BRECC National Network Virtual Learning Series
Join the BRECC National Network to access virtual learning sessions designed to help your coal community achieve a more resilient local economy. On January 26th, the National Network held its first learning session, "Jump Right In: Where to Start in Your Coal Community."
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NACo officially launched the Building Resilient Economies in Coal Communities (BRECC) initiative on November 3, 2022. Supported by the U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration (EDA), BRECC will serve coal communities seeking to revitalize and diversify their economies. BRECC will develop a knowledge-sharing community of practice, and its activities will connect coal communities across the nation, empower local leaders and provide capacity-building support to under-resourced communities. As a result, BRECC will prepare communities to advance new approaches and projects for economic diversification.
BRECC is made up of four core activities:
- The BRECC National Network open to all local, state and national stakeholders focused on coal communities
- The Coal Communities Commitment Coalition, a leadership and peer-learning network where up to 20 local leaders will gain knowledge and guidance on economic diversification strategies
- The Coal Communities Action Challenge, a technical assistance program where up to 15 coal communities will receive coaching and capacity-building support to develop an economic diversification plan
- A National Storytelling Campaign to share coal community experiences with a national audience
“This new initiative is going to empower coal-reliant community leaders to think about the future of their economies.”
– Matt Chase, CEO and executive director, NACo
To ensure BRECC provides meaningful technical assistance support, NACo is partnering with the West Virginia Community Development Hub, Community Builders and EntreWorks Consulting. BRECC will also be guided by a cross-sector Advisory Council.
BRECC Components
The BRECC National Network
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The BRECC National Network is an open forum and peer network connecting coal community leaders representing local governments, regional organizations, community nonprofits, education and workforce providers, utilities, private business and other local stakeholders. The BRECC National Network will convene bi-monthly for virtual learning sessions featuring issue-specific presentations, peer breakout discussions, community case examples, and critical funding and resources available to coal communities.
All coal community stakeholders are welcome to join the BRECC National Network. To become part of the National Network, sign-up here.
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BRECC Partners
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NACo is excited to partner with the West Virginia Community Development Hub, Colorado-based Community Builders and Entreworks Consulting to provide meaningful technical assistance and educational training to coal communities.
BRECC programming will also be led by a cross-sector Advisory Council of government, business and nonprofit experts. The Advisory Council will ensure BRECC activities and resources reflect the pressing needs and emerging opportunities for coal community participants.
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The Commitment Coalition
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Introduction
BRECC's Commitment Coalition (the Coalition) invites local leaders from coal communities to apply to join a leadership-building and peer-mentorship network.
The Coalition will identify and support communities that have demonstrated exemplary efforts toward economic resilience and transition. Up to 20 leaders from coal communities will be competitively selected to participate in this peer learning network. Through virtual education sessions and in-person site convenings, members of the Coalition will build relationships with community leaders across the country and gain an increased understanding of on-going efforts nationwide to diversify coal-reliant economies.
Important Dates and Deadlines
- Application Opens: Friday, November 11, 2022
- Application Information Session: Tuesday, November 29, 2022
- Application Deadline: Friday, January 13, 2023, 11:59 p.m. EST
BRECC Application FAQs
Who should apply?
Applicants should be local leaders from coal communities that are committed to advancing projects that will retool and revitalize their local economy. Eligible applicants may be but are not limited to county representatives, local government staff, economic development directors, local business leaders, utility or industry leaders, philanthropists, leaders of nonprofits and other community champions.
What will Coalition leaders do?
Selected leaders will participate in:
- Travel to four peer exchange site visits hosted by a Coalition community and designed to highlight successful programs and projects for economic diversification
- A monthly virtual learning series with subject matter experts featuring strategies for recovery from coal's decline, including topics on investing and funding streams, workforce training, economic planning opportunities, community development strategies, broadband project management, federal agency resources, automation and employment and COVID-19 recovery
- Peer exchanges where leaders will be paired with a community from a different region to share advice and generate new ideas
- Public engagement activities to share learning and strategies with home communities
- A storytelling campaign to share local experiences and initiatives with a national audiences, including a blog post on the application of key concepts
- Cross-network integration mixers where leaders will have the opportunity to connect with other communities engaged in economic diversification efforts, such as textile communities
- The broader BRECC National Network virtual convenings with local, regional, state and federal coal community stakeholders, and
- In-person workshops at the BRECC Summit taking place at the end of the program period
Benefits of the Coalition
Selected leaders will:
- Gain an increased understanding of economic diversification strategies within coal communities and methods for local implementation
- Discover new economic development projects, resources and approaches for replication within their community
- Build relationships with and learn from coal community leaders across U.S. regions, and
- Connect and share resources through the broader BRECC National Network's virtual convenings with local, regional, state and federal coal community stakeholders.
Expenses
This is not a grant opportunity; however, travel costs will be covered for selected Coalition leaders.
Evaluation of Applicants
Applications will be evaluated and weighted based on:
- Applicant's demonstrated commitment to tackle the specific concerns in their local communities
- Community's history of past successful and creative economic development experiences
- Level of economic vulnerability and hardship faced by the community
- Applicant's commitment to participating in the Coalition activities and the ability to contribute and benefit from learning opportunities
- Replicability of community's economic development efforts to similarly situated coal communities
- Applicant's indication of strong leadership and collaboration skills, and
- Consideration of geographic and industry diversity of selected coal communities.
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The Action Challenge
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Introduction
BRECC's Coal Communities Action Challenge (the Action Challenge) invites coal communities to form cross-sector teams and apply for capacity-building support. The Action Challenge is a technical assistance program that will empower local leaders to identify and advance projects for economic revitalization and diversification.
Through the Action Challenge, community teams will receive 12-months of individualized expert consultation that will ultimately result in the development of a community-specific economic diversification plan. Up to 15 community teams will be competitively selected to participate. Teams will be provided one-on-one coaching support, attend a virtual learning series with subject matter experts, network with other selected coal community teams, and participate in an in-person capstone event.
Important Dates and Deadlines
- Application Opens: Friday, November 11, 2022
- Application Information Session: Tuesday, November 29, 2022
- Application Deadline: Friday, January 13, 2023, 11:59 p.m. EST
BRECC Application FAQs
Who should apply?
Applicants should be cross-sector teams from coal communities that are dedicated to building strong, more resilient and reimaging local economies. The Action Challenge aims to support counties or communities that have limited capacity resources and in the early stages of economic diversification planning.
Teams should:
- Include at least one county government official
- Have no fewer than three members (A maximum of two representatives from a given organization may participate on the same team.)
- Have cross-sector representation (Teams may include but are not limited to local elected officials, local government staff, representatives from nonprofits, community development organizations, area businesses and Chambers of Commerce, philanthropic organizations, educational institutions, utility or power plant representatives, regional organizations and other critical stakeholders in your community.)
- Commit to developing an economic diversification plan
- Commit to fully participating in the Action Challenge’s virtual learning, coaching, peer mentoring activities and in-person capstone event, and
- Identify a lead organization and provide a point of contact for initial communication and correspondence.
What will Action Challenge teams do?
Selected teams will:
- A quarterly virtual learning series with all selected community teams from across the country, which feature subject matters experts on the strategies and principles of economic diversification, including topics such as access to housing and education, workforce retraining, rural industries, and multi-sector planning and investment funding resources
- One-on-one coaching with an economic development experts from the BRECC program partners over a 12-month period
- Technical planning assistance that results in a community action plan for economic diversification
- Identification of potential economic development projects eligible for federal support
- Peer mentoring activities where teams will be intentionally paired with another community to share ideas and implementation advice, and
- A capstone at the end of the 12-month cohort where teams will present action plans and receive feedback and support from peers and Advisory Council members
Expenses
Selected counties/regions will not receive a direct financial award. The Action Challenge is a technical assistance program. Travel costs will be covered for two representatives from each team to attend the Challenge’s Capstone Event.
Evaluation of Applicants
Up to 15 community teams will be selected to participate based on the following criteria:
- Quality and appropriateness of the team members to address local economic diversification plans
- History of past cross-sector partnership experiences (These past partnerships do not have to have been with each other. We are interested in team members’ experiences with collaboration, not just your history with each other.)
- Clear commitment to and strong potential to benefit from participating in the Action Challenge, and
- Level of economic vulnerability and hardship faced by the community and the need for technical capacity resources, and
- Consideration of geographic and industry diversity of selected coal communities.
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BRECC is operated by the National Association of Counties using federal funds under award ED22HDQ3070080 from the Economic Development Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce. The statements, findings, conclusions, and recommendations are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Economic Development Administration or the U.S. Department of Commerce.
