Dr. Memo Diriker

The AFP Maryland Chapter invites you to join us at our next virtual Grants Roundtable on Wednesday, April 24th from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. This month's topic will focus on Grant Management! It’s bound to be an informative conversation covering the following topics: * Grant Management FAQs * 7 Core Steps for Managing Grants * Grant Management Lifecycle * General Best Practices RSVP to Erin Jackson at [email protected] to receive the meeting information. We look forward to sharing grant management best practices with you! #afpmaryland #grantmanagement #grants #roundtable

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New, free teaching cases with educator guides on designing efforts to engage residents in urban problem-solving. Examine what works - and what doesn't - in participatory governance and learn to evolve your city's approach intentionally.

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Government employees face huge skills gaps. This is due to many reasons. First, job specifications are outdated and thus emerging skills are not being requiered for the role. Second , learning strategies are not based on data or designed to meet individual needs. Third , talent management and compensation policies discourage employees from growing and learning new skills.

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Maryland’s Super-Sized Procurement Economy Over the last few years, the Nowak Metro Finance Lab has focused intensely on the small business opportunities created by public contracting, given the surge in federal spending. We have invented a Procurement Playbook to enable us to size the procurement economy in cities, metros and states across all layers of government. The Playbook then assesses the barriers to growing small businesses and puts forward actionable strategies to enable business formation, expansion and wealth building. Recently we released our first state Playbook in Maryland, driven by interest from Comptroller Brooke Lierman and her remarkable staff. My latest newsletter with Victoria Orozco, Milena Dovali, elijah e. davis and Benjamin Weiser details our findings. Given the proximity of Maryland to Washington DC, the scale of annual federal procurement in the Maryland economy — from the Department of Defense, HHS, VA, NASA and a plethora of other agencies — is off the charts and is characterized by heavy contracting of technology and services firms. Harnessing this steady flow of federal procurement requires new approaches across the ecosystem of state and local governments, public agencies and authorities, chambers of commerce, financial institutions, entrepreneurial support organizations and beyond. Maryland is at the vanguard of the new procurement economy. The evolution of this effort will be critical to track. https://lnkd.in/g4nMf4Ca

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Today, as we head to the polls, I'm reflecting on how much policy shapes our daily lives. Let's keep showing up, not just on Election Day, but every day, we remain steadfast to make our vision for higher ed a true possibility. #StudentAffairs #CollectiveAction #Advocacy

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Save the DATE 📅 2024 Booker T.Washington Economic Summit September 12-13,2024 The Booker T. Washington Economic Summit is part of the Community Resources and Economic Development Extension & Research planned program area that focuses on enhancing financial security and better management of available resources for individuals and families, start-up micro-entrepreneurs and communities. Research and/or Extension Team Projects (RETPs) for this program area are: (a) Family Finances, (b) Start-up Businesses and Non-Profits, (c) Heir Property and African American Landloss and (d) Volunteer Leadership Development. #blackeconomics #blackentrepreneurs #generationalwealth #hbcus #hbcusWealth #communityeconomics

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The word "pride" represents solidarity, collectivity, and identity, resistance to discrimination and violence. #Transportation moves people #PublicTransport #METRO enables #mobility. To sustain a higher quality and standard of living. Communities need transportation to access vital services that ensure the upkeep of physical and mental health, employment, social and leisure activities #2024CapitalPride Reflect. Empower. Unite. #Parade #Metro #BillyPorter https://lnkd.in/eHW3QM7C

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Department of Commerce - Economic Development Administration. There is continuing support for building regional innovation ecosystems across the country. In this regard, EDA got $50 million for its Regional Innovation Program. In the budget agreement, Congress urged EDA to use this program to invest in university-based, high-tech business incubators to diversify distressed manufacturing communities and legacy urban and rural communities by encouraging entrepreneurship and patent creation, and promoting technology commercialization through business start-ups. EDA also received $41 million for its Tech Hubs program, with Congressional encouragement to support consortia that have proven regional strategies that bridge urban and rural economies. Read more: https://lnkd.in/efpiws7s

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Incredible improvements! Yes! The true cost of the barriers around NOFO language is the highly technical language. However, something to think about... as these bureaucratic processes are removed or lowered, additional rules and regulations are piling up. Burdening institutions and organizations with a host of legal requirements to accept funds and proving they comply (Buy America Act, COI rules, countries of concern, etc etc) make the cost of grants even higher with respect to risk management and monitoring. Sure, reduce the barriers to entry but the cost of acceptance is too great. We must continue to educate professionals and researchers why these things matter and streamline the compliance so researchers can do the thing they asked to do in the first place! Be Better Do Better

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This week, IEDC gathered federal leaders and the inaugural cohort of 65 ERC Fellows in Washington D.C. to discuss how distressed communities across the nation can greater access federal resources. With the 65 fellows in their field placements providing dedicated technical assistance and capacity-building support now for the next 2.5 years, this convening aimed to enhance communication and build relationships between federal entities and underserved communities to improve their access to federal funding. Read the full announcement here: https://lnkd.in/gU4z7pjn Funded by a $30M cooperative agreement with the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) and led by IEDC, ERC was created to address enduring economic challenges exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly affecting historically underserved populations. Explore the 65 projects across 42 states and 2 U.S. territories that are underway for the next 2.5 years, and learn more about the ERC program at https://lnkd.in/dZKMN9BU. RAIN Catalysts National Association of Development Organizations (NADO) Center on Rural Innovation National League of Cities National Association of Counties ICMA - International City/County Management Association #IEDC #EDA #ERCFellow #EconomicRecoveryCorps #FederalResources #EconomicDevelopment

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This powerful session with top state economic development leaders, including our own Ashely Teasdel, was inspiring. They focused on being nimble and recognizing the real value add at the local level. A key takeaway was the current headwinds in economic development: Power, Product, Politics, and People. Navigating these intricacies daily to stay competitive is challenging, but we’re up for it.

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Last week, I had the privilege to attend HOPE's Economic Mobility Forum in Selma, Alabama. The topic of discussion was Seizing the Moment: Maximizing Federal Investment in Under Resourced Communities. Communities like those in the small towns in the Black Belt of Alabama, have often faced barriers in accessing the kinds of federal funds that large cities and wealthier communities have had access to for decades. These small towns have very limited staff to write grants and manage complex grant programs and yet have great need for water, road and sewer improvement, disaster recovery, housing and community development, among others. Without intentional support and accessible program design, the new historic federal programs in infrastructure and greenhouse gas reduction would likely perpetuate the current disparities. What are federal agencies doing to ensure access to underserved areas? Read more about the discussion in my new piece on the Hope Policy Institute blog.

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Solid advice and lessons from my friend and colleague of 20 years - the absolute tops in our industry.

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High-quality #childcare prior to kindergarten is critical to #economicprosperity and children’s cognitive and social development. In this report for @FredCoGovMD, PPA and Solomon Eval presented insights that could help counties throughout the country. https://lnkd.in/gaJH5U-N #researchers

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Grants. Contributions. Loans. What's in a name? In the delivery of its programs, the federal government transfers funds to individuals or organizations for the realization of projects. The funding that is provided generally takes one of three forms: grants, contributions and loans. Are these types of financing different? Yes. Depending on whether it is a grant, a contribution or a loan, the funding comes with its specific set of strings attached. Check out my blog post to see how they differ. https://wix.to/MzSepax

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Thank you, Christine. To everyone...Help us collect data on this important topic that we will discuss in Emmitsburg. See you there! An Examination of Emergency Management Workforce Job Postings & Undergraduate Degree Program Alignment Analysis Survey https://lnkd.in/gFxtBBrz Scope of study: This study intends to capture any gaps/trends within the current job market for emerging professional emergency mangers and to provide an understanding of core competencies within academic degree programs. We are collecting information about how your emergency management academic programs align with industry standards. Separately, we are analyzing current emergency management job postings to determine if your academic programs align with workforce needs. Deadline: 19 May 2024 Results will be presented at FEMA’s 26th Annual Emergency Management HigherEd Symposium in Emmitsburg, MD, June 3-5. This study is conducted by Simental Industries, Ltd. With funding from FEMA. Questions may be referred to Dr. Tina Bynum, [email protected] We greatly appreciate your input on this important topic.

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Interesting that DAFs outpaced contributions. these are Community Foundations DAFs not those at private financial institutions which have been criticized as more tax avoidance than charitable endeavors. Think of these were also deployed in communities, the change that could occur. There is so much secrets keeping about DAFs. There needs to be greater transparency and accountability given the tax preferences for these vehicles which have or should have not only a charitable goal but a goal that is actioned.

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