Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative Announced as Finalist for the Innovation in American Government Award

The Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard Kennedy School has announced the Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative as one of five finalists for the Innovations in American Government Award. Established in 1985, the Innovations in American Government Award recognizes public sector programs that promote excellence and creativity in trying to address our nation’s most pressing challenges. Since the award’s inception, more than 27,000 programs have submitted applications and nearly 500 government initiatives have been recognized.

This year, five programs representing innovations at the city, county, state and federal levels of government have been selected from a pool of more than 600 applications and chosen as finalists. After several rounds of evaluation, these programs were chosen based on their novelty and effectiveness, as well as the degree to which they can be replicated in other government entities. The Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative – supported by the U.S. Departments of Education, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Justice and Treasury – aligns resources across federal agencies to address interconnected and complex challenges in neighborhoods throughout the country.

The Center for the Study of Social Policy congratulates the Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative (NRI) for being chosen as a finalist and is proud to support several NRI initiatives, including Choice Neighborhoods, Promise Neighborhoods and the Building Neighborhood Capacity Program.

Want to learn more about the Innovations in American Government Award? Click here. Want to learn more about the Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative? Click here.

HUD Awards 2013 Choice Neighborhoods Planning Grants

Last week, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awarded nine communities with planning grants through the Choice Neighborhoods program, a signature effort of the Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative. The grantees will develop plans to revitalize and transform public and other HUD-assisted housing, while seeking to improve outcomes on other interconnected neighborhood issues including public safety, education, health, transportation and employment.

The Choice Neighborhoods program emphasizes the importance of taking a comprehensive approach to neighborhood revitalization and “linking housing improvements with necessary services for the people who live there.” The grantees will develop their plans through a collaborative process that engages diverse stakeholders across sectors, including residents of the affected housing development(s) and the surrounding neighborhood, local government officials, service providers and business owners.

Since 2010, HUD has awarded 56 planning grants, totaling $16.9 million. For summaries of the 2013 planning grants, as well as past recipients, click here.

2013 Byrne Criminal Justice Grantees Announced

The U.S. Department of Justice has announced the 2013 Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation (BCJI) grantees. With more than $12 million in awards, the 14 grantees will utilize BCJI funding to tackle neighborhood crime by using data to identify the local drivers of crime and develop evidence-informed strategies that address the needs of the local community. The 14 grantees include:

• City of Corning, CA
• San Francisco District Attorney’s Office, CA
• Youth Policy Institute (Los Angeles), CA
• Georgia Department of Public Health (Atlanta), GA
• City of Baton Rouge/Parish of East Baton Rouge, LA
• City of Springfield, MA
• Kansas City Metropolitan Crime Commission, MO
• Fund for the City of New York (Syracuse), NY
• City of Cleveland, OH
• Martha O’Bryan Center, Inc. (Nashville), TN
• ECHO Housing Corporation (Evansville), IN
• City of Erie, PA
• Housing Authority of the City of Tampa, FL
• Olneyville Housing Corporation (Providence), RI

Recognizing that public safety is a challenge that requires the expertise and collaboration of several partners, BCJI awards are made to a cross-sector partnership in each city, rather than a single entity. By engaging local governments, nonprofit organizations, criminal and juvenile justice organizations and neighborhoods residents, BCJI will bring together stakeholders from various sectors that, together, can share resources and develop comprehensive, interconnected solutions to the complex issue of crime and safety.

As mentioned in the announcement, BCJI is part of the Obama Administration’s Promise Zones Initiative, a part of federal government's commitment to invest in and partner with high-poverty urban, rural, and tribal communities to create jobs, increase economic activity, improve educational opportunities, leverage private investment, and reduce violent crime.

Webinar Explores Promise Zones

PolicyLink is hosting a webinar that will explore Promise Zones – a new place-based strategy introduced by the Obama Administration. Building on exiting efforts of the Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative (NRI) to combat poverty and improve outcomes for children and families, “Promise Zones” will foster partnerships between the federal government and communities, leverage local investments and increase access to tools and resource that will help leaders revitalize their communities.

This webinar will introduce this interagency effort, explore its potential for tackling complex issues, and discuss eligibility for application. Featured speakers include:

• Angela Glover Blackwell, Founder and CEO, PolicyLink
• Brian Smedly, Vice President and Director, Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies
• Racquel Russell, Deputy Assistant to the President for Urban Affairs & Economic Mobility, White House Domestic Policy Council
• Lisa Cylar Miller, Deputy Director, Promise Neighborhoods Institute at PolicyLink

The webinar will take place on Thursday, August 22 from 12pm-1:30pm ET. Click here to register.

Want to learn more about Promise Zones? Check out the Center for the Study of Social Policy’s Promise Zones Brief and our Policy for Results blog.

WEBINAR RESOURCES
Couldn't attend the Promise Zones webinar?  Check out the following resources:

• Promise Zone Webinar Slides
• Promise Zone Webinar Recording