The Green Workforce Accelerator

The Innovation Office, alongside the Office of Sustainability, Economic Development Department, Parks and Recreation Department, and Austin Resource Recovery, will hold the City of Austin’s Green Workforce Accelerator - a capacity-building accelerator program to help community organizations and/or social impact for-profit organizations develop or expand programs that employ, train, and/or place residents in green jobs. Accelerator participants will receive a $15,000 grant to support their work during the program. The program is anticipated to run January through May 2024.

We encourage you to review the following information about the program. If you need any additional information or have any questions, please contact Annabel Osburn at annabel.osburn@austintexas.gov. We will post questions asked by others and answers in the FAQs section below. The application closed on Friday, January 5, 2024. 

PROGRAM BACKGROUND AND FOCUS:

This Green Workforce Accelerator (GWA) will help organizations and/or social impact companies build new or significantly expand existing programs/lines of work that create good green jobs and/or training for green jobs, with a focus on creating equitable access and sustainable career pathways. The City of Austin and the University of Texas at Austin conducted a Green Economy Study that found “jobs directed to improving environmental outcomes have grown significantly faster than overall employment both nationally and in the Austin region. More specifically, green jobs are defined as 1) involving work that produces goods or services that benefit the environment and or conserve natural resources; 2) involving work that makes production processes more environmentally friendly or consuming fewer resources.” Each applicant’s program should fall into one or more of the following industries identified in the study:

• Energy Efficiency and Alternative Energy Sources
• Water Management and Conservation
• Waste Management and Resource Recovery
• Transportation
• Lands, Parks and Urban Agriculture

Programs created or expanded through the GWA should primarily benefit communities of color and marginalized groups that bear the brunt of climate change impacts yet have low access to green careers. Educational attainment in Austin is highly racialized, with only 2.5% of residents without a high school diploma identifying as white and a general population that is 66% white. The UT Green Economy Study used equity as a framework, keeping these disparities in mind, and “highlights opportunities for family-supporting jobs in green occupations not requiring high levels of educational attainment such as a college degree”. Additionally, the study interviewed companies and organizations working in this space and found a lack of specific outreach and recruitment to communities of color, which contributes to a racialized income gap. 

The Green Workforce Accelerator will be tailored to meet the specific needs of the organizations participating. That said, participants can expect to experience or gain the following throughout the accelerator:

• Support to create new or expand existing programs that provide green jobs, training for green jobs, and/or placement for green jobs (see “green jobs” definition above).
• Expanded organizational capacity.
• A community-centered model centered around collaboration and networking building.
• A greater understanding of the types, demand for, and interactions between Austin green jobs/economy-related programs and organizations.
• Program opportunities to strengthen work in other strategic priority areas.

PROGRAM OVERVIEW:

Organizations selected for the GWA will participate in three components: 1) needs assessment, 2) accelerator, and 3) post program data collection. This comprehensive structure will be facilitated in partnership with Blue Sky Partners, prioritizing equity and accessibility, and dives deep into each participant’s strengths and opportunities for improvement related to the goal of creating jobs or training for jobs. The program will provide targeted technical assistance along with an unrestricted grant of $15,000 for their participation in the program aimed to fill specific needs related to development and capacity. 

1 - Needs Assessment: The program will provide each participating organization with an individualized needs assessment that will highlight strengths and areas for capacity building and growth. The needs assessment will be built on data gathered from a survey and interview. Organizations will have the opportunity to provide input to ensure that the information in the assessment best reflects the needs of the organization.

2 - Accelerator: The accelerator is a 12-week cohort-based program that covers a number of education, engagement, and development needs, and provides the space, resources, and guidance for participants to grow and expand their service offerings. Elements include:

• Hands-on workshops where participants create strategies, test ideas, and build critical work products with expert guidance.
• Access to custom-built tools and systems to support teams as they address opportunities from the needs assessments.
• Expert speakers who provide insights on developing, testing, scaling, and adapting programs.
• Peer-to-peer learning loops where participants will build experience in generating real-time self-awareness and self-constructive criticism with their cohort.
• Facilitated meetings with Austin leaders where participants will learn to network and make connections with key partners, gatekeepers, influencers, potential investors/funders, and beneficiary aggregators.
• Promotional training, network-building, and potential funding/partnership opportunities via a culminating showcase event.

3 - Program Data Collection: The GWA will follow up with participating organizations at the three and six-month post-program marks to understand outcomes from and the efficacy of this initiative in creating jobs and training programs. Metrics gathered could include how many jobs, training opportunities, and/or job placements the participants have created based on their work in the program; pay rates and income levels of those opportunities; stability of jobs; effectiveness of training and placements; etc.

ANTICIPATED TIMELINE/COMMITMENT

Participation in this initiative will require a time commitment from your organization. You will need at least one dedicated individual from your organization, with decision-making authority, who will take ownership of consistent program involvement and lead efforts described below, such as the needs assessment process and accelerator participation. Selected organizations might decide to involve multiple individuals from their organization based on needs and the topics being addressed in the accelerator.

The timeline and anticipated time commitment includes:

• Needs Assessment- Winter 2024
  • Selected organizations will participate in a needs assessment process. Organizations will provide documents and information for the review. You will not create new information but will need to dedicate time to gathering the requested documents.
  • Organizations will also participate in a 1-hour interview to better understand their needs. There may be shorter follow up interviews for clarifications.
  • Organizations will review their draft needs assessment and have the opportunity to meet and tailor the needs assessment further. All follow up meetings will be 30-60 minutes.
• Accelerator- Spring 2024
  • The Accelerator is a 12-week cohort-based program that will require participation from at least one decision-making member of your organization. You may want others involved based on the topics being presented. 
  • Sessions will be held twice a week virtually. All sessions will be recorded and we will make materials via Google Drive. Session content will be designed based on the needs assessments, and will be 3-6 hours per week (an example of what this might look like is two virtual sessions per week, for 2-3 hours each). Depending on session content, organizations may have minor homework or preparation needs (ie. for a session on pitch practice, and organization might want to prepare materials ahead of time).
  • Organizations will have access to speakers throughout the accelerator, and additional time might be spent meeting one-on-one. Time spent meeting with speakers will be dependent on the organization and its needs.
  • Organizations will be required to create a midpoint and final report describing the progress and outcomes during their time in the GWA.
  • The accelerator will culminate in a showcase event. The estimated time commitment for this event is around four hours, including setup and tear down. The date for this event has not yet been scheduled.

APPLICATION AND SELECTION PROCESS

The application window closed on Friday, January 5. You may preview the application questions (PDF, 93 KB). We estimated it will take 45-60 minutes to complete an application. You may also review the scoring criteria (PDF, 106 KB). 

We held an informational webinar on December 13 and the webinar slide deck (PDF, 1.1 MB) is now available. Questions and answers from the presentation were recorded and are included below in the FAQs. Please contact annabel.osburn@austintexas.gov with any additional questions. 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is the maximum award per organization for this grant process?

The maximum award that an organization will receive through this program is $15,000.

When will the funding be released/awarded?

Participants will receive half of the funding after being accepted into the accelerator program, and the remainder of funds after completing the midpoint report, about six weeks into the program. The timeline of payment(s) is conditional on collaboration and completion of the tasks between Awardees, Blue Sky Partners support, and the City. All funding disbursements and uses of funds are subject to City approval.

Is an individual or organization operating and/or serving clients outside of the United States/Austin, Texas eligible to participate? 

Eligible applicants are entities (not individuals) that can contribute to the development of green workforce programs specifically in the Austin area, serving clients/participants in the Austin area, and should be able to be physically present as required for the program

Is it better to have a more rigorous training, with potentially less accessibility to folks without a science background, but not get as many participants, or an online, not as "rigorous" training that could support a greater number of participants?

The GWA's goal is to emphasize equitable access and getting folks trained, placed, or directly into good green jobs. Evaluators will review whole applications to determine the best fit, so it's not necessarily how many participants are trained regardless of training, but more about the scoring criteria (PDF, 106KB) and programs that fit the spirit of the accelerator. Note that organizations can submit multiple applications if they are hosting multiple relevant programs. 

Can startup companies apply?

Yes! Any organization can apply. If you are at the very earliest stages of the company or extremely established, it may not be the best fit as previous accelerators have shown that organizations somewhere in the middle of their life cycle tend to be the best fit for this model. As long as you're ready to provide training, placement, and/or jobs, you are potentially in a good place to apply. 

Should our application focus on the work we're currently doing or the work we're hoping/planning/proposing to do? 

Both! There are questions in the application asking about what your organization is proposing and also what you're currently doing. See the sample rubric (PDF, 106KB) for how each area will be evaluated 

Is a program with the end goal of supporting people in the community to start their own private operator business, rather than hiring, a good fit to apply? 

This could be framed as a training program, so yes, it could be a good fit to apply; reviewing the eligibility and goals to determine if it's a logical fit for this accelerator may be good a first step. 

Is the creation of training materials targeting recycling and refurbishing something this accelerator is looking for? 

If you're creating a program to train folks, then yes; if the program creates the training materials but does not engage participants in training, this might be a good fit for a collaboration with someone who would provide the training directly. 

If we apply and are not selected to participate, can we still support programming or this green workforce work somehow? 

The Innovation Office encourages partnerships and collaborations however they come about. If you're not selected for the accelerator after applying, reach out to us and we'll work on a path forward. When possible, we may connect people who might be able to benefit one another. 

Who is assessing the applications? 

Representatives from the City of Austin's contributing departments and offices-- the Innovation Office, the Office of Sustainability, Economic Development Department, Parks and Recreation Department, the Resiliency Office, and Austin Resource Recovery-- will evaluate submitted applications. 

What type of organizational representative would be best for the Needs Assessment?

The person best to represent the organization in the Needs Assessment has insight into all aspects of the organization and decision-making authority within the organization, along with the time and capacity to do the work involved. Said representative should have power to make decisions or direct access to decision-makers.

How and to whom will the results of the Need Assessment be made available?

The information from each Needs Assessment will be available to the assessed organization and Blue Sky Partners, and the City of Austin Office of Innovation, and Purchasing Office. The City may use anonymized data and themes/findings from Needs Assessment in other initiatives and work products. All information collected and produced by the City of Austin is subject to Public Information Request laws.

Is the data collected during the needs assessment specific to the program being accelerated or the organization at large? 

Primarily, the needs assessment is looking at the organization and focusing on the infrastructure, particularly with a lens of how growth would be facilitated through the accelerator. Depending on the size of the organization and its specific needs, the needs assessment might have either a broad or more tailored focus. 

For the expected 3-6 hours of weekly participation, would that consist of meetings only, or does that include preparation, mentor meetings, etc.? 

3-6 hours generally will cover the live meetings component and some light homework. It can vary based on your level of participation and what you want to get out of the accelerator. If you want to leverage and implement all the resources available to you, it can be more time. In general, if there's more outside or non-session work, we try to reduce the session times to stay within the 3-6 hour framework. 

Are the weekly meetings already scheduled? Or will these be coordinated with accepted organizations? 

There will be a survey to determine when the sessions will work for the greatest number of organizations accepted into the cohort. Additionally, sessions will be recorded but selected organizations should plan to have someone attend live sessions each week. 

If an organization is applying with a fiscal sponsor, can the sponsor also submit a separate application for their own project?

An organization who is acting as a fiscal sponsor for another organization's application may submit an application of its own if the proposed work and/or services are different.

If our organization is already getting an assessment and technical assistance from Blue Sky Partners, how would that work with this accelerator? 

If you have worked with BSP in the past or are currently working with them as part of a separate City initiative, the needs assessment process may be slightly expedited depending on when it was done and any growth/changes in your organization since your last needs assessment. As it relates to technical assistance, there will likely be overlap if you are receiving services through another program, but also some more specific items for green workforce development that would arise in this program as opposed to any other program with BSP and the City. 

Who is Blue Sky Partners?

Blue Sky Partners is an Austin-based organizational capacity building and consulting firm that has done incubators and accelerators for the City of Austin in the past. Their capacity building programs are tailored for social impact and not-for-profit organizations.