Innovation Matters Education Opportunities 03/16/2021
Publications and Resources
FACT SHEET: United States Department of Agriculture Provisions in H.R. 1319, the American Rescue Plan
This fact sheet provides an overview of the provisions within the jurisdiction of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to reduce hunger across the country, strengthen the food supply chain, invest in rural America, and provide long awaited support to underserved, socially disadvantaged farmers.
USDA Invests $598 Million to Improve and Modernize Rural Electric Infrastructure After Severe Weather and Age Test the Grid
USDA announced a $598 million rural electric loan package to build or improve electric infrastructure in 11 states. Several of the loans will help expand smart grid technologies, which can be a catalyst for broadband and other telecommunications services in unserved and underserved rural areas.
Women’s Business Centers
The U.S. Small Business Administration funds Women's Business Centers to support the growth of women-owned businesses through training, technical assistance, and access to credit, and international trade opportunities.
The COVID-19 Pandemic and Rural America
USDA’s Economic Research Service provides data and an overview of information on how the pandemic is affecting rural America, including the spread of cases and trends in employment/unemployment among the U.S. metro and nonmetro populations.
Tribal Energy Atlas
This tool was developed by researchers from the Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory for the Office of Indian Energy to assist tribal energy project planners, technicians, and investors with analyzing energy options in Indian Country. It is an interactive geo-spatial application allowing tribes to conduct their own analyses of installed energy projects and resource potential on tribal lands.
CDFA Community Facilities Technical Assistance Program
CDFA has worked with the USDA Rural Development to develop an innovative technical assistance approach to support rural communities that have recently experienced a natural disaster. The goal of this program is to help rural communities utilize USDA’s Rural Development Community Facilities Programs, along with identifying other potential development finance tools, to aid in the rebuild and recovery after a natural disaster.
Event Opportunities
OneRD Guarantee Loan Initiative Lender Feedback Forum
March 17 | Webinar
USDA Rural Development is inviting lenders to share ideas on how USDA can improve the application process and servicing options under the OneRD Guarantee Loan Initiative.
Value-Added Producer Grant (VAPG) & Rural Business Development Grant (RBDG) Webinar
March 17 | Webinar
Intertribal Agriculture Council and USDA are partnering to provide an update for tribal applicants on the extended VAPG application window and to provide a summary of the RBDG program.
NTIA Grant Programs in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021
March 17 | Webinar
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration will provide an overview of new grant programs, including the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Grants, Broadband Infrastructure Deployment Grants and the Connecting Minority Communities Pilot Program.
Building to Heal: A Framework for Holistic Community Development
March 18 | Webinar
Enterprise’s Cultural Resilience Office will present their recently released resource Building to Heal to help practitioners bring a healing-centered approach to community development.
Solutions for Housing Communications 2021
March 18 | Virtual Conference
National Housing Conference’s annual convening where industry professionals can come together to discuss messaging and marketing strategies to help advance affordable housing policy.
CDFA Rural Development Finance Webinar Series
March 23, June 1, August 31 | Webinar Series
The Council of Development Finance Agencies offers a series on financing options to preserve rural communities, investments in health care, broadband, manufacturing, food systems and education.
AFRI's Agricultural Workforce Training Priority Area Informational Webinar
April 5 | Webinar
USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture seeks to develop a technology and data savvy workforce offering funding for the development of new, expanded, or improved workforce training programs at community, junior and technical colleges to enable a work-ready labor force for 21st century agricultural jobs.
2021 Tableau Government Summit
April 6 | Virtual Summit
Join to learn how agencies are using Tableau’s data analytics platform to meet current and future demands.