Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving (CPS) Cooperative Agreement Program "led States Environmental Protection Agency EJCPS Model 2023 Fiscal Year Overview Issue identification, Community Vision, and Strategic Goal Setting Community Capacity Building and Leadership Development Consensus Building and Dispute Resolution Funding Amounts (subject to change) $30 million total funding available nationwide $500,000 per award (3-year project), plus $5 million set aside for small nonprofits conducting smaller projects Eligibility Community-based nonprofit organizations Partnerships of community-based nonprofit organizations New Features & Priorities Multi-Stakeholder Partnership and Leveraging of Resources Constructive Engagement by Relevant Stakeholders Sound Management and Implementation Evaluation, Lessons Learned, and Replication of Best Practices •Climate Change, Disaster Resiliency and/or Preparedness •Projects performing Health Impact Assessments (HIAs) • Projects focused in rural areas EJCPS General Overview In 2003, EPA's Office of Environmental Justice (OEJ) launched the first solicitation for the Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving (EJCPS) Cooperative Agreement Program. Since the Program's inception, EPA has funded over 120 projects to help communities further understand and address exposure to multiple environmental harms and risks. The EJCPS awards enable community-based organizations to partner with stakeholders from across industry, government, and academia to develop and implement solutions that will significantly address environmental and/or public health issues at the local level. Projects must use the CPS Model, comprised of seven elements of a successful collaborative partnership, to address local environmental and/or public health issues. The CPS Model represents a systematic, community-based approach for stakeholders to achieve lasting solutions to local environmental and/or public health issues or concerns. Because EPA requires substantial involvement and interaction between the applicant and EPA during the project period, these awards will be made in the form of cooperative agreements. The Request for Application (RFA) for the EJ CPS Cooperative Agreement program will be released in January 2023. For more information about this program, visit https://www.epa.gov/environmentaliustice/environmental-iustice-collaborative-problem- solving-cooperative-agreement-5 For more information, please email Jacob Burney (Bumey.Jacob(S>epa,gov). Photo credit: Arkansas tnterfaith Power and Light 2017 Food Access & Energy Efficiency Project ------- |