the FOA for a list of applicable federal laws and
regulations related to cost principles, administrative, and other requirements that apply to this
Announcement.
b. Equipment and Minor Alterations
Expenditures for equipment and minor alterations, renovations, or rearrangements, if specific to
the project, are allowable with prior written approval from the Grant Officer. Minor alterations,
renovations, or rearrangements may include activities and associated costs such as relocating,
modifying, replacing, or adding items (such as switches and outlets) related to internal
environments (temperature, humidity, ventilation, and acoustics), and installation of fixed
equipment (including fume hoods and audio/visual equipment).
The award of a grant under this FOA does not constitute prior approval of equipment or minor
alterations. After grant awards are made, grantees will be required to obtain specific Grant
Officer approval before acquiring equipment or proceeding with proposed alteration of facilities.
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The Grant Officer must determine that all proposed equipment and/or alterations are (1)
allocable, necessary, and reasonable; (2) tied to specific grant-related deliverables and outcomes
outlined in the grantee’s statement of work (SOW) (including capacity-building and/or training
outcomes); and (3) consistent with the FOA. In their budget narrative, applicants proposing to
spend grant funds on alterations as outlined in the SOW and budget narrative must demonstrate
how these expenditures will support the expansion and improvement of the education and
training programs that are the focus of their proposed project.
Total costs to the grant of all equipment purchased cannot exceed 20 percent of the total grant
award. Equipment purchased with grant funds must be installed and ready to use no later than 24
months from the start of the period of performance. Total costs to the grant of all alterations
cannot exceed 15 percent of the total grant award. All grant-funded activities related to
alterations must be completed no later than 24 months from the start of the period of
performance.
E. Eligible Participants
Participants eligible to receive services provided through this program represent three primary
categories that are named in the appropriation: new entrants to the workforce or who have been
out of the workforce for a long enough time as though they are entering the workforce for the
first time, dislocated workers, and employed workers. We note that the categories are broad
enough to encompass participants who would be eligible for Workforce Pell.
For the purposes of this FOA, these categories are defined as follows:
Dislocated Workers: People who were terminated or laid off from employment; have received a
notice of termination or layoff from employment; or were self-employed but are now
unemployed.
Employed Workers: For the purposes of this FOA, this term refers to individuals who are
employed but need training to secure full-time employment, advance in their careers, or attain
employment in higher-wage occupations. This includes low-wage and medium-wage workers
who need to upgrade their skills to advance in their careers, and workers who are currently
working part-time.
New Entrants to the Workforce: People who have never worked before. This category also
includes people who have been out of the workforce for a long enough time to make it as if they
are entering the workforce for the first time. For example, this may include, but is not limited to,
long-term unemployed or ex-offenders. Youth who are enrolled in their junior or senior year of
high school and who could be employed no later than six months after the end of the grant
lifecycle, and youth who have dropped out of school and are seeking their first full-time job are
also eligible, consistent with Federal and state wage and employment laws.
These broad categories of eligible participants include within them low-income individuals, ex-
offenders, and individuals with disabilities, among others.
For a complete understanding of application definitions, see the 2026 Application Guide, Section
III.G Definitions.
Veterans' Priority for Participants
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38 U.S.C. 4215 requires DOL grantees to provide priority of service to veterans and spouses of
certain veterans for employment, training, and placement services in any job training program
directly funded, in whole or in part, by DOL.
For a complete understanding of this application requirement, see the 2026 Application Guide,
Section III.E Veterans’ Priority for Participants.
F. Program Authority
Section 169(c) of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) authorizes this
program. The funds for this grant program are appropriated in Titles I and IX of Pub. L. 119-4,
Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025, March 15, 2025.
For a complete understanding of this application requirement, see the 2026 Application Guide,
Section VIII.G Definitions.
G. Funding Restrictions, Policies and Limitations
All proposed project costs must be necessary and reasonable and in accordance with federal
guidelines.
For a complete understanding of this application requirement, see the 2026 Application Guide,
Section III.H Funding Restrictions, Policies and Limitations.
1. Target Sectors and Occupations
When selecting the career pathway(s) to be built or enhanced with grant funding, applicants must
focus on those critical occupations that provide short-term, Workforce Pell-eligible training to
workers in in-demand industries, such as—but not limited to—AI infrastructure, advanced
manufacturing, nuclear energy, domestic mineral production, information technology including
AI, and shipbuilding.
Applicants must demonstrate that the industry sectors that they select align with the skills and
needs of their proposed labor market area(s) by providing labor market information as described
in Section IV.C. Project Narrative.
2. Recognized Postsecondary Credentials
All programs seeking Workforce Pell eligibility built and/or enhanced with grant funding must
lead to a recognized postsecondary credential. A recognized postsecondary credential is a
credential consisting of an industry-recognized certificate or certification, a certificate of
completion of a Registered Apprenticeship, a license recognized by the State involved or Federal
Government, or an associate or baccalaureate degree. For further information, see TEGL 25-19,
Understanding Postsecondary Credentials in the Public Workforce System.
3. Open Educational Resources (OER)
Before developing any new content, applicants should search existing OER repositories for open
learning objects and, where appropriate, leverage these learning objects instead of duplicating
existing objects as components of their proposed programs. In cases where no existing OER is
appropriate to the specific needs of proposed programs, applicants are encouraged to consider the
most efficient and practical means of acquiring content-for example, through college
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development, licensing or purchasing content, or purchasing existing intellectual property. See
Section IX. Resources for more information on SkillsCommons, the OER site developed for the
Department’s TAACCCT grants.
To further support the capacity-building aspect of this grant, SCC represents an investment in
developing OER by requiring that all new intellectual property, including all digital content
developed using SCC grant funds, be openly licensed for free use, adaptation, and improvement
by others. Applicants will build upon and contribute to the body of OER and continue to create
technology-driven innovations in career training and education, by openly licensing all work
created with the support of the grant. See Section VIII.A.4. for more information on open
licensing.
As part of the requirement to publicly license grant-funded products, grantees must post their
products (with the open license affixed) to a public distribution platform. Grantees may post
products to sites such as a state OER repository, SkillsCommons, or other public distribution
platforms.
4. Grantee-Contracted Third-Party Evaluation
An important aspect of this demonstration program is to document the capacity built by grantees.
Thus, applicants are required to procure a third-party evaluator to design and execute a
developmental evaluation of each funded project and participate in a national evaluation if one is
conducted by DOL. The Department believes that successful projects will develop evidence on
effective workforce education and training strategies to address the needs of employers and
workers.
The cost of the study must not exceed five percent of the applicant’s overall budget and must be
included in the overall grant budget and budget narrative. All applicants must submit a Third-
Party Evaluation Procurement Plan as an attachment to their Project Narrative, which covers the
specific steps that they will undertake to procure an evaluator for the required third-party
evaluation, demonstrating how those steps meet the following procurement requirements:
• Consistency with federal procurement law at 2 CFR 200.320, as well as any applicable
college, state, or other procurement regulations. Note that, because the budget limit for
the evaluator is no more than five percent of the total grant, the total may be under the
Simplified Acquisition Threshold of $250,000. Such purchases are referred to as “Small
Purchases,” with specific rules found at 2 CFR 200.320(a)(2).
• Consistency with institution, state, or other relevant entities’ procurement requirements.
Note that, if the institution, state, or other relevant entity has more restrictive rules for the
type of procurement planned, the procurement must meet both those requirements and
federal requirements.
Required implementation steps for the grantee-contracted developmental evaluation are as
follows, and they must be included in the required Project Work Plan. Deviations from this
timeline are possible but require prior ETA approval (see Section IV.C.2.iii.).
• No later than Month 6 (or the earliest timing that is feasible under the grantee’s
institutional procurement guidelines): Procure third-party evaluator for a developmental
evaluation.
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• No later than Month 9: Submit a Draft Detailed Evaluation Design from the evaluator,
using guidance provided by the Department.
• No later than Month 12: Submit a Final Detailed Evaluation Design in collaboration with
the grantee-contracted evaluator.
• Throughout: Ensure that the grantee-contracted evaluator carries out the evaluation,
completes all tasks and deliverables, and provides ongoing input and consultation.
• No later than Month 27: Submit the evaluator’s Interim Developmental Evaluation
Report to the grantee's Federal Project Officer (FPO) and Program Office using the
suggested format or similar layout, provided after grant award.
No later than Month 48: Submit the evaluator’s Final Developmental Evaluation Report using
the suggested format or similar layout.
5. Evaluation and Data-Related Costs
Labor and other costs related to data and evaluation are allowable, as defined in 2 CFR Part
200.455. Data and evaluation activities may include staff participating in interviews, focus
groups, and surveys; staff working to execute data sharing agreements; staff preparing datasets
required for an evaluation; staff participating in evaluation meetings; and other costs related to
DOL’s evaluations and data-related activities.
6. Salary and Bonus Limitations
By law, no “Employment and Training Administration” appropriated funds may be used by a
recipient or subrecipient of such funds to pay the salary and bonuses of an individual, either as
direct costs or indirect costs, at a rate in excess of Executive Level II. The Executive Level II
salary may change yearly and is located on the OPM.gov website. This limitation does not apply
to contractors (vendors) providing goods and services as defined in 2 CFR 200.331. Where
states are recipients of such funds, states may establish a lower limit for salaries and bonuses
paid by subrecipients. To establish these limits, states may consider the relative cost of living in
the state, the salary levels for comparable state or local government employees, and the size of
the organizations that administer Federal programs involved, including ETA programs. See the
Program Authority found in TEGL 10-24 for additional information.
H. Required Partnerships
Grants will be awarded to the lead applicant of an SCC Partnership, which will serve as the
grantee and have overall fiscal and administrative responsibility for the grant.
Role of Lead Applicant
In the required abstract, applicants must clearly identify the lead applicant and each required
member of the SCC Partnership. The lead applicant will serve as the grantee, must be the
organization specified in Section 8 of the SF-424 Application Form, and will be:
• the point of contact with the Department to receive and respond to all inquiries or
communications under this FOA and any subsequent grant award;
• the entity with authority to withdraw or draw down funds through the Department of
Health and Human Services - Payment Management System (HHS-PMS);
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• the entity responsible for submitting to the Department all deliverables under the grant,
including all technical and financial reports related to the project, regardless of which
partnership member performed the work;
• the entity that may request or agree to a revision or amendment of the grant agreement or
statement of work;
• the entity that ensures that the programmatic functions are carried out, as well as provides
stewardship of all expenditures under the grant;
• the entity responsible for coordinating with both the grant’s required third-party evaluator
and with DOL’s national evaluator, including participating in a national evaluation and
other studies, if required by DOL; and
• the entity responsible for working with DOL to close out the grant.
SCC Partnership
An applicant’s SCC Partnership will comprise the institution consortium members including the
lead applicant; the required workforce development system partner(s); the required employer
partners; and any optional partners, each of which is described below.
a. Required Institution Consortium
The Department is requiring applicants to apply for this funding as a consortium of colleges,
comprised of no less than a majority of the community colleges within the state. Each applicant
consortium is required to explain how they have identified the majority of community colleges
and assured they were meeting the requirement. See Section IV.C.3.i. for more information.
b. Required Institution Coordinating Entity
Applicants must include in their SCC Partnerships at least one state-level or community college
district-level entity, referred to in this FOA as the institution coordinating entity. The institution
coordinating entity must be a state- or district-level entity that is responsible for regulating,
governing, advising, and/or coordinating the institutions of higher education in the institution
consortium. Examples include, but are not limited to, a state governing body for community
colleges or for institutions of higher education more broadly; a statewide association of
community colleges; or a community college district (or equivalent) entity. The state- or district-
level entity will play an important role in supporting the statewide or large-scale impacts of the
grant and its role in doing so must be consistent with the objectives outlined in the Core
Elements of the FOA (Section III.B.) and the requirements in Section IV.C. Project Narrative.
c. Required Employer Partner(s)
Applicants must include in their SCC Partnership at least three employers for each proposed
industry sector as an initial industry-driven partnership. The employer partnership will play an
important role in supporting grant success with respect to Core Element 1: Industry-Driven
Strategies with Demonstrated Employer Value and Core Element 2: Worker Mobility through
Career Pathways Programs, and its roles and responsibilities in doing so must be outlined in
Section IV.C. Project Narrative. As part of the industry-driven strategy, it is expected that
additional employers may be engaged by grantees at various points throughout the life of the
grant.
d. Required Workforce Development System Partner(s)
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Applicants must include in their SCC Partnership one or more partners from the publicly funded
workforce development system within the selected labor market area(s). For the purposes of this
FOA, these workforce development system partnerships must be formed with state workforce
agencies, or state or local boards as defined in Section 3 of WIOA (29 U.S.C. 3102) or Native
American entities eligible for funding under Section 166 of WIOA (29 U.S.C. 3221). These
organizations have state or local expertise in workforce development and will provide leadership
in improving the uptake and effectiveness of community college ETPL engagement, among
other activities.
In selecting the required workforce development system partner(s), applicants should consider
which entity(ies) will be best able to support the Core Elements in Section III.B.
e. Other Optional Partners
The Department encourages applicants to collaborate with other partners that can support and
advance the work of the SCC Partnership.
IV. APPLICATION CONTENT AND FORMAT
Applications submitted in response to this FOA must consist of four separate and distinct parts:
A. SF-424, “Application for Federal Assistance”;
B. Project Budget, composed of the SF-424A and Budget Narrative;
C. Project Narrative; and
D. Attachments to the Project Narrative.
You must make sure that the funding amount requested is consistent across all parts and sub-
parts of the application. You must submit your application in one package. Documents received
separately will be tracked separately and will not be attached to your application for review.
A. SF-424, Application for Federal Assistance
You must complete the SF-424, “Application for Federal Assistance”
For a complete understanding of this application requirement, see the 2026 Application Guide,
Section IV.A SF-424 Application for Federal Assistance.
B. Project Budget, Composed of the SF-424A and Budget Narrative
You must complete the SF-424A Budget Information Form and a Budget Narrative. The Budget
and Budget Narrative do not count against the page limit requirements for the Project Narrative.
For a complete understanding of this application requirement, see the 2026 Application Guide,
Section IV.B Project Budget, Composed of the SF-424A and Budget Narrative.
C. Project Narrative
You must include a Project Narrative with your application. The Project Narrative shows that
the applicant can implement the grant project explained in this Announcement. Applicants must
describe how they will meet the requirements listed below. Applicants must show that their
planned activities will meet the project goals. As appropriate, applicants should see Section IX.
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Resources, E. DOL’s Clearinghouse for Evaluation and Research (CLEAR) and DOL’s Chief
Evaluation Office as well as F. Data and Other Evidence Resources for starting places to find
research that could provide evidence of a sound approach.
The Project Narrative is limited to 25 double-spaced single-sided 8.5 x 11-inch pages with Times
New Roman 12-point text font and 1-inch margins. It must include the section headers listed
below. The agency will evaluate the Project Narrative using the evaluation criteria identified in
Section VI.B. We will not read or consider any materials beyond the specified page limit (except
for attachments listed in Section IV.D that impact the scoring of the application).
1. Statement of Need (Up to 14 Points)
i. Labor Market Area, Industry Sector(s), and Occupational Employer Demand (Up
to 8 Points)
Scoring under this criterion will be based on the extent to which the discussion of the
following factors is clear, logical, well-supported, and an accurate interpretation of data
provided. All data sources must include citations that provide information that enables the
identification and verification of data. To receive a full 8 points for this section, the applicant
must:
• Define the labor market area(s) proposed for their grant. The term “labor market area”
means an economically integrated geographic area within which individuals can reside
and find employment within a reasonable distance or can readily change employment
without changing their place of residence. Within the consortium, the labor market area
may constitute the entire state or there may be multiple labor markets that are the focus of
the grant, depending on the size of the state and the industry sector(s) of focus.
• Clearly describe the industry sector(s) within which the Workforce Pell-eligible
program(s) will be developed.
• List the occupations that will be the target occupations for employment after completion
of the proposed Workforce Pell-eligible program(s).
• Provide a detailed and convincingly supported description of the current and future
projected regional demand for employment in the targeted occupation(s). Applicants
must cite the source for the projected demand, such as Bureau of Labor Statistics or other
DOL sources, state workforce agency sources, employers, or other written labor market
information provided by employers or other knowledgeable parties. To the extent
possible, all data provided should reflect the geographic scope proposed. DOL
encourages the use of a table format within the Project Narrative to present information
on proposed occupations and projected regional demand.
ii. Education and Workforce Data Sharing and Systems Integration (Up to 6 Points)
Scoring under this criterion will be based on the clarity and specificity with which the
applicant describes the current state of data sharing and data integration activities within their
state, the feasibility of the proposed strategies to affect positive change, and the description
of how the anticipated outcomes will support efforts to successfully create programs that are
determined eligible for Workforce Pell Grants and for inclusion on the state’s Eligible
Training Provider List. As noted in Section III.A. Purpose, the Department is most interested
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in prioritizing funding for applicants that can demonstrate strong efforts toward developing
an integrated state-level data system but that have not yet accomplished the necessary data
sharing to facilitate such integration. To receive a full 6 points for this section, the applicant
must:
• Describe the current state of data sharing and data integration activities between
education and workforce systems within the state. Specifically, the description should
include relationships between key staff of workforce and education agencies that support
data collection, analysis, and reporting; efforts to date to address required data tracking
and sharing needs; barriers to improvement (i.e. legal, financial, technological, policy-
related, etc.); and a description of positive progress that has been made in the past decade,
if any. The description should emphasize how and why these efforts have not yet led to
the necessary data sharing and integration agreements needed to fully meet the
requirements in this FOA.
• Propose a set of strategies, plans, or processes that must be accomplished to improve data
sharing and integration of students’ education and workforce outcomes. Such proposals
should consider key state leadership positions or offices that should be involved,
technology platforms or data resources that need to be accessed or connected, legal
agreements that will be necessary to support the data sharing, and technology expertise
that may be necessary to map reporting elements for effective data integration.
• Summarize the impacts that improved access to data have created, particularly as it
relates to Workforce Pell Grants. The applicant should clearly identify how the efforts
described in response to the previous bullet have the potential to help the applicant’s state
to develop programs to align with Workforce Pell requirements through access to more,
and better, data about both participants they serve and the high-quality short-term
programs they design and deliver.
2. Expected Outcomes and Outputs (Up to 26 Points)
i. Capacity-Building Indicators (Up to 20 Points)
a. Workforce Pell-Eligible Programs Developed or Enhanced (10 Points)
To receive the full 10 points, the applicant must provide a complete and compelling response to
the following:
• A detailed description of how the applicant will use data (and what data sources) in
collaboration with employers’ input and guidance to determine the programs to develop
and/or enhance with the goal of qualifying for Workforce Pell eligibility.
b. Programs Added to the State ETPL (6 Points)
To receive the full 6 points, the applicant must provide the following:
• A description of the work that has been done to align ETPL and Workforce Pell-relevant
data collection, including how the applicant is or will be making changes to obtain
additional data on all students for the ETPL programs for which they anticipate seeking
Workforce Pell eligibility.
c. Statewide Data Integration and Use (4 points)
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To receive the full 4 points, the applicant must provide the following:
• A detailed description of the method that the grantee will undertake to address data
integration and/or data sharing at the state level between education and workforce data.
This may include the development of an integrated data system, system linkage(s), or
another method that makes sense in the context of the applicant’s data landscape.
Note that this section of the Project Narrative will be used to score applications on anticipated
broad program impact. After grant award, DOL will use the performance outcome measures
identified in Section III.C. Expected Performance Outcomes to assess the progress of successful
applicants toward achieving the goals of this initiative. During the project planning phase,
grantees will receive information about additional projections they must provide, as applicable.
ii. Participant Tracking Plan (Up to 2 Points)
The applicant must provide estimates of the total number of students that will be enrolled during
the 48-month period of performance in each proposed program seeking Workforce Pell
eligibility and must break out the estimates by college and program. Applicants do not need to
set participant targets for performance purposes, but successful applicants will be expected to
track and report on all participants (see Section VIII.B. Reporting).
Grantees will utilize DOL’s Workforce Integrated Performance System (WIPS) to track
participant-level data. DOL will provide additional information after grant award; however,
applicants must plan for participant tracking and budget for data collection and reporting as part
of their project work plans. Program-specific performance output measures are defined in the
2026 Application Guide, Section VIII.B Reporting.
To receive a full 2 points for this section, the applicant must:
• Describe how they will define and document enrollment into the proposed program(s)
seeking Workforce Pell eligibility for the purposes of participant tracking.
• Describe the system for collecting and tracking data on participants enrolled in the
identified program(s) seeking Workforce Pell eligibility during the grant period of
performance.
iii. Project Work Plan and Annual Milestones (Up to 4 Points)
Scoring under this criterion is based on a clear and complete identification of a comprehensive
work plan that is realistic and measurable. The work plan must be submitted as an attachment.
Appendix C contains definitions and instructions for completing the work plan.
To receive a full 4 points for this section, the applicant must provide high-level implementation
steps specific to the required and optional activities, milestones, entities responsible, start dates
and milestone due dates for each of the following project components, using the definitions in
Appendix C:
• Core Element 1: Industry-Driven Strategies with Demonstrated Employer Value;
• Core Element 2: Worker Mobility through Career Pathways Programs;
• Core Element 3: Workforce System Integration to Expand Training Options;
• The required developmental evaluation (Section III.G.4);
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• Open educational resource content development and posting (Section III.G.3 and Section
VIII.A.6);
• Linked Open Data on Credentials (Section VIII.A.7); and
• If needed, grant-funded special purpose equipment and/or altered space (Section I.D.).
Note that these required project components are included in the sample work plan template.
3. Project Design (Up to 44 Points)
i. Institutions of Higher Education Selection (Up to 4 Points)
To receive full points:
• Applicants must identify the Institution Coordinating Entity for their consortium and the
specific role and commitments that the entity will undertake or provide, including staff
time, resources, physical space, etc.
• Applicants that do not apply as a statewide community college system must describe how
they have defined a majority of community colleges within their state, convincingly
demonstrate that their proposed institution consortium members (described in Section
III.A.5) meet the required majority threshold for community colleges in the state, and
describe how the colleges are organized relative to the labor market area(s) described in
response to the Statement of Need (Section IV.C.1).
• Applicants must provide the minimum two letters of support from the allowable State
Officials (one each from Group A and Group B) that demonstrate commitment to state-
level coordination activities to support data integration and data sharing priorities.
• Applicants must also provide documentation of commitment, as described in Section
IV.D.2.b., from each member of the institution consortium, which convincingly
demonstrates their engagement with the aspect of the project for which they are
responsible, and attests that they will remain accredited through the life of the grant.
These must be provided in the documentation of commitment attachments. Applicants
that fail to provide documentation of commitment from each institution consortium
member included in the application will receive zero points for this rating factor.
ii. Industry-Driven Strategies with Demonstrated Employer Value (Up to 12 Points)
To receive full points, the applicant must provide the following:
• A clear description of how applicants have engaged employers and industry
representatives to support the creation and expansion of programs seeking Workforce
Pell eligibility that are industry-driven, specifically in implementing four key areas: (1)
providing leadership to and setting strategic direction for the project; (2) informing the
identification and mapping of the necessary skills, competencies, and employer-valued
credentials for the program(s); (3) assisting with curriculum development and program
design; and (4) donating resources, which may include funding or in-kind support such as
staff time, equipment, donation of proprietary software, and other efforts to ensure the
applicant (and its consortia members, if relevant) is able to meaningfully support the skill
development needs required and valued by industry.
• A thorough description of how the applicant will leverage existing strategic partnerships
or build and strengthen such capacity through the employer partners engaged with the
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SCC6 grant, to support the programs seeking Workforce Pell eligibility and ensure they
meet the hiring requirements of employers and skills needs of industry.
iii. Worker Mobility through Career Pathways Programs (Up to 6 points)
In response to Core Element 2: Worker Mobility through Career Pathways Programs in Section
III.B.2, applicants must identify the career pathways program(s) relevant to the programs seeking
Workforce Pell eligibility that have been or will be developed, demonstrating the portability and
stack-ability of the recognized postsecondary credentials these programs lead to, and how they
articulate to credit while mapping to and aligning with broader career pathways programs.
To receive full points, the applicant must, for the proposed programs that will seek Workforce
Pell eligibility:
• Describe the alignment of the proposed programs to the industry sector(s) of focus and
detail how the specific programs proposed are in demand or projected to experience near-
term growth within that industry.
• Describe the career pathway stacking opportunities that may be built from the developed
programs seeking Workforce Pell eligibility.
• Describe how the credentials to be awarded are designed to provide flexible entry/exit
points (on-/off-ramps) that enable participants to build the skills needed to secure better
employment opportunities.
• Detail how the project will support the articulation of credit for Workforce Pell programs
to ensure the award of academic credit towards a certificate or degree program upon a
student’s successful completion of the Workforce Pell-eligible program and enrollment
into the certificate or degree program.
• Describe how the programs that will seek Workforce Pell eligibility will result in labor
market value for participants, e.g. opportunities for career growth or higher wages.
iv. Workforce System Integration to Expand Training Options (Up to 12 Points)
To receive full points for this section, the applicant must provide, consistent with Section III.B.3:
• A clear description of the level of proposed collaboration between the applicant and the
public workforce development system partner(s) to undertake one of the following data
integration strategies:
1. Integrate data systems that contain both employment and educational outcomes data
from multiple institutions through a single, unified data warehouse or data
management system; or
2. Create linkages between separate data systems through a management information
system (MIS) that creates record linkages, the use of administrative data research
facilities, or another model that the applicant proposes; or
3. Undertake additional methods to address data integration and/or data sharing at the
state level between education and workforce data
• The description of the commitment to state-level coordination activities to support data
integration and data sharing priorities provided in the State Official’s Letter of Support
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and the extent to which that commitment meaningfully supports the data integration
strategy proposed.
• Documentation of the extent to which the applicant engages required and optional
workforce development system partners in the proposed capacity-building project and
leverages the workforce development system’s demonstrated experience in improving
employment-related skills and involvement in initiatives to help address workers’ barriers
to employment. This includes evidence that the required state and/or local workforce
development boards (or tribal entities eligible under WIOA Section 166) are involved in
the development and implementation of the grant project. Applicants must demonstrate
workforce development board or tribal entity engagement in the form of documentation
described in Section IV.D.2.b. that convincingly demonstrates engagement with the
aspect of the project for which they are responsible. Applicants must provide these in the
documentation of commitment attachment.
• A clear description of the level of proposed collaboration between the applicant and the
public workforce development system partner(s) to increase the institutional capacity to
add, within the grant period of performance, all programs seeking Workforce Pell
eligibility developed with SCC grant funds to the state Eligible Training Provider List
(ETPL). Such capacity may include working with local and state workforce board
partners to address challenges related to, among other things, accurately identifying data
cohorts, reporting timelines, data elements, and data formats under the Workforce
Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) and submitting accurate and timely
performance data and cost information for both initial eligibility and continued eligibility.
Applicants that fail to provide documentation of commitment identifying at least one eligible
workforce development system partner will receive zero points for this rating factor.
v. Demonstration of Employer Engagement (Up to 8 Points)
As stated in Section III.H. Required Partnerships, applicants must partner initially with at least
three employers for each industry sector proposed. To receive full points for this section, the
applicant must:
• Provide a comprehensive description of the roles of each committed employer partner
and the contributions each will provide to support the goals of the project. Applicants
must clearly describe how they will actively and continuously engage employer partners
in the planned project and how they will maintain relationships with those partners
throughout the life of the grant.
• Demonstrate that they are actively engaging employer partners in implementing the
industry-led career pathways strategy within the following key areas:
o Informing the identification of, and mapping, the necessary skills and
competencies for the program(s).
o Assisting with curriculum development and program design.
o Informing the design of an assessment, verifying hiring requirements, or
validating credentials that will address industry skill needs.
• Provide clear documentation of the currently committed employer partner roles and
contributions to the project, as described in Section IV.D.2.b., that convincingly
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demonstrates their engagement with the aspect of the project for which they are
responsible. These must be provided in the documentation of commitment attachment.
Applicants that fail to provide documentation of commitment from at least three employer
partners (for each proposed industry sector) will receive zero points for this rating factor.
vi. Required Third-Party Evaluation Procurement Plan (Up to 2 Points)
To receive a full 2 points for this section, the applicant must:
• Submit a third-party evaluation procurement plan as an attachment that describes the
applicant’s intent to procure a developmental evaluation and provides specific examples
of how staff, faculty, and students will participate in evaluation activities. (Note that the
detailed third-party evaluation plan should not be included with the application; winning
applicants will be informed of such requirements after grants are announced. This section
refers only to the plan to procure the third-party evaluator.)
• Describe in the plan the specific steps that the applicant will take to procure an evaluator
for the developmental evaluation, demonstrating how those steps meet procurement
requirements in this Announcement (see Section III.G.4. Required Third-Party
Evaluation).
• Include the evaluation procurement in the required budget narrative and budget.
• Include the required third-party evaluation milestones described in Section III.G.4. in the
project work plan.
4. Organizational, Administrative, and Fiscal Capacity (Up to 6 Points)
To receive full points for this section, the applicant must:
• Demonstrate that the required qualifications of the lead applicant’s day-to-day project
manager will fully support project success. For full points, the time commitment of the
project manager must be 80-100 percent, and this must also be reflected in the project
budget.
• Provide an organizational chart that identifies the lead applicant, required partners, and
any other proposed partners. The chart must describe the structure of the relationships of
all partners involved in the project. The chart must also identify the proposed project’s
staffing plan to illustrate that partners have the capacity to support the lead applicant to
carry out the proposed project. Applicants must submit the chart as an attachment. If no
organizational chart is attached, this rating factor will receive zero points.
• Describe a convincingly effective process and staffing plan for data tracking that includes
all consortium colleges, if applicable, and describe in detail how the lead applicant will
use a data-driven decision-making process to communicate expectations to partners and
institutional leaders, share progress against the work plan, and adjust strategies. For full
points, the applicant must include the “who, when, what, and how” of the process and
demonstrate a sound approach.
• Describe the applicant’s fiscal and administrative controls in place to manage federal
funds and demonstrate that the controls are adequate to ensure accountability and timely
fiscal reporting, and to protect against incurring unallowed costs with grant funds.
5. Past Performance Programmatic Capability (Up to 6 Points)
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To receive full points, the applicant must:
• Convincingly demonstrate past experience that supports the ability to effectively manage
a consortium project that requires buy-in from state leadership and coordination across a
large number of discrete organizations to accomplish the goals of the project.
• Describe strong and relevant prior experience (within the last five years) of the lead
applicant in managing multimillion dollar federally and/or non-federally funded
assistance agreements.
Demonstrate that the lead applicant and partners have sustained career pathways program
development, strategic employer and industry partnerships, and/or capacity-building activities
following completion of federally and/or non-federally funded assistance agreements.
6. Budget and Budget Narrative (Up to 4 Points)
The Budget and Budget Narrative will be used to evaluate this section. Please see Section IV.B.2
for information on the requirements. The Budget and Budget Narrative do not count against the
page limit requirements for the Project Narrative. For a full 4 points, the applicant must:
• Demonstrate that the proposed expenditures will address all project requirements,
including participant tracking and the required developmental evaluation, and that key
personnel, including the project manager and data tracking personnel, have adequate time
devoted to the project to achieve expected project results.
• Provide a detailed description of costs associated with each line item on the SF-424A.
The budget narrative should also include a complete description of leveraged resources
provided (as applicable) to support grant activities.
• Align the totals on the SF-424A and the Budget Narrative.
D. Attachments to the Project Narrative
In addition to the Project Narrative, the application also includes required and requested
attachments as explained below (see Section VI.A on which required attachments must be
submitted in order for the application to be reviewed). These attachments must be clearly
labeled and do not count toward the Project Narrative page limit. Any other attachments
included beyond those listed below will not be reviewed in the scoring of the application.
We encourage applicants to name the files using the document names listed below. Do not
include special characters (e.g. &,–,*,%,/,#). However, underscores (for example:
My_Attached_File.pdf) to separate a file name are acceptable.
1. Required Attachments
a. Abstract
You must submit an up-to three-page abstract summarizing the proposed project. If you do
not submit the abstract, your application will still be reviewed, but it may impact your score.
See Section VI.A for a list of items that will result in the disqualification of your application.
If you are selected for an award, the information provided in your abstract may be published
to a public facing website as a summary of your project. The abstract must include the
following:
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• Lead applicant organization name
• Project title/name
• Total funding requested
• Industry sector(s)
• Estimated number of participants
• Estimated number of recognized postsecondary credentials created
• Estimated number of new programs developed that are seeking Workforce Pell eligibility
• Estimated number of existing programs enhanced to meet eligibility requirements for
Workforce Pell
• Estimated number of programs seeking Workforce Pell eligibility added to Eligible
Training Provider List
• Institution consortium members
• Institution coordinating entity
• Employer partners
• Workforce development system partner(s)
• Optional partner(s) (if provided)
• Occupations targeted
• Career pathways program(s) to be created or enhanced
• Recognized postsecondary credentials(s) to be awarded
• Subrecipient activities
• Public contact information (point of contact name and title, institution, address, phone
number, and email address)
A suggested format for the abstract is in Appendix E: Suggested Abstract Format.
b. State Official Letters of Support
Submit signed and dated Letters of Support from one of the selected officials from each of
Group A and Group B. See Section II.A.3. State Official Letters of Support. The letters must
have the written or electronic signature of the authorized individual and be dated no earlier
than three months prior to the closing date of this FOA.
These letters must be uploaded as attachments to the application package and labeled “State
Official Letter of Support Group A” and “State Official Letter of Support Group B”
respectively.
These attachments do not count toward the page limit for the Project Narrative. Failure to
include both attachments will affect review of the application.
2. Requested Attachments
We request the following attachments. If you do not submit the attachments, your application
will still be reviewed, but it will impact your score, unless otherwise noted.
a. Letters of Commitment or MOUs
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Submit signed and dated Letters of Commitment or Memoranda of Understanding between
the applicant and partner organizations and/or sub-grantees that propose to provide services
to support or evaluate the program model and lead to the identified outcomes. See Section
III.I. Required Partnerships. The letter must have written or electronic signature of the
authorized individual and dated no earlier than six months prior to the closing date of this
FOA.
These letters must be uploaded as an attachment to the application package and labeled
“Letters of Commitment.”
b. Indirect Cost Rate Agreement
If you are requesting indirect costs based on a Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement
approved by your federal Cognizant Agency, then attach the most recently approved
Agreement. (For more information, see Section III.H. This attachment does not impact
scoring of the application.
This document must be uploaded as an attachment to the application package and labeled
“NICRA.”
c. Financial System Risk Assessment Information
All applicants are requested to submit Funding Opportunity Announcement Financial System
Risk Assessment Information. See Section VI.D for additional instructions. This attachment
does not impact the scoring of the application.
d. Organizational Chart
Submit the Organizational Chart as described in the Project Narrative, Section IV.C.4.
Applicants must upload this document as an attachment to the application package and
specifically label it “Organizational Chart.”
This attachment does not count toward the page limit for the Project Narrative. Failure to
include the attachment may affect scoring.
e. Project Work Plan
Submit the Project Work Plan as required in the Project Narrative, Section IV.C.2.iii,
including key milestones and deliverables, due dates, responsible parties, and deadlines. See
the suggested template in Appendix E: Suggested Project Work Plan Format.
Applicants must upload this document as an attachment to the application package and
specifically label it “Project Work Plan.”
This attachment does not count toward the page limit for the Project Narrative. Failure to
include the attachment may affect scoring.
f. Third-Party Evaluation Procurement Plan
Submit the Procurement Plan as required in the Project Narrative, Section IV.C.3.vii,
including information on how key stakeholders will participate and procurement steps.
Applicants must upload this document as an attachment to the application package and
specifically label it “Third-Party Evaluation Procurement Plan.”
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This attachment does not count toward the page limit for the Project Narrative. Failure to
include the attachment may affect scoring.
V. SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS AND DEADLINES
A. How to Obtain an Application Package
This FOA, found at www.Grants.gov and https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/grants/apply/find-
opportunities contains all of the information and links to forms needed to apply for grant
funding.
B. Unique Entity Identifier and System for Award Management
All applicants for Federal grant funding must have a Unique Entity Identifier and be registered in
the System for Award Management.
For a complete understanding of this application requirement, see the 2026 Application Guide,
Section V.B Unique Entity Identifier and System for Award Management.
C. Submission Instructions
Applicants must electronically submit their application through Grants.gov by 11:59 p.m.
Eastern Time on 05/20/2026. We will not review applications received after 11:59 p.m. Eastern
Time on the closing date. We will not accept applications sent by hardcopy (mail or hand
delivery), e-mail, telegram, or facsimile (FAX).
For a complete understanding of this application requirement, see the 2026 Application Guide,
Section V.C Submission Instructions.
D. Intergovernmental Review
This funding opportunity is not subject to Executive Order 12372, “Intergovernmental Review of
Federal Programs.”
E. Other Submission Requirements
If you encounter a problem with Grants.gov and do not find an answer in any of the other
resources, call 1-800-518-4726 or 606-545-5035 to speak to a Customer Support Representative
or email support@grants.gov.
VI. APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION
A. Responsiveness Review
Application Screening Criteria
Use the checklist below as a guide when preparing your application package to ensure your
application meets all of the screening criteria and contains all required items. Applicants should
not include the checklist in the application package. Applications that do not meet all the
requirements in the table below will not move forward through the merit review process or be
considered for an award.
Application Requirement Instructions Complete?
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Submission requirements are met Section V.C
Eligibility criteria are met Section II.A
Components of the application are saved in one of the specified
formats and are not corrupt. (We will attempt to open the document
Section V.C
but will not take any additional measures in the event of problems with
opening.)
SAM Registration Section V.B
SF-424 includes a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) and line 18a. does
Section V.B
not exceed the ceiling amount of $10,800,000
Section
SF-424A, Budget Information Form
IV.B
Section
Budget Narrative
IV.B
Section
Project Narrative
IV.C
State Official Letters of Support
Section II.A
B. Review Criteria
Points
Criterion
(Maximum)
1. Statement of Need
14 total
(See Section IV.C.1. Statement of Need)
2. Expected Outcomes and Outputs
26 total
(See Section IV.C.2 Expected Outcomes and Outputs)
3. Project Design
44 total
(See Section IV.C.3 Project Design)
4. Organizational, Administrative, and Fiscal Capacity
6 total
(See Section IV.C.4 Organizational, Administrative, and Fiscal Capacity)
5. Past Performance – Programmatic Capability
6 total
(See Section IV.C.5 Past Performance – Programmatic Capability)
6. Budget and Budget Narrative 4 total
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(See Section IV.C.6 Budget and Budget Narrative)
TOTAL 100
For a complete understanding of this application requirement, see the 2026 Application Guide,
Section VI.B Review Criteria.
C. Review and Selection Process
Merit Review and Selection Process
A technical merit review panel will carefully evaluate applications based on the selection criteria.
As outlined in section VI.B above, the selection criteria are based on the policy goals, and
priorities explained in this FOA.
Up to 100 points may be awarded to an applicant, depending on the quality of the responses
provided. The final scores (which may include the mathematical normalization of review panels)
will serve as the primary basis for selecting applications for funding. The panel results are
advisory in nature and not binding on the Grant Officer. The Grant Officer can make selections
based solely on the final scores or take into consideration other relevant factors when applicable.
Such factors may include the geographic distribution of funds, proposed industry sectors,
availability of funds, and other relevant factors. The Grant Officer may consider any information
that comes to their attention.
The government may elect to award the grant(s) with or without discussion with the applicant. If
a grant is awarded without discussion, the award will be based on the applicant’s signature on the
SF-424, including electronic signature via E-Authentication on https://www.grants.gov, which
constitutes a binding offer by the applicant.
Prior to issuance, and annually thereafter, awards will be subject to review in accordance to the
process described in Executive Order 14332, Improving Oversight of Federal Grantmaking.
D. Risk Review
Risk Review Process
Before making an award, ETA will consider any information about the applicant that is in the
responsibility/qualification records available in SAM.gov (see 41 U.S.C. 2313). For ETA to
assess the applicant’s Financial System, all applicants need to submit the Financial Risk
Assessment explained in the application guide (Section VI.D) at the link below.
For a complete understanding of this application requirement, see the 2026 Application Guide,
Section VI.D Risk Review.
VII. AWARD NOTICES
A. Award Document
A Federal Notice of Award document, signed by the Grant Officer, is the official document that
obligates funds. If selected, this document will be provided electronically.
B. Award Timing and Notification to Applicants
All award notifications will be posted on the ETA Homepage at
https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/. Applicants selected for award will be contacted directly
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before the grant’s execution. Non-selected applicants will be notified by email and may request
a written debriefing on the significant weaknesses of their application.
Selection of an organization as a recipient does not mean that their grant application is approved
as submitted. Before the actual grant is awarded, we may enter into negotiations about such
items as program components, staffing and funding levels, and administrative systems in place to
support grant implementation. If the negotiations do not result in a mutually acceptable
submission, the Grant Officer reserves the right to terminate the negotiations and decline to fund
the application. We reserve the right not to fund any application related to this FOA.
VIII. POST AWARD REQUIREMENTS AND
ADMINISTRATION
A. Administrative and National Policy Requirements
1. Administrative Program Requirements
All grantees will be subject to all applicable federal laws and regulations, including the OMB
Uniform Guidance, and the terms and conditions of the award.
For a complete understanding of this application requirement, see the 2026 Application Guide,
Section VIII.A Administrative and National Policy Requirements.
2. Religious Activities
Guidance from DOL on the effect of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act on recipients of
DOL financial assistance is found at https://www.dol.gov/agencies/oasam/grants/religious-
freedom-restoration-act/guidance.
For a complete understanding of this application requirement, see the 2026 Application Guide,
Section VIII.A Administrative and National Policy Requirements.
3. Other Legal Requirements
For a complete understanding of the application requirements on Lobbying or Fundraising with
Federal Funds; Transparency Act; Safeguarding Data Including Personally Identifiable
Information (PII); Record Retention; Use of Contracts and Subawards; and Grant Closeout, see
the 2026 Application Guide, Section VIII.A Administrative and National Policy Requirements.
4. Other Administrative Standards and Provisions
Except as specifically provided in this FOA, our acceptance of an application and an award of
federal funds to sponsor any program(s) does not provide a waiver of any grant requirements
and/or procedures. For example, the OMB Uniform Guidance requires that an entity’s
procurement procedures ensure that all procurement transactions are conducted, as much as
practical, to provide full and open competition. If an application identifies a specific entity to
provide goods or services, the award does not provide the justification or basis to sole source the
procurement (i.e., avoid competition).
For a complete understanding of this application requirement, see the 2026 Application Guide,
Section VIII.A Administrative and National Policy Requirements.
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a. DOL Disclaimer
If applicable, a standard ETA disclaimer needs to be on all products developed in whole or in
part with grant funds.
For a complete understanding of this application requirement, see the 2026 Application
Guide, Section VIII.A Administrative and National Policy Requirements.
b. Intellectual Property Rights and Open Licensing
All work created using grant funds must be in a format that is readily accessible and
available for open licensing to the public. This is required by 2 CFR 2900.13, and 2 CFR
200.315(d) to ensure DOL funds have as broad an impact as possible and to encourage
innovation and the development of new learning materials.
For a complete understanding of this application requirement, see the 2026 Application
Guide, Section VIII.A Administrative and National Policy Requirements.
c. Credential Transparency
DOL requires that grantees make publicly available information about recognized
postsecondary credentials using linked open data formats that support full transparency and
interoperability. This ensures individuals, employers, educators, and training providers have
access to the most complete, current and beneficial information about providers, programs
credentials, and competencies supported by federal funds.
For a complete understanding of this application requirement, see the 2026 Application
Guide, Section VIII.A Administrative and National Policy Requirements.
5. Special Program Requirements
a. DOL Evaluation
As a condition of grant award, as per 2 CFR Part 200.301, grantees are required to participate
in an evaluation, if undertaken by DOL.
For a complete understanding of this application requirement, see the 2026 Application
Guide, Section VIII.A Administrative and National Policy Requirements.
b. Performance Goals
Applicants will be held to outcomes provided in their application. Failure to meet outcomes
may result in technical assistance, intervention by ETA, or may have a significant impact on
future grants with ETA.
B. Reporting
You must meet DOL reporting requirements for quarterly financial and performance reports.
For a complete understanding of this application requirement, see the 2026 Application Guide,
Section VIII.B Reporting.
IX. RESOURCES
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For additional information on A. Web-Based Resources; B. Industry Competency Models and
Career Clusters; C. WorkforceGPS; D. SkillsCommons; E. DOL’s Clearinghouse for Evaluation
and Research (CLEAR); and F. Data and Other Evidence Research Resources, see the 2026
Application Guide, Section IX External Resources.
X. OMB INFORMATION COLLECTION
OMB Information Collection No 1225-0086, Expires June 30, 2028.
According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a
collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. Public
reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 50 hours per response,
including time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and
maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information.
Send comments about the burden estimated or any other aspect of this collection of information,
including suggestions for reducing this burden, to the U.S. Department of Labor, to the attention
of the Departmental Clearance Officer, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, Room N1301,
Washington, D.C. 20210. Comments may also be emailed to: DOL_PRA_PUBLIC@dol.gov.
PLEASE DO NOT RETURN YOUR GRANT APPLICATION TO THIS ADDRESS. SEND
ONLY COMMENTS ABOUT THE BURDEN CAUSED BY THE COLLECTION OF
INFORMATION TO THIS ADDRESS. SEND YOUR GRANT APPLICATION TO THE
SPONSORING AGENCY AS SPECIFIED EARLIER IN THIS ANNOUNCEMENT.
This information is being collected for the purpose of awarding a grant. DOL will use the
information collected through this “Funding Opportunity Announcement” to ensure that grants
are awarded to the applicants best suited to perform the functions of the grant. This information
is required to be considered for this grant.
Signed 02/17/2026 in Washington, D.C. by:
Brinda Ruggles
Grant Officer, Employment and Training Administration
APPENDIX A: RESOURCES ON EMPLOYER ENGAGEMENT AND
CAREER PATHWAYS
The Department encourages applicants to review the following resources, as relevant, when
developing their proposals.
Employer Engagement
What the Evidence Says About Employer Engagement Strategies
Patterson, M. & Carson, M. Report prepared for the U.S. Department of Labor, 2021
Nine Year Gains: Project QUEST’s Continuing Impact
Roder, A. & Elliott, M. Economic Mobility Corporation, 2019
The Employer Perspectives Study: Insights on How to Build and Maintain Strong Employer-
College Partnerships (TAACCCT National Evaluation)
Scott, M., et al. Report prepared for the U.S. Department of Labor, 2018
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Implementing the WorkAdvance Model: Lessons for Practitioners
Kazis, R. and Molina. F. MDRC, 2016
Career Pathways
New Insights on Career Pathways: Evidence from a Meta-Analysis
Strawn, J. et al. Brief prepared for the U.S. Department of Labor, 2021
From Learning to Earning: Eight-Year Findings from the ASAP Ohio Demonstration
Hill, C. et al., MDRC, 2025
Introduction to Stackable Credentials
U.S. Department of Education, Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education, 2021
Large Scale Change: Lessons Learned from TAACCCT (Note: Paywall)
Van Noy, M., et al. (Eds.) Volume 2021, Issue 193: New Directions for Community Colleges,
2021
Career Pathways Toolkit: An Enhanced Guide and Workbook for System Development
U.S. Department of Labor, 2016
APPENDIX B: RESOURCES ON WIOA STATE ELIGIBLE TRAINING
PROVIDER LIST (ETPL)
The Department encourages applicants to review the following resources, as relevant, when
developing their proposals.
Eligibility Policy and Procedures
TEGL 08-19:
This Training and Employment Guidance Letter (TEGL) provides guidance and describes
requirements relating to the eligibility provisions for the WIOA State List of Eligible Training
Providers.
TEGL 08-19, Change 1:
This guidance clarifies that Registered Apprenticeship Programs are eligible training providers,
including clarification on National Registered Apprenticeship Programs.
TEGL 07-16
This TEGL provides joint guidance with the Department of Education on exchanging
confidential UC information with educational and training providers to meet the performance
accountability requirements of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA).
Joint Guidance on Data Matching to Facilitate WIOA Performance Reporting and Evaluation
(Attachment to TEGL 07-16)
Webinar – ETP Webinar Series Part 1: Eligibility and TEGL 08-19 (2020):
This webinar discusses common challenges and solutions that states may face when developing
and maintaining a list of eligible training providers. It also provides an overview of TEGL 08-19.
ETP Quick Reference Guide:
High-level overview of some of the key requirements that WIOA applies to states with respect to
the ETP list.
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ETP Policy Checklist Tool:
Checklist that states may use to ensure that their ETP eligibility policies have all of the
components required by WIOA.
Leveraging the ETP List in Alabama:
This webcast provides information on how states can use eligible training provider lists to reduce
or mitigate benefit cliffs.
Sample ETPL Reciprocity Agreement:
This resource provides a sample reciprocity agreement that states may reference when
developing their own agreements to allow customers with individual training accounts to access
providers/training opportunities in other states. NOTE: This link will open to an automatic
download; depending on the browser, it may require selecting the download icon to see the file.
APPENDIX C: SUGGESTED PROJECT WORK PLAN FORMAT
A comprehensive work plan for the purposes of this FOA will include but not be limited to high-
level implementation steps specific to the following project components: Core Element 1:
Industry-Driven Strategies with Demonstrated Employer Value, Core Element 2: Worker
Mobility through Career Pathways Programs, and Core Element 3: Workforce System
Integration to Expand Training Options. In addition, project components related to Participant
Tracking, Developmental Evaluation, Open Educational Resource Content Development and
Posting, Linked Open Data on Credentials, and, if needed, Grant Funded Special Purpose
Equipment and/or Altered Space have been pre-populated in the work plan items below with the
Implementation Activities and Milestones, as required by the FOA. (Each of these is explained
further elsewhere.). Please complete the remainder of the project work plan (the areas in italics)
by entering Responsible Entity(ies), Start Dates and Milestone Due Dates (e.g., Year 2, Q3 or
Month 34) for each of the Implementation Steps and Milestones where applicable.
Note that successful applicants may add details to the work plan after award for internal use, but
the Department encourages applicants to only include high-level implementation steps specific to
the required activities, milestones, responsible entities, start dates and milestone due dates, using
the definitions provided below. The Department will review implementation progress on the
work plans, as reported in Quarterly Narrative Reports, for technical assistance purposes, and
annually for performance monitoring and compliance purposes. Significant changes to the
project work plan may require a grant amendment. DOL may request clarifications, as well as
annualized milestones, after grant award.
Note the following definitions and instructions:
• High-Level Implementation Activities: The key processes, services, and activities to
direct the course of change. These are the interventions that, when implemented, create a
result (milestones).
• Milestones: Milestones are realistic and measurable markers of grant progress including
those that serve as evidence of sustainable statewide impact; these are typically expressed
in the form of an action or event marking a significant change or stage in development.
• Entity(ies) Responsible: List actual entity, (e.g., Acme Community College or Healthcare
Conglomerate Ltd.), or specific role (e.g., IT Program Dean or Grant Project Director) –
not general categories such as college or employer.
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• Start Date: When an implementation step will be started. Show as Month 4, Y1, Q12, etc.
rather than using calendar dates for the purposes of the proposal.
• Milestone Due Date(s): When the milestone will be reached. Show as Month 4, Y1, Q12,
etc.
Suggested Format for Project Work Plan
A sample format of the Project Work Plan can be found here in Appendix C, and an Excel
version is available on the grants.gov FOA page, under Related Documents. Instructions appear
in italics and should either be removed or replaced with project-specific content.
SCC6 PROJECT WORK PLAN
LEAD APPLICANT:
PROJECT TITLE:
APPLICANT TYPE:
CORE ELEMENT 1: Industry-Driven Strategies with Demonstrated Employer Value
Insert applicant’s [Insert [Insert [Insert [Insert milestone
implementation steps for this milestone(s).] responsible start due date(s).]
Core Element entity(ies).] date.]
[Add additional lines as
needed.]
CORE ELEMENT 2: Worker Mobility through Career Pathways Programs
[Insert applicant’s [Insert [Insert [Insert [Insert milestone
implementation steps for this milestone(s).] responsible start due date(s).]
Core Element entity(ies).] date.]
[Add additional lines as
needed.]
CORE ELEMENT 3: Workforce System Integration to Expand Training Options
[Insert applicant’s [Insert [Insert [Insert [Insert milestone
implementation steps for this milestone(s).] responsible start due date(s).]
Core Element. entity(ies).] date.]
[Add additional lines as
needed.]
PARTICIPANT TRACKING: See Section IV.C.2.ii. Participant Tracking Plan. Note: Grantees
are expected to start enrolling participants in programs seeking Workforce Pell eligibility by at
least month 12, with consideration of academic calendars, though sooner is preferred.
Provide accurate Data Assistant hired or [Insert applicant’s [Insert start date [No later than
data products and assigned responsible here and below Month 9]
consistent entity(ies)here and as needed.]
participant data below as needed.]
collection
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Pilot data Data collection tools [No later than [No later than
collection system ready for Month 9] Month 12]
tools implementation
Intake Participant Intake data collection [No later than [No later than
tracking (at time completed for each Month 12] Month 12 and
of Participant enrollment cycle during each
enrollment as the grant period of enrollment
defined by the performance cycle
project) thereafter]
Quarterly data Data finalized for [No later than [No later than
quality check quarterly performance the quarter Month 14]
reporting following first
participant
enrollment
cycle]
DEVELOPMENTAL EVALUATION: See Section III.G.4 Third-Party Evaluation. Note: Due
Dates for some Third-Party Developmental Evaluation Milestones are set by the FOA
Develop a detailed Detailed procurement [Insert applicant’s [Insert start [No
procurement work plan to work plan submission. responsible date here later
procure a third-party evaluator entity(ies)here and and below than
for a developmental evaluation. below as needed.] as needed.] Month
1]
Procure third-party evaluator Procured third-party [No
for a developmental evaluation. evaluator later
than
Month
6]
Develop a Draft Detailed Draft Detailed [No
Evaluation Design from the Evaluation Design later
evaluator, using guidance Submission than
provided by the Department. Month
9]
Finalize Detailed Evaluation Final Detailed [No
Design in collaboration with Evaluation Submission later
developmental evaluator. than
Month
12]
Prepare the evaluator’s Interim [No
Interim Developmental
Developmental Evaluation later
Evaluation Report
Report to the grantee’s Federal than
Submission to the
Project Officer (FPO) and Month
grantee’s Federal
Program Office using the 27]
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suggested format or similar Project Officer (FPO)
layout, provided after grant and Program Office
award.
[No
Prepare the evaluator’s Final Final Developmental
later
Developmental Evaluation Evaluation Report using
than
Report using the suggested the suggested format or
Month
format or similar layout. similar layout.
48]
OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES (OER) CONTENT DEVELOPMENT AND POSTING:
See Section III.G.3. OER. Note: Due Dates for some OER Content Development and Posting
Milestones are set by the FOA
Select and/or develop high List of selected and/or [Insert applicant’s [Insert start [No
value materials for licensing developed materials responsible date here later
and public posting as OER with being developed with entity(ies)here and and below than
a specific focus on curriculum grant funds submission below as needed.] as needed.] Month
and supporting materials that to the grantee’s Federal 24]
would allow another individual Project Officer (FPO)
to successfully use the and Program Office
curriculum.
Create a plan (OER Plan) that OER Plan submission [No
details the process that will be to the grantee’s Federal later
used to mark materials as Project Officer (FPO) than
openly licensed and prepare and Program Office Month
materials for public posting as 24]
open educational resources
ready for use by others,
including the repository you
will use for this purpose.
Implement OER Plan Posted OER material in [By at least [No
publicly accessible Month 24] later
online location and than
submission of posting Month
date and location to the 36]
grantee’s Federal
Project Officer (FPO)
and Program Office
LINKED OPEN DATA ON CREDENTIALS (Credential Transparency): Section VIII.A.7
Credential Transparency. Note: Due Dates for some Credential Transparency Milestones are set
by the FOA.
Determine credentials to be Linked Open Data on [Insert applicant’s [Insert [No
developed, enhanced, or Credentials plan responsible start date later
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delivered through grant submission that details entity(ies)here here and than
funding (including but not the process that will be and below as below as Month
limited to diplomas, badges, used to fulfill the needed.] needed.] 24]
certificates, certifications, credential transparency
apprenticeships, licenses, and requirement
degrees of all levels and types)
Implement Linked Open Data Linked Open Data on [By at
on Credentials Plan including Credentials requirement least
finalized credential completed including Month
transparency description finalized credential 36]
language specifications transparency description
complete and in-line with language specifications
DOL requirements complete and in-line with
DOL requirements
GRANT-FUNDED SPECIAL PURPOSE EQUIPMENT AND / OR MINOR SPACE
ALTERATIONS (OPTIONAL): Section III.B.4. Allowable Activities
Complete written Written submission [Insert applicant’s [Insert start [Ideally within
request for prior to grantee’s FPO responsible date here first 90 days,
approval to acquire requesting approval entity(ies)here and and below but no later
grant-funded special below as needed.] as needed.] than Month 12]
purpose equipment
and/or to alter space
(optional)
Complete special Begin using special [No later than
purpose grant-funded purpose grant- Month 24,
equipment or space funded equipment or preferably
alterations space alterations for sooner]
grant purposes
APPENDIX D: RESOURCES ON EVALUATION
The Department encourages applicants to review the following resources, as relevant, when
developing their proposals.
DOL's Chief Evaluation Office Resources
• Clearinghouse for Labor Evaluation and Research (CLEAR) is a central source of
research and information on labor-related topics for practitioners, policymakers,
researchers, the media and the general public. CLEAR identifies and summarizes many
types of research, including descriptive, implementation, and impact studies.
o CLEAR’s community college topic area compiles studies examining the
effectiveness of community college policies and programs that aim to improve
academic persistence, degree/certificate completion, and labor market outcomes
of community college students. Each individual study profile includes a summary
of the study, findings, and implications.
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• Design Your Study offers checklists, guidelines, and standards that include important
elements for a variety of study designs, such as randomized control trials (RCTs), random
discontinuity design (RDD), and propensity score matching (PSM).
Evaluation and Research Hub (EvalHub)
DOL's Eval Hub is a community point of access to support workforce development professionals
in their efforts to choose and use evaluations to improve workforce system services and
strategies.
Evaluation Toolkit: Key Elements for State Workforce Agencies
Coffey Consulting and Safal Partners for the US Department of Labor, 2020
A Developmental Evaluation Primer
Gamble, J., J.W. McConnell Family Foundation, 2008
DE 201: A Practitioner’s Guide to Developmental Evaluation
Dozois, E., et al. J.W. McConnell Family Foundation, 2010
APPENDIX E: SUGGESTED ABSTRACT FORMAT
The abstract is a required document. Omission of the abstract will not result in your application
being disqualified; the lack of the required information in the abstract, however, may impact
scoring. The template below is a suggested format. Applicants may tailor this template as needed
to fit their application. The submitted abstract may be up to three pages and is provided as an
attachment that does not count toward the page limit for the Project Narrative. DOL will share
publicly the abstracts and theories of change of successful applicants.
A Word version of this suggested format can be found on the grants.gov page for this FOA,
under Related Documents.
Lead Applicant Organization Name:
[List name of lead applicant]
OVERVIEW
Project Title/Name:
Total Funding Requested:
Industry Sector(s):
Estimated Number of Participants:
Estimated Number of Recognized Postsecondary Credentials Created:
Estimated Number of New Programs Developed That Are Seeking Workforce Pell Eligibility:
Estimated Number of Existing Programs Enhanced to Meet Eligibility Requirements for
Workforce Pell:
Estimated Number of Programs Added to Eligible Training Provider List (ETPL):
PROJECT PURPOSE
SCC Partnership Institution Consortium Members:
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[List name(s) of institution consortium partner(s)]
Institution Coordinating Entity:
[List name of institution coordinating entity]
Employer Partners: (At least three employer partners per sector)
[List names of employer partners; indicate each employer partner’s industry sector]
Workforce Development System Partner(s):
[List name(s) of workforce development system partner(s); indicate entity type]
Optional Partner(s): (If provided)
[List name(s) of entity(ies); indicate entity type]
PROJECT INFORMATION
Occupations Targeted:
Recognized Postsecondary Credentials(s) to Be Awarded:
[For each credential, state whether it will be offered initially as credit or non-credit]
Subrecipient Activities (If applicable):
[Describe activities that subrecipient(s) will undertake]
SUMMARY OF PROGRAM ACTIVITIES
[Describe what will be different at the end of the grant compared to the current state]
PUBLIC CONTACT INFORMATION
Point of Contact Name and Title:
Institution:
Address:
Phone Number:
Email Address:
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FOA-ETA-26-40-Suggested Abstract Format.docx

SCC6 SUGGESTED ABSTRACT FORMAT

[The abstract is a required document. Omission of the abstract will not result in your application being disqualified; the lack of the required information in the abstract, however, may impact scoring. The template below is a suggested format. Applicants may tailor this template as needed to fit their application. The submitted abstract may be up to three pages and is provided as an attachment that does not count toward the page limit for the Project Narrative. DOL will share publicly the abstracts of successful applicants. This note can be deleted from submissions.]

Lead Applicant Organization Name:

[List name of lead applicant]

OVERVIEW

Project Title/Name:

Total Funding Requested:

Industry Sector(s):

Estimated Number of Participants to be Served:

Estimated Number of Recognized Postsecondary Credentials Created:

Estimated Number of New Programs Developed That Are Seeking Workforce Pell Eligibility:

Estimated Number of Existing Programs Enhanced to Meet Eligibility Requirements for Workforce Pell:

Estimated Number of Programs Added to Eligible Training Provider List (ETPL):

PROJECT PURPOSE

SCC Partnership Institution Consortium Members:

[List name(s) of institution consortium partner(s)]

Institution Coordinating Entity:

[List name of institution coordinating entity]

Employer Partners: (At least three employer partners per sector)

[List names of employer partners; indicate each employer partner’s industry sector]

Workforce Development System Partner(s):

[List name(s) of workforce development system partner(s); indicate entity type]

Optional Partner(s): (If provided)

[List name(s) of entity(ies); indicate entity type]

PROJECT INFORMATION

Occupations Targeted:

Recognized Postsecondary Credentials(s) to Be Awarded:

[For each credential, state whether it will be offered initially as credit or non-credit]

Subrecipient Activities (If applicable):

[Describe activities that subrecipient(s) will undertake]

SUMMARY OF PROGRAM ACTIVITIES

[Describe what will be different at the end of the grant compared to the current state]

PUBLIC CONTACT INFORMATION

Point of Contact Name and Title:

Institution:

Address:

Phone Number:

Email Address:

---

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