Notice2023-00910
Notice of Availability of Calendar Year 2023 Competitive Grant Funds for the Technology Initiative Grant Program
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
January 19, 2023
Issuing agencies
Legal Services Corporation
Abstract
The Legal Services Corporation (LSC) issues this Notice describing the conditions for submitting a pre-application for 2023 Technology Initiative Grants (TIGs), and for applying under TIG categories that do not require pre-applications. Pre-Applications must be submitted electronically via LSC's unified grants management system, GrantEase.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 12 (Thursday, January 19, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 12 (Thursday, January 19, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3441-3442]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-00910]
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LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION
Notice of Availability of Calendar Year 2023 Competitive Grant
Funds for the Technology Initiative Grant Program
AGENCY: Legal Services Corporation.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Legal Services Corporation (LSC) issues this Notice
describing the conditions for submitting a pre-application for 2023
Technology Initiative Grants (TIGs), and for applying under TIG
categories that do not require pre-applications. Pre-Applications must
be submitted electronically via LSC's unified grants management system,
GrantEase.
DATES: The deadline to submit a Pre-Application is 11:59 p.m. Eastern
Standard Time on Friday, March 10, 2023.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Bonebrake, Program Counsel for
Technology, Office of Program Performance, Legal Services Corporation,
3333 K Street NW, Washington, DC 20007; (202) 295-1547 or
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#6c080e0302090e1e0d07092c001f0f420b031a"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="0266606d6c676070636967426e71612c656d74">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Introduction
Since 2000, Congress has provided an annual appropriation to LSC to
award special funding for client self-help and information technology
projects. LSC's Technology Initiative Grant (TIG) program funds
technology tools that help achieve LSC's goal of increasing the
quantity and quality of legal services available to eligible persons.
Projects funded under the TIG program develop, test, and replicate
innovative technologies that can enable grant recipients and state
justice communities to improve low-income persons' access to high-
quality legal assistance through an integrated and well-managed
technology system. The TIG program also supports effective technology
planning and management at LSC-funded organizations through the use of
targeted assessment grants focused on improvements to technology
systems and information security.
II. Funding Opportunity Information
A. Eligible Applicants
To be eligible for Technology Initiative Grants, applicants must be
current grantees of LSC Basic Field-General, Basic Field-Migrant, or
Basic Field-Native American grants. In addition, applicants must
receive basic field funding of at least a one-year term, be up to date
on reporting on any existing TIG-funded projects, and not have had a
previous TIG terminated in the past three years for reporting or other
performance issues.
B. Technology Initiative Grant Purpose and Key Goals
Since LSC's TIG program was established in 2000, LSC has made over
859 grants totaling over $81 million. This grant program encourages
organizations to use technology in innovative ways to:
1. Effectively and efficiently provide high-quality legal
assistance to low-income persons and to promote access to the judicial
system through legal information, advice, and representation.
2. Improve service delivery, quality of legal work, and management
and administration of grantees.
3. Develop, test, and replicate innovative strategies that can
enable grantees and state justice communities to improve clients'
access to high-quality legal assistance.
C. Funding Categories
1. General Technology Initiative Grants
Projects in this category (1) implement new or innovative
approaches for using technology in legal services delivery; (2) enhance
the effectiveness and efficiency of existing technologies so that they
may be better used to increase the quality and quantity of services to
clients; or (3) replicate, adapt, or provide added value to the work of
prior technology projects. This includes, but is not limited to, the
implementation and improvement of tested methodologies and technologies
from previous TIG projects. We also encourage replication of proven
technologies from non-LSC funded legal aid organizations as well as
sectors outside the legal aid community. (Applicants seeking
continuation funding for their own existing TIG initiatives may wish to
apply under the new Adoption, Expansion and Enhancement Grants category
discussed below.)
LSC recommends a minimum amount for funding requests in this
category of $40,000, but projects with lower budgets will be
considered. There is no maximum amount for TIG funding requests that
are within the total appropriation for TIG. All applicants in this
category must submit a pre-application according to the process and
requirements outlined in this notice.
2. Technology Improvement Projects
LSC recognizes that grantees need sufficient technology
infrastructure in place before they can take on a more innovative TIG
project, and this grant category is for applicants that need to improve
their basic technology infrastructure or their information security
posture. The maximum funding amount for this category is $35,000.
Technology Improvement Projects do not require a pre-application.
LSC will open the application system and provide guidance for this
project category by April 10, 2023. The application deadline for
Technology Improvement Projects is May 19, 2023.
3. Adoption, Expansion, and Enhancement Grants
In 2023, LSC is piloting a new category, called Adoption,
Expansion, and Enhancement Grants, to provide continuation funding for
those TIG projects that have moved beyond the proof-of-concept phase
and demonstrated excellent results. This funding will allow successful
TIG grantees to further build upon a specific project and its
technologies, ensure that their TIG-funded work is effectively
integrated into the service delivery system, and complete the project
activities necessary to ensure the initiative's long-term success.
Adoption, Expansion, and Enhancement Grants are available to
current Technology Initiative Grant (TIG) recipients and to recipients
of recently completed TIG projects. (Applicants seeking to enhance a
non-TIG initiative or replicate another organization's project should
apply under the General category.) There is not a pre-application for
these proposals, but LSC encourages all prospective applicants to meet
with their regional TIG program manager to discuss whether an Adoption,
Expansion, and Enhancement grant may be a good fit. Applicants should
be able to clearly demonstrate that their project was successful and
that they have a reasonable plan for building on that success.
LSC recommends a minimum amount for funding requests in this
category of $40,000, but projects with lower budgets will be
considered. There is no maximum amount for TIG funding requests that
are within the total appropriation for TIG.
Adoption, Expansion, and Enhancement Grants do not require a pre-
application. LSC will open the application system and provide guidance
for this project category by April 10, 2023, and the application
deadline is May 19, 2023.
[[Page 3442]]
D. Available Funds for 2023 Grants
A total of $5 million is available for 2023 TIG awards. LSC will
not designate fixed or estimated amounts for the three different
funding categories and will make grant awards for the three categories
within the total amount of funding available.
E. Grant Terms
Applicants to the Technology Initiative Grant (TIG) program may
propose grant terms between 12 and 36 months for general category
projects and between 12 and 18 months for technology improvement
projects. For the new Adoption, Expansion, and Enhancement category,
the grant term is set at 24 months. The grant term for all TIGs is
expected to commence on November 1, 2023.
III. Grant Application Process
A. Technology Initiative Grant Application Process
The Technology Initiative Grant (TIG) application process will be
administered in LSC's unified grants management system, GrantEase.
Applicants in the General TIG category must first submit a pre-
application to LSC in GrantEase by March 10, 2023, at 11:59 p.m. ET, to
be considered for a grant. After review by LSC staff, LSC's president
decides which applicants will be asked to submit a full application.
Applicants will be notified of approval to submit a full application by
late-April 2023. Full applications are due to LSC in the GrantEase
system on June 2, 2023, at 11:59 p.m. ET. Once received, full
applications will undergo a rigorous review by LSC staff. LSC's
president makes the final decisions on funding for the Technology
Initiative Grant program.
As noted above, applicants applying for Technology Improvement
Project funding or in the new Adoption, Expansion, and Enhancement
category are not required to submit pre-applications. LSC will launch
the online application system for these categories by April 10, 2023,
and set a submission deadline of May 19, 2023, at 11:59 p.m. ET. LSC
follows a similar review process for applications in these categories,
which includes LSC staff conducting a rigorous review of all proposals
and the LSC president making final funding decisions.
B. Late or Incomplete Applications
LSC may consider a request to submit a pre-application after the
deadline, but only if the applicant has submitted an email to
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#93e7f6f0fbf4e1f2fde7e0d3ffe0f0bdf4fce5"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="354150565d5247545b4146755946561b525a43">[email protected]</span></a> explaining the circumstances that caused the delay
prior to the pre-application deadline. Communication with LSC staff,
including assigned program liaisons, is not a substitute for sending a
formal request and explanation to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#5c28393f343b2e3d32282f1c302f3f723b332a"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="96e2f3f5fef1e4f7f8e2e5d6fae5f5b8f1f9e0">[email protected]</span></a>. At its
discretion, LSC may consider incomplete applications. LSC will
determine whether it will consider late or incomplete applications on a
case-by-case basis.
C. Multiple Pre-Applications
Applicants may submit multiple pre-applications. If applying for
multiple grants that require pre-applications, applicants should submit
separate pre-applications for each funding request.
D. Additional Information and Guidelines
Additional guidance and instructions on the pre-application and
application processes for Technology Initiative Grants will be
available and regularly updated at <a href="https://www.lsc.gov/grants/technology-initiative-grant-program">https://www.lsc.gov/grants/technology-initiative-grant-program</a>.
(Authority: 42 U.S.C. 2996g(e))
Dated: January 12, 2023.
Stefanie Davis,
Senior Associate General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2023-00910 Filed 1-18-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7050-01-P
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