Opening Workforce DOORS

RIPL

Opening Workforce DOORS Grant Program

The Opening Workforce DOORS Grant Program is designed to assist governments with designing, building, and deploying DOORS and complementary digital solutions to address public challenges in workforce development.

The priority application deadline has passed and priority applications are under review. Thank you to all applicants!

Regular application deadline: Rolling until grant funds are exhausted.

About the Opening Workforce DOORS Grant Program

The Opening Workforce DOORS Grant Program is designed to assist governments with designing, building, and deploying the Data for Opportunity in Occupation Reskilling Solution (DOORS) and complementary tech and science-driven solutions to address public challenges in workforce development. The goal of the program is to accelerate applying cloud and contemporary technology and science to real-world challenges to empower governments to use data and science to innovate.

Grantees of the Opening Workforce DOORS Grant Program awards will receive full-service project management, technical, and scientific support to empower them to approach solving the public problem with which they are most familiar, with the aid of contemporary technologies with which they may not be familiar.

Grantees of the Opening Workforce DOORS Grant Program will work closely with RIPL to define and implement programmatic DOORS proposals that meet the goals of this Solicitation. RIPL will work with its partners to assume primary responsibility for successfully developing and deploying the envisioned DOORS instance. This support includes but is not limited to:

- - Design thinking workshops to develop the DOORS instance to uniquely fit the Grantees workforce landscape.
  - Deployment of a secure cloud-based Research Data Lake, owned by partners, to optimize and join data for insights. 
  - Deployment of a customized DOORS instance which can be effectively iterated upon to include any additional functionalities the partner deems important.
  - Comprehensive user testing.
  - Product design and development.
  - Planning, stakeholder, and project management (including organizing and leading all sprints).
  - Customized cloud architecture, cloud engineering, software engineering, creation and deployment of bespoke AI/ML algorithms, advanced econometric research, data science, data engineering and data visualization.
  - Scientific causal analysis and evaluation of DOORS programs and policies.
  - Additional technological and project management support as needed.

Award values will vary based on the scoped work as described in the initial grant award MOU and the proposed solution(s); however, the estimated value of an Opening Workforce DOORS Grant Program award is approximately two million dollars. Award values are subject to funding available to RIPL.

Eligibility

The Lead Applicant is the organization that wins an Opening Workforce DOORS partnership award. The Lead Applicant may be any of the following kind of organizations:

- - A government entity (federal, state, local or another jurisdiction),
  - Nonprofit organization,
  - Educational institution,
  - Local or regional workforce or economic development entity; or
  - Another appropriate entity or public agency.

Application Process

The priority application deadline for the Opening Workforce DOORS Grant Program was March 10, 2023. Awards for priority applications will be announced by Monday, April 3, 2023.

Additional applications will now be accepted on a rolling basis until program funds are exhausted.

Final approval for each award shall be determined by the Chief Executive Officer of RIPL, based on the recommendations of the Review Committee. Upon request, RIPL will provide feedback on proposals that are not awarded grants. 

Proposals must be submitted with all required completed elements, including:

1. 1. Cover Letter (1 page maximum)
  2. Proposal Narrative (3 paragraphs maximum)
  3. Partnership Description (2 paragraphs maximum)
  4. Data Use Description (1 paragraph maximum)
  5. Ecosystem Description (1 paragraph maximum) 
  6. Project Leadership Assignments (1 paragraph outline maximum)
  7. Communications Plan (1 paragraph maximum)

A full .pdf copy of the solicitation for Opening Workforce DOORS Grant Program proposals, including detailed information about proposal evaluation criteria and the required components of the application can be downloaded here to assist organizations in preparation of their application.

For more information regarding RIPL’s grant programs, please reach out to [email protected].

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