Youth Performance Pilots Announced

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In late November, the Department of Education (ED) issued an invitation for applications for new Performance Partnership Pilot (P3) grants, which will enable up to ten pilot sites to test strategies to improve employment and educational outcomes for disconnected youth.

The Performance Partnership Pilot program is a joint effort of ED, the Departments of Labor, and Health and Human Services, the Corporation for National and Community Service, and the Institute for Museum and Library Sciences. The grants will allow states, localities and tribes flexibility in the form of blended funding and waivers of certain programmatic requirements to test innovative strategies to improve outcomes for disconnected youth. Pilots are required to:

• Conduct a needs assessment to identify the pilot’s target population
• Use data and evaluations to determine the most effective strategies for serving the population
• Propose which funding streams to blend to support the strategies identified
• Identify the flexibility (both federal and non-federal) needed to implement the strategies
• Enter into a performance agreement with a lead federal agency and pilot partners that specifies goals, outcome measures (including interim indicators), accountability and oversight mechanisms, and responsibilities of each entity involved.
   

The agencies will award successful applicants start-up grants ranging from $400,000 to $700,000. State, local, and tribal government entities, represented by a chief executive, are eligible to apply for the P3 grants. Eligible applicants must apply as a partnership that involves public and private entities, including non-profit, business, industry, and labor organizations.

The invitation for applications includes a number of examples of potential pilots, including pilots that would help create a more integrated and effective system to provide job-driven training. Potential strategies include developing career pathways, work-based learning opportunities, and engaging employers.

The grants, authorized by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2014, were originally proposed by the Obama Administration as part of its FY 2013 budget request.

Potential applicants must file a notice of intent to apply by January 8, 2015. Applications are due March 4, 2015.

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