Assistant to the Secretary for Rural Development Anne Hazlett today (August 24) announced that USDA is inviting organizations to join a national network of public-private partners to support rural workforce development and skills management.
USDA's Rural Development Innovation Center created the Rural Workforce Innovation Network (RWIN) initiative to enable rural partners to share solutions to complex issues, identify available resources, and increase access to workforce opportunities. The network also will collaborate to ensure that rural workers have access to training that aligns with the skills employers need.
Please indicate your interest in joining the network by emailing RD.Innovation@osec.usda.gov by August 31, 2018.
Interested partners should submit a document no longer than two pages that includes the organization's name, contact information, and its past and present contributions, which should include one or more of the following workforce development interests:
- Use of labor market and data to drive strategies;
- Public-private collaboration to attract employers and define workforce requirements;
- Workforce readiness and training;
- Apprenticeship and job placements;
- Recruitment and retention;
- Sector-based best practices related to workforce (i.e. veterans, telecommunications, water, manufacturing, health care, etc.); and
- Succession planning, including strategies such as worker cooperatives.
RWIN members will be announced in September.
IMLS Announces Investment of $8.1 Million to Strengthen America's Libraries; 45 Grants Will Fund Programs and Services for Communities across the Nation; Wisconsin to Augment Librarian Knowledge of Workforce Development Systems; Colorado to Assess Prison Libraries with Eye toward Successful Prisoner Reentry; New Mexico and California Universities to Partner in Exploration of Tribal Internet Connectivity
On August 24, the Institute of Museum and Library Services announced 45 grants totaling $8,155,005 to support libraries across the country. The awards were made through the FY 2018 second cycle of the National Leadership Grants for Libraries Program and the Laura Bush 21 st Century Librarian Program . The awarded grant search on the IMLS website contains a complete list of grantees and project descriptions.
National Leadership Grants for Libraries support projects that address significant challenges and opportunities facing the library and archives fields and have the potential to dvance theory and practice with new tools, research findings, models, services, practices, or alliances that will be widely used. During this second cycle, the National Leadership Grants for Libraries program received 113 preliminary proposals requesting $31,832,527. Forty-six projects requesting $8,101,212 were invited to submit full proposals, and of these, 31 projects were awarded $4,947,294, including:
- The Colorado State Library and Colorado Library Consortium, with partners RSL Research Group and Colorado Department of Corrections, will plan a statewide assessment of prison libraries. The planning project will determine how best to assess prison library contributions to offenders' development of pro-social behaviors during incarceration and maximize their chances of successful re-entry into the community.
- San Jose State University, the Tribal Libraries Program of the New Mexico State Library, the New Mexico State Department of Information Technology, the Gigabit Libraries Network, and the University of California, Santa Barbara, will collaborate with tribal libraries across New Mexico to explore dramatically improving tribal internet connectivity, equity, and inclusion through the design and implementation of several TV Whitespace networks statewide.
The Laura Bush 21 st Century Librarian program supports developing a diverse workforce of librarians to better serve the changing learning and information needs of the American public by enhancing the training and professional development of librarians, developing faculty and library leaders, and recruiting and educating the next generation of librarians. The program received 73 preliminary proposals requesting $20,447,280, and 23 of these were invited to submit full proposals, resulting in a total request of $5,695,653 during phase 2. IMLS is awarding $3,207,711 to 14 projects , including:
- The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction will provide librarians across the state with the training, partnerships, and tools needed to enhance their knowledge of systems that support patrons who are using the library for workforce development related purposes.
Visit the IMLS website for more information about the National Leadership Grants for Libraries and the Laura Bust 21 st Century Librarian programs.
Department of Labor Publishes Sixty-Day PRA Notice for "Evaluation of the American Apprenticeship Initiative"
The Department of Labor's sixty-day Paperwork Reduction notice for the "Evaluation of the American Apprenticeship Initiative" was published in the August 27 Federal Register.
See: https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2018-08-27/pdf/2018-18478.pdf
Excerpts:
The American Apprenticeship Initiative (AAI) awarded funds to 46 grantees to support the expansion of quality and innovative apprenticeship training programs. ( https://www.dol.gov/apprenticeship/pdf/AmericanApprenticeshipInitiativeGrantsAwardSummaries.pdf )
The Department of Labor is sponsoring an evaluation of this initiative that includes the following four components:
- An implementation study to describe how AAI programs develop, operate and mature.
- An outcomes study to examine in-program and post-program outcomes of participants in apprenticeships, particularly around employment, earnings, wages, and employment retention, as well as pre-intervention and post-intervention certification and credential attainment.
- A return on investment (ROI) study to estimate the benefits and costs of apprenticeship to employers.
- An impact study to assess the efforts of select AAI grantees to sell apprenticeships to employers and to assist employers in registration of apprenticeships.
This Federal Register Notice provides the opportunity to comment on two proposed new information collection activities that will be used in the evaluation:
Employer survey –a key source of information for the ROI study, the employer survey will be used to generate an estimate of the returns employers can expect by investing in apprenticeship programs. This on-line survey asks about the firm's characteristics, sponsorship, apprenticeship structure, and specific questions about the costs and benefits employers experience by offering apprenticeship.
Participant survey –a key source of information for the outcomes study, the survey gathers information about the participants' experience in an AAI apprenticeship. The survey includes questions on an apprentice's background prior to apprenticeship, apprenticeship experiences, skills and knowledge gained, and outcomes. The survey will use a bi-modal approach: on-line with telephone follow-up as needed.
A separate information collection activity notice on interview protocols for implementation study site visits, a grantee survey, and a management information system MIS) for the impact study was published on September 13, 2017 ( https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2017-09-13/pdf/2017-19423.pdf )
Census Bureau Publishes Sixty-Day PRA Notice for the 2018 - 2020 Research and Development Surveys; Outlines Plans to Include Data on Artificial Intelligence
The Census Bureau has published the sixty-day Paperwork Reduction Act notice for the 2018 - 2020 Business Research and Development Surveys (BRDS).
With support from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Bureau plans to conduct the (BRDS) which covers all domestic, non-farm, for-profit businesses with at least 10 paid employees. The BRDS provides the only comprehensive data on Research and Development (R&D) costs and detailed expenses by type and industry.
The Bureau has conducted an R&D survey since 1957, collecting primarily financial information on the systematic work companies undertake to discover new knowledge or use existing knowledge to develop new or improved goods and services.
Beginning in 2018, the BRDS will collect new data about R&D on artificial intelligence and geographic detail of companies' R&D workforce.
There is increasing interest among domestic policy-makers and in the international community, as well as among U.S. researchers in academia, government and industry, for more data on artificial intelligence. Domestic and foreign geographic information for R&D workforce will address Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) requests on inputs for enhanced estimation and evaluation of gross domestic product by state, foreign direct investment in the U.S., and U.S. direct investment abroad.
The 2018-2020 BRDS will continue to collect the following types of information:
- R&D expense based on accepted accounting standards
- Worldwide R&D of domestic companies.
- Business segment detail
- R&D-related capital expenditures
- Detailed data about the R&D workforce
- R&D strategy and data on the potential impact of R&D on the market
- R&D directed to application areas of particular national interest
- Data measuring intellectual property protection activities and technology transfer
Comments are due by October 23.
The August 27 F Federal Register contains complete background, data collection methodology, burden hour estimates, and instructions for obtaining a copy of the collection instrument as well as for the submission comments.
See: https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2018-08-27/pdf/2018-18478.pdf
New Brief Examines the Costs of State Longitudinal Data Systems
August 24 advisory from the Workforce Data Quality Campaign / National Skills Coalition:
States need not be deterred from building a state longitudinal data system (SLDS). According to a new paper, " Costs of State Longitudinal Data Systems ," by the Workforce Data Quality Campaign, the costs of building and maintaining SLDS can vary dramatically and can be adjusted to fit a state's needs.
SLDS are used to match data about individuals from different sources over time. They are an important resource for state policymakers, researchers, and the public. These systems can be used to provide information about how a state's education and workforce system is preforming, or to help students select the best program for them.
Although most states now have an SLDS, a few remaining states may be dissuaded from building an SLDS because of implementation and maintenance costs. However, according to the paper, these costs can vary based upon a number of factors and need not be excessive. Some states have built new SLDS for as little as $2.5 million dollars. Factors influencing costs can include the capabilities of the system, the number of state agencies contributing data to the system, who builds the system, and when the system was built (many technology costs decrease over time). Factors that can influence maintenance costs include the amount and quality of data analysis conducted, the number of data requests received and filled, and the level of technological sophistication.
This paper provides case studies of five states. Each case study details that state's SLDS implementation and maintenance costs and what factors influenced that cost.
On August 24, the Institute of Museum and Library Services announced 45 grants totaling $8,155,005 to support libraries across the country. The awards were made through the FY 2018 second cycle of the National Leadership Grants for Libraries Program and the Laura Bush 21 st Century Librarian Program . The awarded grant search on the IMLS website contains a complete list of grantees and project descriptions.
National Leadership Grants for Libraries support projects that address significant challenges and opportunities facing the library and archives fields and have the potential to advance theory and practice with new tools, research findings, models, services, practices, or alliances that will be widely used. During this second cycle, the National Leadership Grants for Libraries program received 113 preliminary proposals requesting $31,832,527. Forty-six projects requesting $8,101,212 were invited to submit full proposals, and of these, 31 projects were awarded $4,947,294, including:
- The Colorado State Library and Colorado Library Consortium, with partners RSL Research Group and Colorado Department of Corrections, will plan a statewide assessment of prison libraries. The planning project will determine how best to assess prison library contributions to offenders' development of pro-social behaviors during incarceration and maximize their chances of successful re-entry into the community.
- The Trustees of Indiana University's Shared BigData-Gateway for Research Libraries will develop, seed, and maintain a cloud-based, extensible cyberinfrastructure for sharing large academic library data resources with a growing community of scholars. The team will create a sustainable and shared resource for current and future big data mining and analysis.
- San Jose State University, the Tribal Libraries Program of the New Mexico State Library, the New Mexico State Department of Information Technology, the Gigabit Libraries Network, and the University of California, Santa Barbara, will collaborate with tribal libraries across New Mexico to explore dramatically improving tribal internet connectivity, equity, and inclusion through the design and implementation of several TV Whitespace networks statewide.
The Laura Bush 21 st Century Librarian program supports developing a diverse workforce of librarians to better serve the changing learning and information needs of the American public by enhancing the training and professional development of librarians, developing faculty and library leaders, and recruiting and educating the next generation of librarians. The program received 73 preliminary proposals requesting $20,447,280, and 23 of these were invited to submit full proposals, resulting in a total request of $5,695,653 during phase 2. IMLS is awarding $3,207,711 to 14 projects , including:
- The University of Texas at Austin will investigate how small, rural libraries contribute to community viability. Investigators will focus on the factors important to library resiliency during natural disasters and crises through a partnership with Florida State University.
- The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction will provide librarians across the state with the training, partnerships, and tools needed to enhance their knowledge of systems that support patrons who are using the library for workforce development related purposes.
- The Democratic Knowledge Project at Harvard University, in partnership with the Massachusetts Library System, will pilot a professional development initiative focused on civics education for youth-serving librarians. A cohort of 8-10 public librarians and school library media specialists from across the state will develop a series of professional development resources and learning modules to expand young people's capacity for civic action and media-making in the digital age.
Advisory Committee on Veterans' Employment, Training and Employer Outreach (ACVETEO) to Meet on September 20
The Advisory Committee on Veterans' Employment, Training and Employer Outreach (ACVETEO) is responsible for: assessing employment and training needs of veterans; determining the extent to which the programs and activities of the U.S. Department of Labor meet these needs; assisting to conduct outreach to employers seeking to hire veterans; making recommendations to the Secretary, through the Assistant Secretary for VETS, with respect to outreach activities and employment and training needs of veterans; and carrying out such other activities necessary to make required reports and recommendations.
The next meeting of the ACVETEO will take place Thursday, September 20, 2018, beginning at 9:00 a.m. and ending at approximately 4:00 p.m. (EST). The meeting will take place at the U.S. Department of Labor, Frances Perkins Building, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20210, Conference Room N-4437 C&D.
Agenda:
9:00 a.m. Welcome and remarks, Matthew M. Miller, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Veterans' Employment and Training Service
9:05 a.m. Administrative Business, Gregory Green, Assistant Designated Federal Official
9:10 a.m. Transition & Training Subcommittee Discussion on Fiscal Year 2018 recommendations
10:10 a.m. Barriers to Employment Subcommittee Discussion on Fiscal Year 2018 recommendations
11:10 a.m. Break
11:20 p.m. Direct Services Subcommittee Discussion on Fiscal Year recommendations
12:20 p.m. Lunch
1:30 p.m. Committee finalize recommendations for the Fiscal Year 2018
3:00 p.m. Break
3:15 p.m. Subcommittee Discussion/Assignments, ACVETEO Chairman, Eric Eversole
Full background / notice of intent to attend meeting / contacts:
https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2018-08-27/pdf/2018-18478.pdf