Round 3 Notice Inviting Applications:

Bidders Conference

Date: August 25, 2016

Time: 2:00 p.m. EDT

Presented by:

U.S. Departments of Education, Health and 

Human Services, Housing and Urban 

Development, Justice and Labor

Corporation for National and Community 

Service

Institute of Museum and Library Services

TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION

• Timeline

• Overview

• Eligible applicants

• Eligible programs

• Absolute priorities

• Competitive preference priorities

• Invitational priorities

• Application requirements

• Selection criteria

• Review and selection process

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PRESENTERS

• Braden Goetz, U.S. Department of Education

• Sara Hastings, U.S. Department of Labor

• Michelle Boyd, U.S. Department of Health and Human 

Services

4

TIMELINE

• Notice inviting applications published on Monday, 

August 15, 2016

• Deadline for notice of intent to apply (optional) is 

Thursday, September 29, 2016

• Deadline for submitting applications is Monday, 

October 31, 2016

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OVERVIEW: SUMMARY

• Stakeholders on the front lines of service delivery have let us 

know that flexibility, such as better aligning the multiple systems 

that serve youth, is sometimes needed to achieve powerful 

outcomes. 

• P3 responds directly to on-the-ground challenges by offering 

broad new flexibility in exchange for better outcomes. The P3 

initiative allows pilots to receive customized flexibility from the 

participating agencies to overcome barriers and align program 

and reporting requirements across programs. 

• This flexibility enables communities to pursue the most 

innovative and effective ways to use their existing funds that they 

already receive from the federal government to improve 

outcomes for the neediest youth.

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OVERVIEW: SUMMARY (CONTINUED)

• Up to 10 pilots will receive start-up funds to implement 

the pilot activities with their partners that:

• Blend discretionary funds to improve performance 

and/or waive certain statutory, regulatory, or 

administrative requirements

• Include at least two programs targeting 

disconnected youth

• Improve education, employment, and other key 

outcomes for disconnected youth

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OVERVIEW: DISCONNECTED YOUTH

• Individuals between the ages of 14 and 24

• Who are low-income, and 

• Either homeless, in foster care, involved in the 

juvenile justice system, unemployed, or not 

enrolled in or at risk of dropping out of an 

educational institution

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OVERVIEW: BLENDING FUNDS

• Blended funding merges two or more funding streams, or 

portions of multiple funding streams, to produce greater 

efficiency and/or effectiveness 

• Funds from each individual stream lose their awardspecific identity

• The blended funds together become subject to a single 

set of reporting and other requirements, consistent with 

the underlying purposes of the programs for which the 

funds were appropriated

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Fiscal Year Agencies’ Funds Eligible for Blending

FY 2015 ED, HHS, DOL, CNCS, IMLS

FY 2016 ED, HHS, DOL, CNCS, IMLS and DOJ

OVERVIEW: BLENDING FUNDS BY ROUND

Fiscal Year Agencies’ Funds Eligible for Blending

FY 2016 ED, HHS, DOL, CNCS, IMLS, and DOJ, HUD

ROUND 2

ROUND 3

Note: For DOJ, only funds awarded through the Office of Justice Programs are eligible 

for blending and waivers. For HUD, only Homeless Assistance Grants are eligible.

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OVERVIEW: PROGRAMS

• Pilots must include at least two programs from a 

participating Federal agency:

• Targeted on disconnected youth, or designed to 

prevent youth from disconnecting from school or 

work, that provide education, training, employment, 

and other related social services 

• At least one of which is administered (in whole or in 

part) by a State, local, or tribal government

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OVERVIEW: WAIVERS

• In addition to existing waiver authority, agencies also may 

waive any statutory, regulatory, or administrative 

requirements that they are otherwise not authorized to 

waive, in keeping with important safeguards. 

• Waivers must:

• Be consistent with the statutory purposes of the 

relevant Federal program(s).

• Be necessary—and no broader in scope than 

necessary-- to achieve pilot outcomes.

• Result in either efficiencies or increased ability of 

individuals to obtain access to services.

13

Refer to FAQs, Section C, “Waivers”
OVERVIEW: WAIVERS (CONTINUED)

• Agencies cannot waive requirements related to:

• Nondiscrimination

• Wage and labor standards

• The allocation of funds to State and sub-State 

levels

• Federal Agency heads must determine that the 

Agency’s participation and the use of proposed 

program funds meet requirements related to:

• Not denying or restricting individual eligibility

• Not adversely affecting vulnerable populations 

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Refer to FAQs, Section C, “Waivers”
OVERVIEW: START-UP GRANT FUNDS

• Pilots will also receive start-up grant funds

• Awards may range from $200,000 to $250,000

• Awards should support effective implementation

• Examples of uses: planning, governance, technical 

assistance, evaluation, data collection, capacitybuilding, and coordination activities 

15

Refer to FAQs C-6, J-2, and K-1
OVERVIEW: PERFORMANCE AGREEMENTS

• Each pilot will be governed by a performance 

agreement between a lead Federal agency and the 

respective representatives of all of the State, local, or 

tribal governments participating in the pilot

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TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION

• Timeline

• Overview

• Eligible applicants

• Eligible programs

• Absolute priorities

• Competitive preference priorities

• Invitational priorities

• Application requirements

• Selection criteria

• Review and selection process

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ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS: LEAD APPLICANT

• State, local, or tribal government entity

• Represented by chief executive of the entity (e.g., 

governor, mayor) or the head of a State, local, or 

tribal entity

• Private nonprofit organizations are not eligible, but may 

play a role in the partnership

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Refer to FAQs, Section B, “Eligibility”
ELIGIBLE PROGRAMS

• The participating Federal Agencies have identified programs 

that may be eligible to be blended under a P3 pilot 

• At the same time that funds are blended and pilots are 

given new flexibilities, pilots must protect vulnerable 

populations and individuals 

• Some programs may introduce greater likelihood of 

adversely affecting vulnerable populations 

• The Federal Agencies have identified three categories of 

risk and specific examples of the types of programs in 

each category 

• Refer to the lists in the application instructions on 

Grants.gov

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Refer to FAQs C-2, C-3, and D-1 
TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION

• Timeline

• Overview

• Eligible applicants

• Eligible programs

• Absolute priorities

• Competitive preference priorities

• Invitational priorities

• Application requirements

• Selection criteria

• Review and selection process

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ABSOLUTE PRIORITIES

• The competition has four absolute priorities:

• Absolute Priority 1: Improving Outcomes for Disconnected Youth

• Absolute Priority 2: Improving Outcomes for Disconnected Youth 

in Rural Communities

• Absolute Priority 3: Improving Outcomes for Disconnected Youth 

in Tribal Communities

• Absolute Priority 4: Improving Outcomes for Disconnected Youth 

in Communities that Have Recently Experienced Civil Unrest

• Each of the absolute priorities constitutes its own funding category, 

and the Federal Agencies hope to award grants under each category 

for which applications of sufficient quality are submitted 

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ABSOLUTE PRIORITY 1

• Improving Outcomes for Disconnected Youth

• Applicants that will not serve youth in the 

communities identified in Absolute Priorities 2, 3, 

or 4 must apply under Absolute Priority 1

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ABSOLUTE PRIORITY 2

• Improving Outcomes for Disconnected Youth in Rural 

Communities

• An applicant is eligible if it proposes to serve 

disconnected youth in rural communities only

• A rural community is a community that: 

• is served only by one or more local educational 

agencies (LEA) that are currently eligible under the 

U.S. Department of Education's Small Rural School 

Achievement (SRSA) program or the Rural and LowIncome School (RLIS) program, or 

• includes only schools designated by the National 

Center for Education Statistics with a locale code of 

42 or 43

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ABSOLUTE PRIORITY 2 (CONTINUED)

• Improving Outcomes for Disconnected Youth in Rural 

Communities

• An applicant should include the following information:

• A list of the communities it proposes to serve

• A list of the LEAs that serve each of the 

communities it proposes to serve

• Involvement in a pilot by an LEA or school is not a 

requirement to participate in P3

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Refer to FAQs M-2 and M-3
ABSOLUTE PRIORITY 3

• Improving Outcomes for Disconnected Youth in Tribal 

Communities

• An applicant is eligible if it proposes to serve 

disconnected youth in one or more Indian tribes 

and its application is submitted by a partnership 

that includes one or more Indian tribes

• Applicants should clearly indicate in their 

applications the Indian tribe(s) they propose to 

serve

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ABSOLUTE PRIORITY 4

• Improving Outcomes for Disconnected Youth in 

Communities that Have Recently Experienced Civil 

Unrest

• Applicants should describe the instance or 

instances of civil unrest, including:

• a description of the civil unrest that 

occurred in the community or communities 

it intends to serve

• the date or dates the civil unrest occurred

• The NIA does not include a definition of “civil 

unrest,” but identifies several examples of what 

might be considered “civil unrest”

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Refer to FAQs M-4 and M-5
TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION

• Timeline

• Overview

• Eligible applicants

• Eligible programs

• Absolute priorities

• Competitive preference priorities

• Invitational priorities

• Application requirements

• Selection criteria

• Review and selection process

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COMPETITIVE PREFERENCE PRIORITIES 1 AND 2

• The competition has four competitive preference priorities:

• Competitive Preference Priority 1 (5 points): Projects that: 

• Serve those disconnected youth who are neither 

employed nor enrolled in education and who also 

face significant barriers to accessing education and 

employment, and 

• Are likely to result in significantly better educational 

or employment outcomes for such youth

• Competitive Preference Priority 2 (3 points): Projects that: 

• Provide all disconnected youth who will be served 

by the project with paid work-based learning 

opportunities

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COMPETITIVE PREFERENCE PRIORITY 3

• The competition has four competitive preference 

priorities:

• Competitive Preference Priority 3 (2 points): 

Projects that: 

• Are designed to serve and coordinate with 

a federally designated Promise Zone

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COMPETITIVE PREFERENCE PRIORITY 3 (CONTINUED)

• Must provide a HUD Form 50153 (Certification of 

Consistency with Promise Zone Goals and 

Implementation) that has been signed by an 

authorized Promise Zone official

• Applicants may find a listing of designated Promise 

Zones and their lead agencies by referring to: 

• https://www.hudexchange.info/programs/promis

e-zones/

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COMPETITIVE PREFERENCE PRIORITY 4

• The competition has four competitive preference 

priorities:

• Competitive Preference Priority 4 (10 points): 

Applicants that: 

• Plan to conduct independent impact 

evaluations of at least one service-delivery 

or operational component of their pilots 

(site-specific evaluation), in addition to 

participating in any national P3 evaluation

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Refer to FAQs, Section I, “Evaluation”
TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION

• Timeline

• Overview

• Eligible applicants

• Eligible programs

• Absolute priorities

• Competitive preference priorities

• Invitational priorities

• Application requirements

• Selection criteria

• Review and selection process

33
INVITATIONAL PRIORITIES

• The competition has three invitational priorities:

• Invitational Priority 1: Projects that: 

• Serve disconnected youth who are homeless, 

and 

• Are likely to result in significantly better 

educational or employment outcomes for such 

youth

• Invitational Priority 2: Projects that: 

• Serve disconnected youth who are involved in 

the justice system, and 

• Are likely to result in significantly better 

educational or employment outcomes for such 

youth

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INVITATIONAL PRIORITIES

• The competition has three invitational priorities:

• Invitational Priority 3: Projects that: 

• Serve disconnected youth who are or 

have ever been in foster care, and

• Are likely to result in significantly better 

educational or employment outcomes 

for such youth

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TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION

• Timeline

• Overview

• Eligible applicants

• Eligible programs

• Absolute priorities

• Competitive preference priorities

• Invitational priorities

• Application requirements

• Selection criteria

• Review and selection process

36

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS AND SELECTION CRITERIA

• Efforts to improve the competition and reduce burden 

on applicants

38
APPLICATION NARRATIVE 

• The application narrative is where applicants respond 

to the seven application requirements and the related 

selection criteria

• We instruct applicants to limit the length of your 

project narrative to 45 pages

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APPLICATION REQUIREMENT (A): EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

• The executive summary should briefly describe: 

• The proposed pilot 

• The flexibilities being sought, and 

• The interventions or systems changes that 

would be implemented by the applicant and 

its partners

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APPLICATION REQUIREMENT (B): STATEMENT OF NEED

• The statement of need for a defined target 

population (using Table 1):

• Specify the target population(s) for the 

pilot, including the age range of youth who 

will be served and the estimated number 

of youth who will be served over the 

course of the pilot 

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APPLICATION REQUIREMENT (C): FLEXIBILITY 

• Identify federal flexibilities sought (using 

Table 2): 

• Identify specific Federal statutory, 

regulatory, or other requirements for 

which applicant is seeking flexibility

• Examples: ability to blend funds, changes to 

eligibility requirements, allowable uses of 

funds, and performance reporting 

42

Refer to FAQs C-1, C-2, C-3, and C-4
APPLICATION REQUIREMENT (C): FLEXIBILITY (CONTINUED)

• Identify non-federal flexibilities: 

• Specific State, local, or tribal policies, 

regulations, or other requirements for which 

flexibility may be needed

• Provide written assurance (top-scoring applicants): 

• State, local, or tribal government(s) has 

approved or will approve requested flexibility 

within 60 days of designation as a pilot finalist, 

or

• Non-Federal flexibility is not needed to 

implement the pilot

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Refer to FAQs C-1, C-2, C-3, and C-4
APPLICATION REQUIREMENT (D): LOGIC MODEL

• Provide graphic depiction of pilot’s logic 

model

• Illustrates underlying theory of how the 

pilot’s strategy will produce intended 

outcomes

• Not longer than one page

44

Refer to FAQ F-1
APPLICATION REQUIREMENT (E): PARTNERSHIP CAPACITY 

AND MANAGEMENT

• Identify proposed partners (using Table 3)

• Provide assurance of partners’ commitment, 

such as an MOU or letter of commitment, 

describing: 

• Each partner’s commitment, including 

financial or in-kind resources (if any)

45

Refer to FAQ B-2 and B-4
APPLICATION REQUIREMENT (F): 

DATA AND PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT CAPACITY

• Propose outcome measures and interim indicators 

(using Table 4):

• At least one outcome measure must be in the 

domain of education, and at least one measure 

must be in the domain of employment 

• At least one interim indicator for each outcome 

measure

• For each outcome measure and indicator:

• Indicate the source of the data, the proposed 

frequency of collection, and the methodology used 

to collect the data

46

Refer to FAQ G-1
APPLICATION REQUIREMENT (G): BUDGET & BUDGET 

NARRATIVE

• Provide budget information (using Table 5):

• For each Federal program: 

• the grantee 

• the amount of funds to be blended or 

braided 

• the percentage of total program funding 

received by the grantee that the amount to 

be blended or braided represents 

• the Federal fiscal year of the award

• whether the grant has already been awarded

• The total amount of funds from all Federal 

programs that would be blended or braided under 

the pilot

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TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION

• Timeline

• Overview

• Eligible applicants

• Eligible programs

• Absolute priorities

• Competitive preference priorities

• Invitational priorities

• Application requirements

• Selection criteria

• Review and selection process

48
SELECTION CRITERION (A): NEED FOR THE 

PROJECT (5 POINTS)

• Consider the magnitude of the need of the 

target population, as evidenced by the 

applicant’s analysis of data:

• Comprehensive needs assessment 

conducted or updated within the past 3 

years using representative data on youth 

from the jurisdiction(s) proposing the pilot

• Encourage disaggregation of data 

according to relevant demographic factors

49

Refer to FAQ E-1
SELECTION CRITERION (B): NEED FOR 

REQUESTED FLEXIBILITY (20 POINTS TOTAL)

• Consider the strength and clarity of the 

applicant’s justification that each of the 

specified Federal requirements for which the 

applicant is seeking flexibility hinders 

implementation of the proposed pilot (10 

points)

50

Refer to FAQs C-1, C-2, C-3, and C-4
SELECTION CRITERION (B): NEED FOR REQUESTED 

FLEXIBILITY (CONTINUED) (20 POINTS TOTAL)

• Consider the strength and quality of the 

applicant’s justification of how each request 

for flexibility will increase efficiency or access 

to services and produce significantly better 

outcomes for the target population(s) (10 

points total)

51

Refer to FAQs C-1, C-2, C-3, and C-4
SELECTION CRITERION (C): PROJECT DESIGN 

(20 POINTS TOTAL)

• Consider the strength and logic of the 

proposed project design in addressing the 

gaps and the disparities identified in the 

response to Selection Criterion (a) (Need for 

Project) and the barriers identified in the 

response to Selection Criterion (b) (Need for 

Requested Flexibility) (10 points)

52

Refer to FAQ F-1
SELECTION CRITERION (C): PROJECT DESIGN 

(CONTINUED) (20 POINTS TOTAL)

• Consider the strength of the evidence 

supporting the pilot design and whether the 

applicant proposes the effective use of 

interventions based on evidence and 

evidence-informed interventions (5 points)

53

Refer to FAQ H-1
SELECTION CRITERION (C): PROJECT DESIGN 

(CONTINUED) (20 POINTS TOTAL)

• Consider the strength of the applicant’s evidence 

that the project design, including any protections and 

safeguards that will be established, ensures that the 

consequences or impacts of the changes from 

current practices in serving youth through the 

proposed funding stream (5 points):

• Will not result in denying or restricting the 

eligibility of individuals for services that (in whole 

or in part) are otherwise funded by these 

programs

• Based on the best available information, will not 

otherwise adversely affect vulnerable 

populations that are the recipients of those 

services 

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SELECTION CRITERION (D): WORK PLAN AND 

PROJECT MANAGEMENT (10 POINTS)

• Consider the strength and completeness of the work 

plan and project management approach and their 

likelihood of achieving the objectives of the 

proposed project on time and within budget:

• Clearly defined and appropriate responsibilities, 

timelines, and milestones for accomplishing 

project tasks 

• The qualifications of project personnel to ensure 

proper management of all project activities 

• How any existing or anticipated barriers to 

implementation will be overcome

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SELECTION CRITERION (E): PARTNERSHIP 

CAPACITY (15 POINTS TOTAL)

• Consider how well the applicant 

demonstrates that it has an effective 

governance structure in which:

• Partners that are necessary to implement 

the pilot successfully are represented

• Partners have the necessary authority, 

resources, expertise, and incentives to 

achieve the pilot’s goals and resolve 

unforeseen issues (10 points)

56
SELECTION CRITERION (E): PARTNERSHIP 

CAPACITY (CONTINUED) (15 POINTS TOTAL)

• Consider how well the applicant 

demonstrates that its proposal was designed 

with substantive input from all relevant 

stakeholders, including disconnected youth 

and other community partners (5 points)

57
SELECTION CRITERION (F): DATA AND 

PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT CAPACITY 

(25 POINTS TOTAL)

• Consider the applicant’s capacity to collect, analyze, and 

use data for decision-making, learning, continuous 

improvement, and accountability, and the strength of the 

applicant’s plan to bridge any gaps in its ability to do so 

(10 points)

• Extent to which the applicant and partner 

organizations have tracked and shared data about 

program participants, services, and outcomes, 

including the execution of data-sharing agreements 

that comport with Federal, State, and other privacy 

laws and requirements, and will continue to do so 

58
SELECTION CRITERION (F): DATA AND 

PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT CAPACITY 

(CONTINUED) (25 POINTS TOTAL)

• Consider how well the proposed outcome measures, 

interim indicators, and measurement methodologies 

specified appropriately and sufficiently gauge results 

achieved for the target population under the pilot (10 

points)

• Consider how well the data sources specified can be 

appropriately accessed and used to reliably measure the 

proposed outcome measures and interim indicators (5 

points)

59
SELECTION CRITERION (G): BUDGET AND 

BUDGET NARRATIVE (5 POINTS)

• Consider the appropriateness of expenses 

within the budget with regards to cost and to 

implementing the pilot successfully

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PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS

• Participate fully in any federally sponsored evaluation 

activity, including the national evaluation

• Acknowledge responsibilities related to the 

federal evaluation (use form in Appendix A of the 

notice)

• Participate in a community of practice that includes 

an annual in-person meeting (must be reflected in 

budget) and virtual peer-to-peer learning activities

• Explain how applicant will ensure compliance with 

Federal, State, local, and tribal privacy laws and 

secure necessary consent in accordance with 

applicable Federal, State, local, and tribal laws

• Enter into a performance agreement that will govern 

implementation of the pilot

61

Refer to FAQ K-1
TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION

• Timeline

• Overview

• Eligible applicants

• Eligible programs

• Absolute priorities

• Competitive preference priorities

• Invitational priorities

• Application requirements

• Selection criteria

• Review and selection process

62
REVIEW AND SELECTION PROCESS: REVIEW

• Reviewers with expertise on issues related to 

improving outcomes for disconnected youth 

will score the selection criteria

• Reviewers with expertise in evaluation will 

score Competitive Preference Priority 4

63
REVIEW AND SELECTION PROCESS: SCORING RUBRIC

• Scoring rubric:

64

Maximum point value Quality of applicant’s response

Low Medium High

10 0-2 3-7 8-10

5 0-1 2-3 4-5
REVIEW AND SELECTION PROCESS: REVIEW 

(CONTINUED)

• Applications will be rank ordered based on 

their total scores

• Agency officials will evaluate whether the 

flexibility, including waivers being sought by 

the top-scoring applicants meet the statutory 

requirements for P3 and are otherwise 

appropriate

• Applicants may be asked to participate in an 

interview to clarify aspects of proposals 

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REVIEW AND SELECTION PROCESS: SELECTION

• Federal agency officials may recommend up 

to 10 projects

• If a performance agreement cannot be 

negotiated, an alternative project may be 

selected

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FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Youth.gov/P3

Braden Goetz

U.S. Department of Education

Phone: (202) 245-7405

Email: disconnectedyouth@ed.gov

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Questions and Answers

68
Thank You!

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