Tag: webinar

Thank you to everyone who participated in the Sustainable Communities Network’s recent webinar, “TIGER Grants and Rural America, Part 2.” The webinar was the result of a collaborative effort between Smart Growth America, Reconnecting America, the National Association of Development Organizations, Policy Link, the American Public Transportation Association, the National League of Cities, Rural Assembly, and Transportation for America to provide rural communities with the necessary tools and technical assistance to help advance superior TIGER projects.

Materials from last week’s webinar are now available online. The webinar includes strategies and lessons on how to submit competitive TIGER applications, with tips from both the funding agency as well grant writers and political leaders who have brought millions of dollars to their own communities. Learn what distinguishes an outstanding grant application from all other eligible applications and understand how to write a successful TIGER grant. Gain in-depth knowledge on what is needed to conduct a Benefit-Cost Analysis, an integral part of the TIGER application. Become familiar with the selection criteria and learn how to successfully position your project with regional partnerships. And for prospective applicants, learn about next steps and where to get additional resources and help.

Thank you to everyone who attended Smart Growth America’s Sustainable Communities Network webinar “Transit Corridors for Sustainable Communities: Planning Transit to Connect the Dots” earlier this week. This webinar was hosted by Smart Growth America, PolicyLink, Reconnecting America, and the National Housing Conference.

Listen in: Click here to view the archived webinar

Speaking on the webinar were Dena Belzer, President of Strategic Economics and partner in the Center for Transit-Oriented Development; Crista M. Gardner, Senior Planner at Portland Metro; and David Johnson AICP, Director of Planning, Roaring Fork Transportation Authority. The webinar was moderated by Elizabeth Wampler, Program Associate at Reconnecting America and the Center for Transit-Oriented Development.

The U.S. Department of Transportation recently announced a new grant opportunity for rural communities across the country. The Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant program is a great opportunity for rural communities to leverage federal funds for local transportation projects. To help communities apply to these very competitive grants, the American Public Transportation Association, the National Association of Development Organizations, the National League of Cities, PolicyLink, Reconnecting America, Rural Assembly, Smart Growth America, and Transportation for America have joined together to encourage rural communities to submit superior applications for this funding.

If you plan to apply for this year’s round of TIGER grants or wish to learn more about the program and the application process, join us for a webinar on Wednesday, August 31, 2011 at 2:00 PM EDT. The webinar will build on the overview provided by our first webinar in this series, which took place earlier in August, by exploring in-depth the various aspects of the TIGER application process.

Join us Tuesday, August 23rd at 3:30 PM ET for the next Sustainable Communities Network webinar: “Transit Corridors for Sustainable Communities: Planning Transit to Connect the Dots.” This event is hosted by Smart Growth America, PolicyLink, Reconnecting America and the National Housing Conference.

The session will begin with a discussion of the different types of transit corridors and how what they connect can have significant implications for land uses, ridership, and the potential for development after the transit is built, including a description of examples of these different corridor types and how transit and land use have interacted in a few regions. Following that, participants will learn how planners in a small town in Colorado are making the transition from thinking about making a successful transit system to ensuring that the system is integrated into community life and makes inter-agency connections. The session will conclude with an overview of the innovative tools being used in a joint planning process between city staff in Tigard, OR, a suburb of Portland, and the regional planning agency to direct growth alongside a high capacity transit planning project in the city.

Speakers include Dena Belzer, President of Strategic Economics and partner in the Center for Transit-Oriented Development; Crista M. Gardner, Senior Planner at Portland Metro; and David Johnson AICP, Director of Planning, Roaring Fork Transportation Authority. This webinar will be moderated by Elizabeth Wampler, Program Associate at Reconnecting America and the Center for Transit-Oriented Development.

In anticipation of the pre-application system for TIGER grants opening on August 22nd, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) is offering a series of special topic webinars that delve into various aspects of the TIGER application process. These webinars will be a great resource for anyone either considering applying to TIGER this year or actually preparing a TIGER application, as the webinars come from the funding source and share the expertise of USDOT to prospective applicants.

All interested parties are strongly encouraged to attend. The webinars listed below will be held from 1:00-2:30 PM EDT. There are no registration fees for these sessions, but SPACE IS LIMITED. Advance registration is required and available by clicking on the webinar topic listed below.

Thank you to everyone who attended Smart Growth America’s Sustainable Communities Network webinar earlier this week, “Advocacy Training 201.” Telling Members of Congress about your projects and the benefits of the Partnership for Sustainable Communities is a crucial part of supporting these valuable federal programs.

Christopher Coes, Manager of LOCUS, provided additional training on how to talk about your project, The Partnership for Sustainable Communities, and Member of Congress meetings. The webinar also included a simulated in-district meeting with a Member of Congress, which can be viewed below.

As we’ve mentioned before, August recess is one of the best times to meet with your member of Congress (or their staff) to discuss the importance of the Partnership on the ground in your community and to our nation as a whole. To help you make these meetings happen, we have a toolkit available on the Partnership Blog and we are more than happy to assist you with scheduling or provide more infomation. Please contact Melissa Schreiber-Stahl at mschreiberstahl [at] smartgrowthamerica [dot] org with questions or to request scheduling help.

A webinar on August 3rd entitled “TIGER Grants and Rural America” explained in detail a valuable funding source for rural communities seeking to improve their transportation network. Rural communities face unique challenges such as maintaining their small town character while encouraging economic growth, and less density often precludes certain types of transportation projects. Additionally, rural communities are often faced with limited capacity compared to the resources of larger areas. A key take-away from the webinar, though, is that rural communities can use TIGER grants to overcome these challenges and implement innovative and job-creating transportation projects.

TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) grants are discretionary grants from the U.S. Department of Transportation that fund capital improvement in surface transportation projects. Two prior rounds of TIGER have already allocated over $2 billion to communities across the nation and a third round of $527 million has just been announced. As highlighted in the webinar, rural communities can benefit from the TIGER program in the following ways:

Thank you to all the participants of the recent webinar “TIGER Grants and Rural America.” The webinar is the result of a collaborative effort between Smart Growth America, Reconnecting America, the National Association of Development Organizations, Policy Link, the American Public Transportation Association, the National League of Cities, Rural Assembly, and Transportation for America to provide rural communities with the necessary tools and technical assistance to help advance superior TIGER projects.

Included on this webinar are strategies and lessons on how to submit competitive TIGER applications from both the funding agency as well as prior successful grant recipients. First is an overview of the TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) program for rural projects from the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy at the U.S. Department of Transportation that highlights how to compete for a TIGER grant as well as important deadlines and eligibility requirements for applicants. This is followed by an exploration of rural TIGER projects that support strong economies and livable communities, helping to show the usefulness of the TIGER program to rural America. Finally, an in-depth case study from a past TIGER grant recipient provides first-hand knowledge of how to submit a successful application.

The following guest post, written by Alia Anderson at Reconnecting America, is part of an ongoing series by Smart Growth America and our partner organizations to highlight the unique funding opportunity available to rural communities through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s TIGER program. Crossposted from Reconnecting America.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) announced on July 1, 2011 that it would offer a third round of the popular Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grants, which fund innovative, job-creating transportation projects. USDOT is authorized to award $526.944 million through the program. At least $141 million of the program funds will be reserved for projects in rural areas. The required set aside for rural communities represents nearly 27% of total TIGER funds, which is an increase from the portion directed toward rural places in the prior two rounds of funding.

The FTA Office of Program Management is holding a webinar tomorrow, Friday, July 8, 2011 on how to find and apply for 2011 funding opportunities, including the Bus Livability program. Other programs that will be discussed include Alternative Analysis, State of Good Repair, Clean Fuels, and Transit Investments for Greenhouse Gas and Energy Reduction (TIGGER).

The webinar will be held in two sessions:

East Coast participants (FTA Regions 1-5) can register here for a 10:30 – 12:00pm ET webinar.
West Coast participants (FTA Regions 6-10) can register here for a 1:00 – 2:30pm ET webinar.

Registration details will be sent to registrants. Find more information here.