Promoting Readiness and Enhancing Proficiency to Advance Reporting and Data | EPA I R OCFO 01

Opportunity Information: Apply for EPA I R OCFO 01

Promoting Readiness and Enhancing Proficiency to Advance Reporting and Data is a discretionary funding opportunity from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that offers cooperative agreements aimed at strengthening data, reporting, and evidence-building capacity for organizations and communities involved in EPA-funded water programs. The core purpose is to help program beneficiaries improve how they collect, manage, validate, and report information tied to EPA grants, with a particular emphasis on supporting Clean Water and Safe Drinking Water program participation. The opportunity is designed to make reporting and data practices more consistent, reliable, and useful for compliance, performance tracking, and decision-making, especially where local capacity and technical resources are limited.

A major focus of the program is ensuring that small, underserved, and tribal communities are better positioned to apply for, manage, and succeed with federal infrastructure and environmental funding. The EPA specifically highlights communities and entities that are applying for or receiving EPA grant funding, including large recent federal investments such as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). In practical terms, the grant is meant to reduce the administrative and technical burden that can keep smaller or under-resourced communities from fully accessing funding or meeting ongoing reporting expectations after awards are made.

The funding instrument is a cooperative agreement, which typically means EPA expects a more active partnership role than in a standard grant. While specific activities are not listed in the excerpt provided, the stated goal of improving data, reporting, and evidence-building capacity generally points to efforts such as developing or improving data systems, creating reporting workflows and templates, training staff on reporting requirements, strengthening data quality and governance practices, and building repeatable processes that make it easier to meet federal reporting standards. The emphasis on evidence-building also suggests support for measuring outcomes and producing credible performance information that can demonstrate how investments translate into public benefits, such as improved water quality, safer drinking water, or stronger system resilience.

This opportunity is identified by Funding Opportunity Number EPA I R OCFO 01 and is associated with CFDA number 66.203. The activity categories include Environment and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), reflecting the link between environmental program delivery and the expanded federal infrastructure funding landscape. The maximum award amount listed is $500,000, and EPA anticipated making 8 awards under this announcement, indicating a relatively targeted competition intended to fund a limited set of recipients that can deliver meaningful capacity-building impacts.

The original posting date was September 22, 2023, with an original application deadline of November 30, 2023. Eligibility is broadly described as "Others" with additional eligibility details referenced as being available in the full announcement text, meaning prospective applicants would need to consult the complete Notice of Funding Opportunity for the precise list of eligible entity types, any partnership requirements, and other threshold conditions.

Overall, the grant is best understood as a capacity-building investment rather than a direct construction or capital project program. Its intent is to help EPA funding beneficiaries and their partners become more prepared and proficient in the data and reporting work that accompanies federal assistance, so that communities, particularly those that are small, underserved, or tribal, can compete for funding more effectively, implement projects with fewer administrative obstacles, and document results in ways that meet federal expectations and support long-term program improvement.

• The Environmental Protection Agency in the environment, infrastructure investment and jobs act (iija) sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Promoting Readiness and Enhancing Proficiency to Advance Reporting and Data" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 66.203.
• This funding opportunity was created on Sep 22, 2023.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Nov 30, 2023. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $500,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 8 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for EPA I R OCFO 01

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