Some of these technological advances are already taking hold in the Pittsburgh region; some are over the horizon. Emerging industries have the potential to become robust sectors of employment and engines of the Pittsburgh region’s economy.² To do so, companies active in emerging industries require employees who have the skills, knowledge, and abilities so that companies can be globally competitive as they bring products and services to market. If the current, and future, talent pool is not appropriately trained in the skills it needs for individuals to be prepared for the technical advances in emerging industries, many jobs will be out of reach of the majority of the population, and emerging industries will not flourish in the region.

This will have serious repercussions for the future of the region: strong employment among adults in the region will benefit future generations, especially for youth growing up in impoverished communities. Consistently, research has found that when children grow up in a neighborhood where more adults have jobs, those children are better off economically as adults themselves. Likewise, when employment deteriorates through time in a neighborhood, the children growing up in that neighborhood do worse as adults. Thus, improving employment, which can decrease social and economic isolation of communities, can make a difference not only to adults’ lives, but also to the lives of future generations.³

There are several barriers to recruiting, training, and employing people in emerging industries because these industries are by definition future-focused and nascent.

These barriers include:

The population lacks awareness of career opportunities. People and workforce training providers are unfamiliar with emerging industries and are thus unaware of employment and career opportunities. This makes recruitment of talent into education
programs and growing the pipeline challenging.

Pacing hiring is difficult. It is difficult to time participants’ completion of education and workforce training programs with emerging industries’ hiring needs.

Workforce needs are variable. Given the nascent nature of emerging industries, some are inclined toward boom-and-bust cycles, requiring employees to potentially move among companies, cities, or states in order to maintain employment that will keep their skills and credentials current.

Training is not directly linked to emerging industries’ skills demand. Few education and workforce training programs are aligned specifically with emerging industries. The skill base required to be employed in these industries is constantly evolving, and often at a rapid pace. Yet, education and workforce training programs are not adequately keeping pace, and thus not providing to the region’s population the skills needed for today’s and the near-future’s emerging industries.

There is no consistent coordination that links the talent pool seeking training and jobs, education and training, and emerging industry employment opportunities. Two studies⁴ of the workforce system in the Pittsburgh region found that while the region provides numerous education and training opportunities in skills and content that can be used in a variety of science and technology-focused occupations, the region lacks a consistent, coordinated, or systemic approach to ensuring that talent is connected to education opportunities and then to employment.

Zaber, et.al (2023; p 26) identified nearly 70 area providers that offered postsecondary science and technology-focused programs ranging from sub-baccalaureate certificates requiring only a few weeks to master’s and doctoral degrees with multiyear commitments; 16 career and technical education centers that offer opportunities for high school students to earn industry-recognized credentials and occupational licenses in science and technology fields; and more than 60 providers of registered apprenticeships in science and technology occupations. In analyzing the supply and demand for workers in the “green economy,” which includes a number of emerging industries, Curtright et al. (2024; p. 50) identified 31 post-secondary education providers in the region that prepare graduates for work in ‘green’ occupations; 226 apprenticeship programs in green occupations; and five career and technical education centers and three private training providers that offer 35 individual programs for adults and high school students in green occupations. Both studies found a lack of coordination among these programs and between these programs and industry employers.

Sector-Based Partnerships

One tactic that could potentially overcome these barriers is to build and enhance sector-based partnerships in emerging industries. The Foundation defines a sector-based partnership as a collaboration among secondary and tertiary education and training providers and workforce, community, and economic development organizations that work closely with companies in a regional labor market.

The goal of a sector-based partnership is to close skills gaps, support competitiveness, and address labor needs of an industry.

Request for Proposals

Proposals submitted for this RFP fit within the Economic Development program’s Talent Development investment area, which focuses on how the region’s education and workforce systems can support the skills and training the adult talent pool needs to be competitive in the new economy. Proposals should focus on propelling talent into opportunities for employment in emerging industries: skilling (including reskilling or upskilling) talent, exposing that talent to career opportunities in emerging industries, and forging systems approaches to improving the connections among jobseekers, education and training opportunities, and employers in emerging industries. The Foundation is particularly interested in proposals that aim to improve the region’s workforce system: an employment and skills-driven education and training system that prepares people for the jobs of today and imparts the skills needed for the jobs of tomorrow.

Proposal Requirements

Applications must outline an approach to launch or enhance a sector-based partnership—a collaboration that connects the talent pipeline with education and training providers to meet the hiring needs of companies in an emerging industry.⁵

Applications need to include tactics that address five characteristics of a strong sector-based partnership:

Education and Training. Education and workforce training should be in the skills that are in demand that the Pittsburgh region’s workforce needs to be employed in emerging industries; and that the region needs to stay competitive in the national and global economy.

Career Awareness and Development. Sector-based partnerships should include activities that support awareness (for both youth and adults) about career opportunities in emerging industries. The dynamic nature of emerging industries requires a proactive approach to career awareness and development for residents in the region—an approach that is adaptable, includes continuous learning, and deeply uses data about trends in technology, employment, and jobs. The approach should also include various community-based organizations and other stakeholders that can raise awareness directly with youth, the adults in youth’s lives, jobseekers, and incumbent workers about career opportunities in emerging industries.

Talent Recruitment and Pipeline Development. To fill short-term and longer-term demands of the emerging industries in the region, a proposed sector-based partnership needs to include efforts and appropriate partners to recruit people into skills-based education and training programs, which then lead to employment in emerging industries.

Employment. Emerging industry employers that proactively and effectively communicate short- and longer-term hiring needs in specific skill sets and occupations need to be part of the proposed sector-based partnership, so that education and training providers can collaboratively produce graduates to fill employers’ needs.

Continuous Learning. The sector-based partnership should cultivate a culture of continuous learning and improvement, relying on available metrics and data to determine where highest needs are, where gaps in skills remain, and where the emerging industry’s employment needs are over the horizon. Partners should convene on a regular basis to design programming based on the metrics and data.

The Foundation welcomes proposals from nonprofit organizations and public sector agencies. For this RFP, the Foundation will only consider multi-partner collaborations. Applications should identify employers and organizations that will be included in the sector-based partnership and identify a partner organization with the capability and capacity to serve as a partnership convener, or “hub.” Priority will be given to collaborations that engage both public and private entities, and that serve populations that are currently experiencing poverty or that have historically encountered systemic barriers to employment and prosperity.

Submitted proposals must clearly describe:

The problem statement: which emerging industry and its employment or skills need(s) the proposed partnership seeks to address.

Specific activities that will be undertaken. Because multiple partners are involved, the proposal must specify which entity is undertaking which component of the proposed project.

Feasible, measurable outputs, which describe what each activity aims to accomplish. For example, if one activity is to create pre-apprenticeships for high school students, example outputs would be the number of students who would complete the pre-apprenticeship and the type of certifications, credentials, or skills the pre-apprenticeship would provide.

Feasible, measurable outcomes, including target metrics that describe the degree of change in behaviors, knowledge, or skills that are expected to result from the proposed activities. Example outcomes could be, for example, employment, income, or retention rates of hires in emerging industry jobs.

How the proposed outcomes align with the Foundation’s Economic Development funding program.

Monitoring, evaluation, and learning plan to track and document outputs and outcomes.

Sustainability plan. Foundation funds are intended to seed initiatives that jump start or enhance sector-based partnerships in emerging industries. Applications should therefore describe how the partnership aims to be financially viable once the grant ends.

Types of Support

Applications should fit under one of the following types of support:

Planning and Innovation. A planning grant provides an opportunity for partners to formally come together to jointly assess a regional emerging industry’s skills needs, develop a plan for addressing those needs, strategize on a way forward, and launch a sector-based partnership.

Implementation grants are for sector-based partnerships that may have already started or are already planned, and therefore need further infusion of funds to support more creative or expansive efforts. For example: reaching populations more deeply, expanding partners or activities, or incorporating more internal learning and evaluation.

⁵ For general guidance on developing a successful sector-based partnership, please review the following toolkits:
Toolkit — Next Generation Sector Partnership Community of Practice (nextgensectorpartnerships.com)
Toolkit for Developing High-Performing Industry Partnerships | National Fund for Workforce Solutions

Funding Amounts

The Foundation does not have a limit or range for funding amounts per application for this RFP. When determining the budget for the proposed effort, please consider the complexity of the proposed sector-based partnership and whether the grant is for Planning and Innovation or Implementation

Successful grants may be invited to apply for follow-on funding or additional capacity-building funding opportunities at the conclusion of the grant.

Use of Funds

Funded activities must be conducted within 6-18 months.

Grant funds awarded through this RFP may be used for a variety of expenses such as program and service delivery, administrative expenses, consultant fees, or evaluation.

A limited amount of capital expenditures, such as materials or equipment purchases, that are essential to accomplish the outcomes of the proposal may be included.

What the Foundation Will Not Fund

The Foundation will not fund the following items through this RFP:

• Endowments or capital campaigns
• Solely capital expenses, construction projects, or purchases of large equipment
• Advocacy, political causes, or political events
• Existing deficits or retroactive funding
• Event sponsorships
• Match requests for Build Back Better grantees or sub-grantees

Responses to Question Submissions to the RFP for Sector-based Partnerships in Emerging Industries

Round 2 Questions

What thematic or population gaps (if any) remain from the submissions received in the first round? 

What focus areas have emerged (if any) for this second round within the original scope based on the submissions advanced in the first round? 

The Foundation welcomes applications related to any relevant population and focus areas related to emerging industries.  Applicants are welcome to propose a sector-based partnership that addresses any target population that is relevant. This should be addressed in the problem statement in the application, which must answer, “which emerging industry and its employment or skills need(s) the proposed partnership seeks to address.”

What (if anything) were common mistakes or misinterpretations of the original solicitation in the submissions received in the first round?  (e.g. were there particular instructions that were misunderstood/not followed in the ways you were seeking, etc.) 

The Request for Proposals includes five components of strong sector-based partnerships. These are: (1) Education and Training; (2) Career Awareness and Development; (3) Talent Recruitment and Pipeline Development; (4) Employment; (5) Continuous Learning. Thus, the proposal should include for-profit companies, community-based organizations, and/or stakeholders that align with those components of a strong sector-based partnership.

The Request for Proposal also includes example toolkits that offer general guidance on developing successful sector-based partnerships. Please be sure to read these toolkits carefully to understand the characteristics of a sector-based partnership comprise.

Toolkit — Next Generation Sector Partnership Community of Practice (nextgensectorpartnerships.com)

Toolkit for Developing High-Performing Industry Partnerships | National Fund for Workforce Solutions

Would proposals for skills-based critical infrastructure jobs that support on going energy transition, fiber expansion and, in part, regional AI data center development, count as an emerging industry? (Since it is really in support of multiple emerging industries.) 

Many high road jobs that support emerging industries in SW PA are often pulling from a pool of similarly situated candidates / not diverse; while we can bake in efforts targeting intentional practices to foster a more diverse participant pool of job-ready candidates, would proposals that focused on such jobs align with the intended focus of this RFP? 

The Foundation welcomes proposals that focus any population group or sector that is defined as an emerging industries. Please be sure to define how a set of jobs (such as skills-based critical infrastructure jobs or high road jobs—examples taken from the above questions) could be considered supportive of emerging industries in the problem statement in the application, which must answer, “which emerging industry and its employment or skills need(s) the proposed partnership seeks to address.”

Round 1 Questions

Proposal Components & Structure

What are the page limits?

Please see the application guidance document for details on application questions and information that is required as part of the application. Note that The Richard King Mellon Foundation on-line portal limits the word count for some application questions. This includes:

• Project title (5-word limit)
• Project description (25 word limit)
• Executive summary (500 word limit)
• Project need (500 word limit)
• Narrative about logic model inputs (500 word limit)
• Narrative about logic model activities (500 word limit)
• Narrative about logic model outputs (500 word limit)
• Narrative about logic model outcomes (500 word limit)
• Narrative about the Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning plan (500 word limit)
• Community engagement and incorporation of community perspectives and partnerships (500 word limit)
• Risks to project success (250 word limit)
• Plans for project sustainability (500 word limit)
• Budget narrative (500 word limit)
• Description of similar projects and services offered by other organizations to your target population and description of how your project is different (150 words)

Are letters of support required or helpful?

Letters of support are not required, but are helpful. Please upload any additional documentation as one pdf file.

Geographic Scope

Are only organizations in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties eligible to apply?

The RFP indicates that projects must serve residents of Westmoreland and Allegheny counties. I work with a consortium that provides training workforce training for Indiana, Armstrong, and Cambria counties and we are wondering if it’s possible to apply for the grant.

With the activities we are planning to propose, it’s possible that our participants may reside in or take employment in Westmoreland or Allegheny counties. Can we apply?

Proposed sector-based partnerships must serve residents of Allegheny and/or Westmoreland counties. Thus, organizations that are not located in Westmoreland or Allegheny counties, but serve residents in those counties, are welcome to apply. If the proposed sector-based partnership does not serve residents of Allegheny and/ or Westmoreland counties, you are not eligible to apply.

Budget & Timeline

Can we tranche this? If so, should we illustrate potential phases in 6–18-month intervals, knowing the focus is on the first 6–18-month sprint? (E.g. Planning grant, setting up the potential to be followed by an implementation grant?)

Proposed grants must be completed within 6 to 18 months. A proposal is welcome to explain the longer-term vision of the sector-based partnership, but the proposed activities, associated outputs and outcomes, and budget must occur within the grant time period (of 6 to 18 months).

Successful grants may be invited to apply for follow-on funding at the conclusion of the grant.

Should we include line items in our proposal to allow flexibility in funding decisions?  E.g. we might propose a whole integrated menu, but the Foundation may be most interested in / able to fund X% of it.

Please include a budget and budget narrative that aligns with the proposed activities within the 6-to-18-month duration of the grant. You are welcome to propose an integrated menu or smaller pieces, depending on what makes the most sense for the sector-based partnership that is being devised.

How should we structure the budget if the proposal includes multiple activities?

Please utilize the budget template within the on-line application portal. The application also requires a budget narrative, which requires a detailed explanation of proposed expenses/ costs.

Are there specific funding allocation guidelines or limitations?

We are also considering asking for $250,000 for 18 months and would like to know if this is a reasonable request.  

Can the RK Mellon Foundation please provide an anticipated budget range for this RFP?

The Foundation is relying on applicants to submit creative and innovative ideas to launch or support a sector-based partnership. For this reason, the Foundation is not providing a specific budget range for proposals, but we recommend that the proposed idea be parsimoniously budgeted.  

Do collaborators need to be listed as a line item in the budget as sub awardees? 

Yes. Applicants need to itemize all expenses in the budget, which would include sub awardees. Applicants also need to include the budgeted allotment for each cost, which would include sub awardees, in the budget narrative.  

Content of Proposal

We feel that the Planning and Innovation grant would be most appropriate for us and would like to know if you are looking for a pilot or a program evaluation? 

For this Request for Proposals, a Planning and Innovation grant should be used to design a sector-based partnership and bring together the various stakeholders. A Planning and Innovation grant could therefore include piloting the sector-based partnership.

All applications must include proposed outputs and outcomes that the grantee will measure and report on at the conclusion of the grant.

Is there a listing of industry types that you consider as “emerging industries”?   Would cybersecurity be considered an emerging industry for purposes of this grant?

The first sentence of the Request for Proposals lists example emerging industries in the region: “several emerging industries such as biomanufacturing, robotics, advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence, private aerospace, and green or renewable energy, among others.”  And, the problem statement in the application must answer, “which emerging industry and its employment or skills need(s) the proposed partnership seeks to address.”

Thus, applicants should clearly define the emerging industry that the proposed sector-based partnership seeks to support. You should document in what ways it is an emerging industry in the region and what the skills needs of employers in that emerging industry are.

Which audience should applicants focus on?

• Entry-level jobs?
• Recruitment-oriented (individuals seeking employment, with less focus on the company level)?
• Underemployed (those employed but not working to their full capacity or not sustained by their current job)?
• Retention? (mitigating new more inclusive hires from falling back out of the market)
• Other?

Applicants are welcome to propose a sector-based partnership that addresses any target population that is relevant. This should be addressed in the problem statement in the application, which must answer, “which emerging industry and its employment or skills need(s) the proposed partnership seeks to address.”

Are there specific areas of focus or criteria that the Foundation values most in proposals from large institutions?

The Foundation welcomes creative and innovative ideas to launching or supporting sector-based partnerships in the region. There are no specific focus areas. Likewise, there are no ideas that are off the table.

Are there any additional community or external stakeholders the Foundation recommends involving for enhancing the proposal’s impact?

The Request for Proposals includes five components of strong sector-based partnerships. These are: (1) Education and Training; (2) Career Awareness and Development; (3) Talent Recruitment and Pipeline Development; (4) Employment; (5) Continuous Learning.

Thus, the proposal should include community-based organizations and/or stakeholders that align with those components of a strong sector-based partnership. Please be sure to review Footnote 5 in the Request for Proposals, which provides example toolkits that offer general guidance on developing successful sector-based partnerships.

Toolkit — Next Generation Sector Partnership Community of Practice (nextgensectorpartnerships.com)

Toolkit for Developing High-Performing Industry Partnerships | National Fund for Workforce Solutions

Would sector-based partnerships between institutions of higher education, school districts, and other community partners to find innovative ways to train new teachers be in scope for the below RFP

Please see response to the above question, which lists the five components of a strong sector-based partnership.

Disbursement of Funds & Governance

Since these proposals are via a coalition, will funds be distributed to individuals or just to one lead organization?

From a governance, point of contact for the Foundation, etc. perspective – should we be looking at structuring our coalition as a Prime and Subs?

One organization will need to submit the application. Grant funds will then be disbursed to that lead organization.

Selection Criteria

Can the Foundation provide insight into the evaluation criteria? What key factors will influence the selection process?

The Foundation is looking for creative and innovative ideas to launch or support sector-based partnerships in the region. The components of a strong sector-based partnership are listed in the Request for Proposals.

The proposal needs to include a logic model, with associated inputs, activities, outputs, and outcomes. Strong proposals will also include a financial sustainability plan and a monitoring, evaluation, and learning plan.

Eligibility Criteria

If my organization is currently receiving funding for a project from RKMF, are we still eligible to apply for this opportunity?

Yes. Likewise, an organization is welcome to submit more than one application.

Do organizations have the opportunity to submit a proposal as a lead organization and also be included as a partner on another proposal?

Yes.