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D.6
To: Board of Supervisors
From: Monica Nino, County Administrator
Date: May  23, 2023
The Seal of Contra Costa County, CA
Contra
Costa
County
Subject: RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PHASE I MEASURE X INNOVATION FUND AWARDS
APPROVE OTHER
RECOMMENDATION OF CNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE
Action of Board On:   05/23/2023
APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER
Clerks Notes:

VOTE OF SUPERVISORS

AYE:
John Gioia, District I Supervisor
Candace Andersen, District II Supervisor
Diane Burgis, District III Supervisor
Ken Carlson, District IV Supervisor
Federal D. Glover, District V Supervisor
Contact: Julie Enea (925) 655-2056
cc: CAO (Enea)    
I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an action taken and entered on the minutes of the Board of Supervisors on the date shown.
ATTESTED:     May  23, 2023
Monica Nino, County Administrator
 
BY: , Deputy

 

RECOMMENDATION(S):

APPROVE Measure X Phase I Innovation Fund awards in the amount of $5,000 to each of the eight applicants listed on Attachment 1 and DIRECT the County Administrator to execute grant contracts with each applicant, with awards conditioned upon applicants submitting a Phase II Innovation Fund proposal.

FISCAL IMPACT:

The $2,000,000 Innovation Fund derives from a one-time allocation of Measure X sales tax revenue. Recommended Phase I grants, if approved, will reduce the fund by $40,000, leaving a balance of $1,960,000 for Phase II allocation.
BACKGROUND:

On November 16, 2021, the Measure X Community Advisory Board presented a report and funding recommendations to the Board of Supervisors for Measure X revenue. Among the many recommendations approved by the Board of Supervisors that day was a one-time allocation of $2 million to establish an Innovation Fund to seed pilot programs and innovative projects. The recommendation included allocating these funds to the County Administrator’s Office for development of Innovation Fund guidelines for review by the Board’s Finance Committee prior to issuing a request for proposals.   
  
The County Administrator’s Office brought recommendations to the Finance Committee on October 3, outlining a proposed framework of policies, guidelines, and procedures for administration of the Innovation Fund. On October 18, 2022, the Board of Supervisors adopted the framework for administration of the Innovation Fund, including a high-level process and timeline, guiding principles to be applied to funding decisions and project categories (all shown below), as well as eligibility criteria.   

  
Guiding Principles:

  • The first question is not ‘Is this going to work?’ but rather, ‘If it works, would it matter?’
  • Unlike traditional grantmaking, intentionally seek to trade off probability of success in return for greater potential impact.
  • Invest in approaches that may have a higher risk of failure, but the potential to be lasting and truly game changing if they succeed.
    • Seek out ideas with transformative potential, take risks on less proven approaches, and recognize that innovation requires flexibility, iteration and, yes, even failure.
    • Strive to balance rigorous analysis with intuition about a project’s potential for transformative change.
    • The impact from one or two big, transformational successes in a portfolio can justify the opportunity cost of many failures.
    • Recognize that money given away for social purposes is effectively gone, regardless of outcomes.

Innovation Fund Priorities

  • Projects that respond to local service needs.
  • Projects that improve equitable access to public services
  • Projects that remove structural barriers that cause inequities and poverty
  • Projects that have the potential to provide the greatest impact for every dollar spent
  • Projects that have potential for transformative change rather than simply replicate safe, established programs

Innovation Fund Categories

  • Safe & Engaged Communities – Improving health, wellness, and public safety outcomes through community outreach/awareness, education, and engagement.
  • Agriculture and Food Systems – Improving environmental health, economic profitability, and social and economic equity.
  • Economic Vitality – Providing education, job training, decent jobs, and viable businesses to reduce the number of people at a poverty level.
  • Clean & Sustainable (Clean and Green) Environment – Safe food and water, proper waste disposal, clean air, pest control; preventing waste.
  • Reliable & Accessible Infrastructure – Modernization, technology, or equity in digital access, cybersecurity, and resilience.
  
The County Administrator's Office issued a request for concepts on November 1, 2022 with a submission deadline of November 28, 2022 (four weeks). Fourteen qualifying applications were received, with one applicant later withdrawing, leaving thirteen applicants.  
  
With input from the Board's Finance Committee, the County Administrator convened a diverse 7-member review panel comprising highly qualified representatives from the Contra Costa County Funders' Forum, the Contra Costa Regional Health Foundation, the County Health Service Department, the County's Alcohol and Other Drugs Advisory Board, the County's Mental Health Commission, and the County's Economic Opportunity Council. The County Administrator is deeply appreciative of the time and effort volunteered by the Panelists, who are also committed to participate in Phase II evaluations and whose identities are, therefore, withheld in respect to the ongoing competitive process. The Review Panel met twice, on April 4 and May 11, to review, rate, and rank proposals in accordance with the guiding principles and priorities adopted by the Board. One applicant, NAMI, withdrew its application for study and creation of an African American Wellness Hub on May 17, 2023 in favor of the specific African American Wellness Hub fiscal earmark and competitive bid process envisioned by the Board of Supervisors during FY23-24 budget deliberations. As a result of its deliberations, the Review Panel recommends eight of the thirteen applicants to be invited to submit full proposals during Phase II of the grant process. Attachment 1 shows the list of the applicants recommended to be invited to participate in Phase II, and Attachment 2 shows a list of proposals that are not recommended for advancement to Phase II.  
  
The County Administrator appreciates the careful consideration of the Panel of each proposal, and proffers the Panel's recommendations for eight Phase I awards today. Upon direction by the Board of Supervisors, the County Administrator will execute grant contracts to award each selected applicant $5,000, conditioned upon both attendance at a bidder's conference at which the requirements for the Phase II applications will be explained and submission of a responsive and responsible proposal. Awardees will be given 45-60 days from the bidder's conference to submit their Phase II proposals for consideration by the Review Panel.  
  
The County Administrator today seeks Board direction on the Phase I grant awards.  
  
Next Steps  
  
The precise schedule for the remaining steps will depend somewhat on the schedules and availability of the Review Panelists and Board of Supervisors. However, the Board can be assured that the County Administrator's Office is working as efficiently as possible to complete the entire process in an expeditious manner.
  • CAO executes contracts with recipients
  • CAO conducts Phase II Bidder’s Conference to explain the full RFP (likely in June)
  • CAO issues RFP (likely in June)
  • Review Panel reviews and rates Phase II proposals (target for late August)
  • Board consideration of Phase II recommendations (likely in September)
  • CAO executes contracts with recipients (likely in October)
CLERK'S ADDENDUM

Speakers:  Caller 1; John Dante

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