Narrative outline
FY 2025 EDA Public Works and Economic Adjustment Assistance Programs. One section per scoring criterion, in the notice's order, so reviewers find each answer where they expect it. Fill in every [[NEEDS: …]] with your own facts.
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Narrative limit: 12 pages. Suggested pages follow each section's share of the points. Scores listed: 90 points. The notice's total wasn't found, so check it. Source: the official notice, EDA_PWEAA_NOFO_AI_Addendum_Update_technical_corrections_5.12.pdf.
Strength of Employer Partnership · 10 points · about 1.5 pages
What reviewers look for (notice p. 55):
To award points, reviewers will assess: • The extent to which the applicant has identified and engaged employers in the sectoral partnership; • The strength of employer engagement and commitments in support of the project and its outcomes, for example, number of incumbent workers trained, hiring commitments, and other supports provided to the project; and • The strength and credibility of the sectoral partnership’s plan/strategy to preserve employer commitments over the period of performance for the grant.
[[NEEDS: your answer to this criterion, with facts and numbers from your organization]]
Need for Training in Artificial Intelligence · 20 points · about 2.5 pages
What reviewers look for (notice p. 56):
To award points, reviewers will assess: • The clarity in which the application identifies and sufficiently describes how AI will be used in current job functions; • The extent to which the industry and the associated employers supported in this sectoral partnership will be impacted by AI; • The extent to which this project supports the employers in this sectoral partnership and helps them remain competitive; • The clarity with which the application articulates specific training needs that will be provided to program participants; • The extent to which the applicant can demonstrate demand for the proposed training; and • The extent to which AI skills covered in training are directly related to those that are presently available in the workplace.
[[NEEDS: your answer to this criterion, with facts and numbers from your organization]]
Regional Alignment · 10 points · about 1.5 pages
What reviewers look for (notice p. 56):
To award points, reviewers will assess: • The extent to which the industry and the associated employers supported in this sectoral partnership are important to the service region; • The extent to which a project assesses local industry needs and develops a strategy that is most responsive to both incumbent workers and/or those looking for work; and • The extent to which this project aligns with the region’s Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS), existing workforce development efforts in the region (including, but not limited to, the activities of state and local workforce development boards), and EDA’s Investment Priorities.
[[NEEDS: your answer to this criterion, with facts and numbers from your organization]]
Project Description & Feasibility · 20 points · about 2.5 pages
What reviewers look for (notice p. 56):
The extent to which the applicant identifies the phases System Development, Program Design, and Program Implementation, and the activities that it will undertake in each phase; • The extent to which the applicant has sufficiently explained its preparedness to begin at the selected phase should it by-pass System Development and/or Program Design; • The extent to which the activities identified will lead to the success of the project and deliver anticipated outcomes; • The extent to which costs are reasonable and cost effective (including cost per participant or cost per job placement); • The extent to which the applicant demonstrates personnel capacity for program execution and grant requirements, such as legal, fiscal, and data reporting requirements; and • The extent to which the activities will lead to training implementation within one year from the award start date.
[[NEEDS: your answer to this criterion, with facts and numbers from your organization]]
Impacts & Return on Investment · 20 points · about 2.5 pages
What reviewers look for (notice p. 57):
The extent to which projected impacts in section 7 of the Project Narrative are measurable, reasonable, credible, ambitious, and achievable based on the proposal; • The extent to which the project will lead to incumbent workers upskilled and/or new job placements; • The extent to which the applicant concretely demonstrates how the use of AI and the project will lead to measurable benefits and a strong return on investment; • The extent to which the applicant has provided concrete, detailed, and realistic strategy to measure benefits and returns on investment in section 7 of the Project Narrative; and • The extent to which the application concretely demonstrates how the project will lead to measurable impacts within the period of performance.
[[NEEDS: your answer to this criterion, with facts and numbers from your organization]]
Future Evaluation, Scalability & Sustainability · 10 points · about 1.5 pages
What reviewers look for (notice p. 57):
The adequacy of the applicant’s approach to evaluate the impact of the project on workforce and business outcomes; • The extent to which this project — either through practices or through further implementation of project activities — can be scaled or replicated to support other industries or new AI tools that benefit industry; • The potential of this project to provide enduring practices for scaling and replicability; • The extent to which State and local government, philanthropy, and industry investment commit to support the ongoing sustainability of the system after the grant ends, e.g., the amount of local leverage that will augment the federal award, and the project’s alignment with and integration into other public or private investments currently ongoing or planned for the community and region; and • The extent to which the project can sustain itself after federal funds have been…
[[NEEDS: your answer to this criterion, with facts and numbers from your organization]]
Draft written? Score it against these criteria and check each section's length. Want to see how others did it? Sample proposals agencies have posted.
Built from the official notice's scoring section. Section names, order and page limits come from the notice.