Illinois Grant News | January 2024

Washington, D.C. | January 31 2024 | Civic Innovation Challenge (24-534) | The Civic Innovation Challenge (CIVIC) is a research and action competition that accelerates the transition to practice of foundational research and emerging technologies into communities through civic-engaged research. By addressing priorities at the local scale that are relevant across the US, CIVIC is laying the foundation for a broader and more fluid exchange of research and technology capabilities and civic priorities through joint partnerships involving civic partners and the research community. CIVIC is uniquely designed to enable transition to practice of innovations into communities, as follows: (1) CIVIC flips the community-university dynamic, by empowering communities and researchers to jointly identify civic priorities ripe for innovation and to address these priorities as equal partners; (2) CIVIC focuses on research-centered solutions that are ready for piloting in and with communities on a short timescale, where real-world outcomes can be evaluatedwithin 12 months; (3) CIVIC requires a coalition of communities and civic partners and a multi-disciplinary set of researchers to co-create and execute pilot projects; and (4) CIVIC organizes and fosters nationwide “communities of practice” around high-need problem areas that allow for meaningful knowledge sharing and cross-site collaboration during both the pre-development and piloting stages. For this solicitation, civic partnership and engagement activities, communities, and academic and civic partners must be based in the United States or its protectorates. For purposes of clarity, civic partners may include local, state, or tribal government officials; non-profit representatives; community organizers or advocates; community service providers; and/or others working to improve their communities. Estimated awards: 60. Total Funding: $25,600,000. Award Ceiling: $1,000,000. Closing Date: May 1, 2024.

Washington, D.C. | January 29 2024 | Homeless Veterans & Reintegration Program (HVRP), Incarcerated Veterans & Transition Program (IVTP), and the Homeless Women Veterans’ and Homeless Veterans’ with Children Reintegration Grant Program (HWVHVWC) (FOA-VETS-24-50) | The intent of HVRP, an employment-focused competitive Federal grant program, is to enable America’s veterans to reach their full employment potential and obtain high-quality career outcomes for veterans experiencing homelessness. The Department encourages applicants to propose strategies to achieve economic prosperity, address historical inequities, and provide equitable access and outcomes to marginalized groups.To meet the fluctuations in the population and changing needs of veterans experiencing homelessness, DOL/VETS requires grant recipients to provide an array of client-centered services utilizing a case management approach that directly assists homeless veterans and provides critical linkages to a variety of support services available in their local communities. The HVRP approach is focused on obtaining high-quality career outcomes for the veteran. Veterans are to receive the job training and employment services required to re-enter and be successful in the labor force. To realize long-term benefits for veterans experiencing homelessness, grant recipients must address the complex employment-related requirements and support services necessary to meet the needs of this population. This can be achieved either through direct services or through a robust referral system with established tools, resources, and partnerships to identify, recruit, prepare, and support veterans experiencing homelessness for employment success. Estimated awards: 32. Total Funding: $12,000,000. Award Ceiling: $600,000. Closing Date: March 11, 2024.

Washington, D.C. | January 26 2024 | Staff Sergeant Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program (VA-FOX-SP-FY2024) | The Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program (SSG Fox SPGP) enables VA to provide resources toward community-based suicide prevention efforts to meet the needs of Veterans and their families through outreach, suicide prevention services, and connection to VA and community resources. In alignment with VA’s National Strategy for Preventing Veteran Suicide (2018), this grant program assists in further implementing a public health approach that blends community-based prevention with evidence-based clinical strategies through community efforts. The grant program is part of the Commander John Scott Hannon Veterans Mental Health Care Improvement Act of 2019, signed into law on October 17, 2020. Estimated awards: 80. Total Funding: $52,500,000. Award Ceiling: $750,000. Closing Date: April 26, 2024.

Washington, D.C. | January 26 2024 | Rural Innovation Stronger Economies (RISE) (D-RBS-24-01-RISE) | The Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RBCS, Agency), a Rural Development (RD) agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), invites applications under the Rural Innovation Stronger Economy (RISE) program for fiscal year (FY) 2023, subject to the availability of funding. The Agency has $2,000,000 available for the RISE Program for FY 2023. Selected applicants will use Agency grant funds to provide financial assistance in support of innovation centers and job accelerator programs that improve the ability of distressed rural communities to create high wage jobs, accelerate the formation of new businesses, and help rural communities identify and maximize local assets. Estimated awards: 4. Total Funding: $2,000,000. Award Ceiling: $2,000,000. Closing Date: April 1, 2024.

Springfield, Ill. | January 25 2024 | Gov. Pritzker Announces $3.5 Million Available in Grants for Local Grocers to Preserve Access to Fresh Food | Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) today announced $3.5 million in available grant funding for local grocers through the Equipment Upgrades Program as part of the Illinois Grocery Initiative. These grants will provide funding for energy-efficient equipment upgrades for existing grocery stores, with priority given to those located in food insecure communities across the state. Grantees will be selected through a competitive Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) process. This program is designed to strengthen existing grocery stores and preserve access to fresh food in food insecure communities, in an effort to stop the formation of new food deserts. In order to support businesses most in-need, eligible applicants must be independently-owned grocers with fewer than 500 employees and no more than four grocery stores. Grocery stores located in food deserts as defined by the USDA map are prioritized for this initiative. Estimated awards: 20. Total Funding: $3,500,000. Award Ceiling: $250,000. Closing Date: March 25, 2024.

Washington, D.C. | January 23 2024 | EPSCoR Research Infrastructure Improvement (RII): EPSCoR Research Fellows (24-528) | The Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research is designed to fulfill the mandate of the National Science Foundation (NSF) to promote scientific progress nationwide. NSF EPSCoR facilitates the establishment of partnerships among academic institutions, government, industry, and non-profit sectors that are designed to promote sustainable improvements in a jurisdiction’s research infrastructure, Research and Development (R&D) capacity, and R&D competitiveness of EPSCoR-eligible jurisdictions (i.e., states, territories, and commonwealths)…EPSCoR Research Fellows provides awards to build researchcapacityin institutions and transform the career trajectories of investigators and further develop their individual research potential through collaborations with investigators from the nation’s premier private, governmental, or academic research institutions and/or centers. The fellowship provides opportunities to establish strong collaborations through extended or periodic collaborative visits to a selected host site.Through collaborative research activities with the host site, Fellows will be able to learn new techniques, develop new collaborations, advance existing partnerships, benefit from access to unique equipment and facilities, and/or shift their research toward potentially transformative new directions. The experiences gained through the fellowships are intended to have lasting impacts that will enhance the Fellows’ research trajectories well beyond the award period.  Estimated awards: Unspecified. Total Funding: $15,000,000. Award Ceiling: $300,000. Closing Date: April 22, 2024.

Washington, D.C. | January 22 2024 | FY 2023 and FY 2024 Rural Capacity Building for Community Development and Affordable Housing Grants (RCB) (FR-6700-N-08) | The Rural Capacity Building program enhances the capacity and ability of rural housing development organizations, Community Development Corporations (CDCs), Community Housing Development Organizations (CHDOs), rural local governments, and Indian tribes (eligible beneficiaries) to carry out affordable housing and community development activities in rural areas for the benefit of low- and moderate-income families and persons. The Rural Capacity Building program achieves this by funding National Organizations with expertise in rural housing and rural community development who work directly to build the capacity of eligible beneficiaries.Eligible Program Activities. RCB program funds are limited to activities that strengthen the organizational infrastructure, management, and governance capabilities of eligible beneficiaries serving rural areas to effectively increase the capacity of the eligible beneficiaries to carry out community development and affordable housing activities that benefit low-income or low- and moderate-income families and persons in rural areas. Estimated awards: 5. Total Funding: $6,000,000. Award Ceiling: $3,500,000. Closing Date: March 25, 2024.

Washington, D.C. | January 17 2024 | Small Innovative Projects in Solar: Concentrating Solar Power and Photovoltaics (DE-FOA-0003308) | This funding opportunity announcement (FOA) is being issued by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) to invest in innovative research and development (R&D) that accelerates the large-scale development and deployment of solar technologies to support an equitable transition to a decarbonized electricity system by 2035 and decarbonized energy sector by 2050. Achieving this goal will support the nationwide effort to meet the threat of climate change and ensure that all Americans benefit from the transition to a clean energy economy. This Small Innovative Projects in Solar (SIPS) FOA solicits seedling R&D projects for both photovoltaic and concentrating solar thermal power technologies. The funding opportunity is designed to streamline the application process and to encourage applicants with a diverse range of backgrounds. Estimated Awards: 24. Total Funding: $6,500,000. Award Ceiling: $400,000. Closing Date: March 6, 2024.

Washington, D.C. | January 17 2024 | Centers of Excellence for Stormwater Control Infrastructure Technologies Grant Program (EPA-I-OW-OWM-23-04) | The EPA is soliciting applications from eligible entities to establish and maintain regional Centers of Excellence for new and emerging stormwater control infrastructure technologies, with the goal of improving the effectiveness, cost efficiency, and protection of public safety and water quality. The EPA is also soliciting applications from eligible entities to create and maintain a national electronic clearinghouse to centrally collect and distribute the work of the Centers of Excellence. For the purposes of this announcement, “regional” or “geographical region” means consisting of two or more states. Estimated awards: 5. Total Funding: $3,000,000. Award Ceiling: $980,000. Closing Date: April 17, 2024.

Washington, D.C. | January 16 2024 | Data Reduction for Science (DE-FOA-0003266) | [A] virtual DOE workshop entitled “Data Reduction for Science” was held in January of 2021, resulting in a brochure [5] detailing four priority research directions (PRDs) identified during the workshop. These PRDs are (1) effective algorithms and tools that can be trusted by scientists for accuracy and efficiency, (2) progressive reduction algorithms that enable data to be prioritized for efficient streaming, (3) algorithms which can preserve information in features and quantities of interest with quantified uncertainty, and (4) mapping techniques to new architectures and use cases. For additional background, see [6-9]. The principal focus of this FOA is to support applied mathematics and computer science approaches that address one or more of the identified PRDs. Research proposed may involve methods primarily applicable to high-performance computing, to scientific edge computing, or anywhere scientific data must be collected or processed. Significant innovations will be required in the development of effective paradigms and approaches for realizing the full potential of data reduction for science. Estimated Awards: Unspecified. Total Funding: $15,000,000. Award Ceiling: $3,000,000. Closing Date: May 7, 2024.

Springfield, Ill. | January 11 2024 | Gov. Pritzker Announces $5 Million Available in B2B Grants for Local Chambers | Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) today announced $5 million in available grant funding through the Back to Business (B2B) Local Chambers program. As outlined in statute, B2B Local Chambers (20 ILCS 605/605-1105) grant award amounts will be determined by total annual revenue declines between 2019 and 2020, as reflected on tax returns. Applications are open from January 11 through February 15, 2024, and awards are expected to be made several weeks after the deadline date. All eligible applicants will receive a grant as long as the chamber of commerce meets eligibility requirements and submits proper documentation and attestations. Estimated Awards: Unspecified. Total Funding: $5,000,000. Award Ceiling: $50,000. Closing Date: February 15, 2024.

Washington, D.C. | January 10 2024 | Future Manufacturing (24-525) | The goal of Future Manufacturing is to support fundamental research, education, and training of a future workforce to overcome scientific, technological, educational, economic, and social barriers in order to catalyze new manufacturing capabilities that do not exist today. Future Manufacturing seeks inventive approaches to invigorate the manufacturing ecosystem and seed nascent future industries that can only be imagined today…The goal of this solicitation is to enable new manufacturing that represents a significant change from current practice. Therefore, proposers responding to this solicitation must include within the Project Description a section titled Enabling Future Manufacturing…Therefore, proposers responding to this solicitation must include a plan to equip students and upskill the workforce to enable Future Manufacturing. Estimated awards: Unspecified. Total Funding: $28,000,000. Award Ceiling: $3,000,000. Closing Date: April 11, 2024.

Washington, D.C. | January 9 2024 | Demonstration Projects to Research and Evaluate Strategies Aligned with CDC’s What Works in Schools Approach | The Division of Adolescent and School Health (DASH) program began moving from CDC’s National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention (NCHHSTP) to CDC’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP) in October 2023. As a result, the previously posted forecast for NOFO RFA-PS-24-038 has been deleted, and is being reposted under the NCCDPHP. The new NOFO number is RFA-DP-24-138.This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) supports research to implement and evaluate strategies aligned with CDC’s What Works in Schools (WWIS) approach for successful implementation in local education agencies and schools serving rural or American Indian and/or Alaska Native (AI/AN) adolescents to address students’ health behaviors, experiences, and outcomes, particularly those related to sexual and reproductive health and mental and behavioral health, as well as suicidality, substance use, and experiences of violence. The purpose of the research is to build the evidence base for innovative, school-based or school-linked strategies that promote the health of youth across multiple health domains while also supporting translation and dissemination of the research findings. Strategies may include programs, policies, or practices that seek to improve sexual and reproductive health as well as improve mental and behavioral health in a manner that also addresses health equity among youth in local education agencies and schools serving rural or American Indian and/or Alaska Native (AI/AN) adolescents. Additionally, strategies may also seek to reduce suicidality, substance use and experiences of violence among school-aged adolescents. Estimated awards: 2. Total Funding: $5,000,000. Award Ceiling: $500,000 (per year for five years). Closing Date: March 11, 2024.

Washington, D.C. | January 9 2024 | Responsible Design, Development, and Deployment of Technologies (24-524) | The Responsible Design, Development, and Deployment of Technologies (ReDDDoT) program invites proposals from multidisciplinary, multi-sector teams that examine and demonstrate the principles, methodologies, implementations, and impacts associated with responsible design, development, and deployment of technologies in practice, focusing especially on the key technologies specified in Section 10387 of the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022…A key goal of the program is to support and strengthen collaborations across disciplines and sectors, for example, academia, industry, and non-profits. In FY 2024, the program includes a Phase 1 for proposals for Planning Grants—to facilitate collaborative transdisciplinary and multi-sector activities in anticipation of submission of larger proposals; Translational Research Coordination Networks—to help initiate a community of practice relevant to one or more of the FY 2024 priority areas described below; and Workshop proposals1—to raise awareness and identify relevant approaches and needs in one or more technology area(s). Estimated awards: 36. Total Funding: $16,000,000. Award Ceiling: $1,500,00. Closing Date: April 22, 2024.

Washington, D.C. | January 5 2024 | Mobility Equity Research Initiative (MOBIL-EQU-RES) | Millions of Americans have few or no transportation choices. The design of our cities, towns, suburbs, and neighborhoods, and investments in transportation infrastructure heavily influence peoples’ access to mobility choices. Decisions that federal, regional, state, local, and Tribal governments have made— including ones made decades ago—have shaped our current transportation landscape and as a result, in many parts of the United States driving a personal vehicle is the only mobility option. These decisions have also often caused disproportionate environmental and health impacts on low-income, minority, and underserved communities and deprived them of investments in accessible, affordable, low-carbon transportation options. Research and technology advancements are needed to address these longstanding mobility inequities. Bringing together progress in enabling technologies like telecommunications, data analysis, and clean energy with innovations in connectivity, business models, and service design creates new opportunities for people to get where they need to go, when they want to get there, safely and at a price they can afford. Research and development of such technologies can expand access and improve mobility for all Americans. Through this NOFO, U.S. DOT seeks to advance research and technologies that support the Department’s goal of expanding accessibility and mobility to underserved communities, including people with disabilities, older Americans, and rural and disadvantaged communities. Further, U.S. DOT is seeking proposals that will produce research results and tools that build on or complement existing data and systems such as those found on https://equity- data.dot.gov/. Estimated awards: 2. Total Funding: $2,970,000. Award Ceiling: $2,970,000. Closing Date: March 5, 2024.