The purpose of the WIF is to support this job-driven approach to workforce development by funding innovative approaches to the design and delivery of employment and training services that generate long-term improvements in the performance of the public workforce system, outcomes for job seekers and employers, and cost-effectiveness. ETA seeks to ensure that these innovative approaches form the basis for broader change and continuous improvement in the operation of the public workforce system. Therefore, ETA will invest in projects that focus on change at both the service delivery and the system levels, while requiring rigorous evaluation of each investment. The lessons learned and findings from the WIF grants will enable ETA to contribute to the identification and documentation of evidence-based practices within the field of workforce development. It is ETA’s expectation that successful strategies will be sustained beyond the grant period through existing workforce system funding streams.
Grants funded under the WIF will achieve the following within the workforce system:
- better results for jobseekers and employers – such as reduced duration of unemployment, increased educational gains that lead to work readiness, academic and industry-recognized credential attainment, increased earnings, increased competitiveness of employers, etc.;
- greater efficiency in the delivery of quality services - such as more customers (job seekers or employers) served, decreased program attrition, increased customer throughput, faster entry into employment, achieving outcomes at a lower cost, or reduction in duplicative program components and related administrative costs; and
- stronger cooperation across programs and funding streams – such as integrated data management information systems, braided funding, or changes that create a more seamless service delivery experience for participants who need help from multiple programs.
The WIF grant program allocates funds based on a “tiered evidence” framework: proposals that have not been rigorously tested receive the smallest grants, and proposals supported by the most rigorous evidence receive large grants that enable expansion. All WIF projects are required to conduct an independent evaluation in order to expand understanding of what works in workforce development, and to help answer questions about for whom and in what contexts specific interventions and activities are most effective.
ETA will support achievement of WIF goals by:
- providing grantees with a comprehensive program of support for the achievement of grant objectives and outcomes throughout the life of the grant;
- providing a national evaluation coordinator, who will work with grantees’ evaluators to ensure consistent and high quality evaluations; and
- broadly disseminating what ETA learns about what worked, and what did not.
ETA expects that WIF grantees will actively participate in both implementation and evaluation technical assistance activities and facilitate dissemination activities, as a condition of grant award. Because the WIF supports innovation at both the system design and service delivery levels, it presents an opportunity for states and local areas to create systemic change within their workforce systems that improves services and better aligns activities across programs. States and local areas that have good ideas about how to make those changes are strongly encouraged to apply through this solicitation for grants to fund projects that will achieve systemic reforms and program alignment. In addition, potential applicants should note that the Department plans to offer a separate funding opportunity under the WIF in Fall 2014 consisting of planning grants for states interested in undertaking the types of large-scale systemic reform and systems alignment projects that require further planning and preparation. In 2015, the Department anticipates awarding implementation grants to recipients of the planning grants whose planning processes have yielded the most innovative and highest-impact ideas. More information on the Fall funding opportunity will be made available at http://www.doleta.gov/workforce_innovation.
1. Improving coordination among programs and partners: