�Federal Funding for Collaborative Capacity

UPDATES & POLICY PRIORITIES��

EMERY COWAN

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RVCC’S WORK

PEER LEARNING

STORYTELLING

POLICY ANALYSIS & OUTREACH

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LEARNING RESOURCES

GUIDEBOOKS

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CASE STUDIES

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• Planning to Implementation
• Ideas to Action

• Innovative Collaborative Engagement in National Forest Management in the Pacific Northwest
• Governance Strategies for Large Landscape Partnerships in the West
• Pathways to Prescribed Fire: Three Case Studies Highlighting Opportunities for Community-based Nonprofits to Build Cooperative Burning Capacity

POLICY FOCUS

PRESCRIBED FIRE

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FARM BILL

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COLLABORATIVE CAPACITY SUPPORT

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COLLABORATIVE CAPACITY POLICY ADVANCEMENTS

AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL CHALLENGE

REGIONAL CONSERVATION PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM

“Projects funded through the ATBC will advance the principles underlying the America the Beautiful Initiative,”...

• Pursue a collaborative and inclusive approach to conservation
• Support locally led and locally designed conservation efforts

Planning Grants: Grants that enhance local capacity to implement future on-the-ground actions that address program priorities through community-based assessments, partnership building, planning, project design, and other technical assistance activities.

• De-emphasis of partner contributions
• Shift toward more partner-led projects
• More flexibility in TA $$ for landowner outreach, partnership development, project management

COLLABORATIVE CAPACITY POLICY ADVANCEMENTS

IIJA: FOREST SERVICE COLLABORATIVE CAPACITY FUNDING

USFS COLLABORATIVE FUNDING AUTHORITY

• NFF-administered national collaborative capacity program:“$100,000,000 shall be made available to the Secretary of Agriculture for collaboration and collaboration-based activities, including facilitation, certification of collaboratives, and planning and implementing projects under the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program”
• Regional Office-administered collaborative capacity funding ($100k per region last spring, $250k per region this spring)
• Wildfire Crisis Strategy Priority Landscapes

“Funds appropriated to the Forest Service under the National Forest System heading shall be available for the Secretary of Agriculture to enter into cooperative agreements with other Federal agencies, tribes, States, local governments, private and nonprofit entities, and educational institutions to support the work of forest or grassland collaboratives on activities benefitting Federal lands and adjacent non-Federal lands, including for technical assistance, administrative functions or costs, and other capacity support needs identified by the Forest Service.”

ACCESSING FEDERAL FUNDING

Create flexible agreement structures

RESOURCES

Conservation Program Explorer

MEASURING OUTCOMES, EVALUATING SUCCESS

• Collaborative dynamics (engagement, shared motivation, joint capacity for action)

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• Collaborative process outcomes (minimize conflict, enhanced decision-making, finding areas of agreement)

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• Socioeconomic (e.g. facilitating job creation and retention, business development, ability to bring in additional funding)

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• Ecological goals (e.g. reduced fuel hazards and improved habitat)

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DISCUSSION

• How does your collaborative evaluate progress, outcomes, or success?

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• What would be important outcomes/goals of a collaborative capacity support program? How do we value and measure capacity-building?

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• What peer-to-peer learning venues (e.g. networks, workshops, trainings, convenings) are most useful? What technical support is most needed?

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• What is important from agencies to support successful collaborative capacity program rollout?

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THANK YOU

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Emery@ruralvoicescoalition.org