Keep an eye out for this grant program in 2015!
The Patrick Administration developed the Community Innovation Challenge (CIC) grant program in 2012. The program encourages and incentivizes regionalization based upon the belief that the most crucial and visible interactions between government and citizens occur locally. In three years, the program invested $10.25 million in 74 unique projects that involve 242 municipalities across the Commonwealth. This equates to 69% of the 351 cities and towns in the Commonwealth. Over 3.9 million, or 59%, of the Commonwealth’s population live in municipalities involved in at least one CIC project.
“Our new fiscal reality demands that government change the way it does business to stretch every taxpayer dollar as far as possible,” said Secretary of Administration and Finance Glen Shor. “The Patrick Administration’s CIC grant program is just one of the many ways we are working to give cities and towns the tools they need to drive change in local government.”
Regionalization is an opportunity for neighboring communities to build partnerships to engage in shared services, inter-municipal agreements, municipal collaborations, consolidations, mutual aid, and regional planning to reduce the risk of duplicating efforts and unnecessary spending of limited taxpayer dollars. With 351 cities and towns spanning the Commonwealth, there are countless ways to collaborate and work together to maintain important local services and deliver those services effectively and efficiently.
The CIC grant program is one more example of the kind of reforms the Patrick Administration has made in challenging fiscal times to make government more effective and efficient. The CIC grant program provides incentives, such as technical assistance, training, and other tone-time or transition funding for municipal leaders to work together to pursue innovative ways to deliver critical services to taxpayers more efficiently. Ideal projects for the grant program include those with the potential for greatest impact, high levels of innovation and substantial potential cost savings for municipalities.
Allowable applicants include:
- Municipalities;
- regional schools;
- school districts forming a regional school district or regionalizing services;
- regional planning agencies and councils of government;
- counties; and
- special municipal districts
Regional planning agencies and councils of governments may also serve as the administrative or fiscal agent on behalf of municipalities.
II. GRANTS
Grant amounts: Requests for awards up to $500,000 will be considered. This is not a matching grant program. Applicants will be required to submit a detailed budget and project timeline. Please see the application for more information.
Grant awards and selection process: Proposals will be reviewed by an evaluation committee of state and independent members, with final decisions made by the Secretary of Administration and Finance based on the criteria set forth below. The evaluation committee may request further information or hold interviews.
Eligible use of funds: One-time costs, transitional costs, or seed money for regionalization and other efficiency initiatives. Funds may be used to cover costs, but not limited to:
- Small capital purchases or improvements that are integral to the implementation of a functional program such as equipment or software;
- Consultant services including technical expertise and assistance in drafting contracts or other agreements; and
- Transition personnel or project management costs, not to exceed one year.
Article and information from/originally published on:
http://www.mass.gov/anf/budget-taxes-and-procurement/working-for-you/community-innovation-challenge-grant/application-and-guideline-documents.html
http://www.mass.gov/anf/budget-taxes-and-procurement/working-for-you/community-innovation-challenge-grant/
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