Who is a member?
Our members are the local governments of Massachusetts and their elected and appointed leadership.
The National League of Cities and the Local Infrastructure Hub have opened registration for a free series of boot camps this fall to help small- and mid-sized municipalities develop competitive funding applications for federal infrastructure grants.
The trainings are targeted to communities with populations of 150,000 or less. Spots are limited to the first few hundred communities to register, between now and Aug. 31.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, also known as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, is a $550 billion investment in infrastructure that promotes economic growth and development. Although the funding is offered to municipalities across the country, smaller cities and towns are not always equipped with the necessary resources to submit strong applications for federal infrastructure money.
The NLC and Local Infrastructure Hub will offer at least 30 courses in this two-year project. Each of the courses will run for an average of four months, with live learning sessions taught by subject matter experts, along with coaching sessions, office hours, and opportunities for peer learning.
Local leaders will be guided through the process of how to complete an asset map for their community and how to use those maps to refine how they build and execute a community engagement strategy. Attendees will also learn how to use data to understand problems, test and define solutions, ground applications in data, and ensure their grant applications will achieve desired outcomes.
Boot camp trainings will also provide instruction to assemble a complex capital stack and budget for grant applications, align grant applications with broader federal priorities, and write winning grant applications that are tailored to the metrics and policy priorities behind specific grant opportunities.
The first five offerings, available this fall, will focus on the following grant categories:
• Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities ($1 billion): Supports communities as they undertake hazard mitigation projects, reducing the risks they face from disasters and natural hazards
• Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program ($550 million): Supports communities to implement strategies to reduce fossil fuel emissions, reduce the total energy use of the eligible entities, and improve energy efficiency in the transportation, building, and other appropriate sectors
• Flood Mitigation Assistance Grants ($3.5 billion): Supports communities with projects that reduce or eliminate the risk of repetitive flood damage to buildings insured by the National Flood Insurance Program
• Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation (SMART) Grant Program ($500 million): Supports communities on demonstration projects focused on advanced smart community technologies and systems in order to improve transportation efficiency and safety
• Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Grants ($2.5 billion): Supports communities to address EV charging needs for passenger vehicles and light duty trucks