Jennifer Phillips May 22, 2014

I haven’t worked in the trenches launching or running programs since But the best thing about being a program officer is the vantage point of seeing how design, practice, advocacy, research and policy play out.

It’s why awareness and communication matter. Frank Luntz reminds us: “It’s not what you say, it’s what they hear.”

Tiffany Contreras gives a presentation in a nutrition class at Tulsa Community College. She's pursuing a degree in nursing as part of the Career Advance program.

Two Generation Strategies: Field Building Players AdvocatesPractitioners Private funders Researchers Government Supporters Media

Donald Schon, in Beyond the Stable State, writes that ideas traverse a natural life cycle in four stages: 1. Latency, during which only a few far-sighted individuals are developing the idea, and there is little widespread support. 2. Growth, often exceedingly rapid, with larger numbers of actors paying attention and media publicity and resources allocated for “making it happen.” 3. Peaking or maturation, a leveling off during which the idea dominates discussions and attracts a disproportionate share of resources. 4.Decline or institutionalization, during which the idea either has not lived up to expectations or no longer requires public attention because it has been accepted and becomes part of public policy and nonprofit organizational life. Excerpt from Ideas in Philanthropic Field Building, Foundation Center, March 2004

1. What is the target behavior or practice you are trying to change? 2. What institutions reinforce the target practice? How do these institutions reinforce each others’ activities? 3. What alternative set of institutions could reinforce the new practice or desired behavior? How might these institutions together amplify the success, standing or social impact of each its members? 4. What scale does this alternative set need to reach in order to change the target behavior? 5. What steps can you take now to bring a representative set of such institutions together? 6. What techniques can you use to demonstrate the synergies of the parts to this representative set of institutions? Excerpt from Ideas in Philanthropic Field Building, Foundation Center, March 2004

National Fund for Workforce Solutions and all of the local collaboratives National Skills Coalition Corporation for a Skilled Workforce Skills for America’s Future Jobs for the Future Working Poor Families Project Family Success Network U.S. Department of Labor U.S. Department of Education – Office of Career and Technical Adult Education And more…

TAACCT – Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training  $450M in US Labor Department grants available to expand job-driven training partnerships between community colleges and employers  Grant solicitation is the final installment under four- year, nearly $2B initiative  The final round of grants will place a priority on three additional goals by making additional funding available to those applicants who propose to:  develop partnerships with national industry groups or employers to scale strategies across the country;  engage employers, educators, Registered Apprenticeships and the workforce system to support the development or expansion of state career pathways systems; or  improve the integration of state employment and education data. Career Pathways Approaches for the Delivery of Education, Training, Employment, and Human Services  Today, the Departments of Education (ED), Labor (DOL) and Health and Human Services (HHS) are pleased to announce the release of a Request for Information (RFI) to support the development of high-quality career pathways systems. The RFI solicits information and recommendations from a broad array of stakeholders in the public and private sectors, as well as in State, regional, tribal, and local areas.  In addition, the joint analysis will generate essential information that will inform policy development and the next generation of investments and technical assistance by providing us with greater clarity on the catalysts and obstacles to career pathways systems development.  We encourage you or the organization that you represent to respond and to forward this request to other colleagues and organizations that have important insights to share.  The RFI and instructions on how to respond can be found using this link. The response period is open from April 23, 2014 until June 9, 2014.

Nancy Duarte, Resonate