Application Guide

The Promise Zones Initiative seeks to revitalize high-poverty communities across the country by creating jobs, increasing economic activity, improving educational opportunities, reducing violent crime, leveraging private capital, and assisting local leaders in navigating federal programs. This is the application guide for urban Promise Zones. The rural and tribal application guide is located at http://www.hud.gov/promisezones/. Promise Zones will not receive grant funding. The Promise Zone designation creates an intensive partnership among the Federal government and local leaders who are investing in what works to address multiple community revitalization challenges in a collaborative way, and have demonstrated accountability to clear goals and a commitment to results. Subject to the limitations described below, Promise Zone Designees will receive:

Opportunity to engage Five AmeriCorps VISTA members in the Promise Zone
A federal liaison assigned to assist with navigating federal programs.
Preferences for certain competitive federal programs and technical assistance from participating agencies.
Promise Zone tax incentives, if enacted by Congress.

Altogether, this package of assistance will help local leaders accelerate efforts to revitalize their communities. The Promise Zone designation will be for a term of 10 years, and may be extended as necessary to capture the full term of availability of the Promise Zones tax incentives, if enacted by Congress. During this term, the specific benefits made available to Promise Zones will vary from year to year, and sometimes more often than annually, due to changes in an agency’s policies and changes in appropriations and authorizations for relevant programs. All assistance provided to Promise Zones is subject to applicable regulations, statutes, and changes in Federal agency policies, appropriations, and authorizations for relevant programs including compliance with federal civil rights requirements. Subject to these limitations, the Promise Zone designation commits the Federal government to partner with local leaders who are addressing multiple community revitalization challenges in a collaborative way and have demonstrated a commitment to results.

Third Round Promise Zone Designation Process

The third round of Urban Promise Zone designations will be made pursuant to this document.¹ A total of 20 Promise Zone designations will be made by spring 2016. To date, nine urban, two rural and two tribal communities have been designated. As a result of this competition, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) intends to designate five urban communities and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) intends to designate one rural and one tribal community.

Applications for Promise Zone designations will be reviewed and evaluated by representatives from across the federal government including: USDA, HUD, Department of Education, Department of Justice, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Labor, Department of Transportation, Department of Treasury, Department of Commerce, Corporation for National and Community Service, National Endowment for the Arts, Environmental Protection Agency, and the Small Business Administration. Reviewers will first verify that the proposed Promise Zone meets the community eligibility criteria and that the Lead Applicant meets the eligibility criteria (see page 11 for eligibility and community eligibility criteria and page 27 for a complete list of the threshold requirements). For urban applications, reviewers will confirm the subcategory in which each application should be considered (large Metropolitan Core Based Statistical Area [Metro CBSA] or small/medium Metro CBSA).²

After verifying for each application that all the required components were submitted, that the Lead Applicant is eligible and the proposed Promise Zone would qualify, the reviewers will score all of the applications according to the points assigned to selection criteria shown in the Application Guide for the appropriate Promise Zones category (urban, rural or tribal).

After scoring each application according to the Application Guide criteria, HUD may consider, in addition, to the application materials, information available from participating agency records, public sources such as newspapers, Inspector General or Government Accountability Office reports or findings (see footnote 16 for information on possible disqualification based on audit finding). Any evidence cited in the Goals and Activities Template may also be reviewed, except sections identified as “Optional”.

Categories and Sub-Categories

An application must score a total of 75 points or more out of 105 points, to be considered for a designation. Once scored, applications will be ranked competitively within each of the three Promise Zones categories and within the urban subcategories, as applicable. Rural applications will be ranked against other rural applications, tribal applications will be ranked against other tribal applications, and urban applications will be ranked against other urban applications within their Metro CBSA subcategory, as applicable.

HUD intends to designate at least one applicant from the small/medium Metro CBSA sub-category if the highest scoring small/medium Metro CBSA application is comparable in quality to other urban designees (within 10 points of the lowest scoring designee and not otherwise disqualified in accordance with all other requirements contained within this application guide). If the number of eligible applications determined to be eligible for the small/medium Metro CBSA subcategory is fewer than the greater of 1) five total applications, or 2) ten percent of the total number of urban applications received, then the applications in the small/medium Metro CBSA subcategory will be included in the large Metro CBSA subcategory and ranked against those applications.

Geographic Diversity

The Promise Zones initiative will provide communities and the federal government with the opportunity to demonstrate and accelerate the impact of coordinated federal investment in communities in which stakeholders have come together with a focus on results. The participating federal agencies seek to establish a diverse cohort of quality designees in order to demonstrate strategies that may be useful for communities working on comprehensive revitalization in many contexts nationwide. Therefore, the agencies may select a lower-ranked application over a higher-ranked application, within a category or subcategory, from among those scoring 75 points or more overall, for purposes of establishing geographic diversity with respect to both existing Promise Zones and those to be selected as a result of the third round selection process.

Promise Zone Finalists

The participating federal agencies may also choose to name the applicants as "Promise Zone Finalists". The purpose of selecting Promise Zone Finalists is to recognize communities whose application scores reflect high-quality strategies under the criteria set forth in the Application Guide and scored at least 75 points, but who did not score sufficiently high enough to achieve a designation under the terms of the competition set forth in the Application Guide. The number of finalists designated will be determined by HUD taking into account scores received by all of the applicants in the relevant category and/or subcategory, and other elements of the selection process set forth in the Application Guide. The participating federal agencies will seek to expand national knowledge about Promise Zone Finalist communities and their revitalization strategies by posting information submitted in the Finalists' applications on agency websites. The participating federal agencies will also communicate regularly with Finalists about opportunities for relevant funding or technical assistance that may become available, although no preference points or other Promise Zone designation advantages in federal funding competitions will be awarded as a result of Finalist status.

Notifications of Decisions

Notification of decisions will be made by letter. Additional notification may be sent by email to the designated applicant point of contact listed in the application.

Application Submission Instructions and Deadline
1. Overview

The Third Round Application Guide is the controlling document for the Third Round Selection Process. Application materials must be submitted according to the requirements and specifications articulated in this document, including any technical amendments published in the Federal Register. Clarifications will be issued through Questions and Answers posted to the Promise Zones Initiative website at www.hud.gov/promisezones.

A non-binding Application Request Form is due by [TBD], 24 hours before the application submission deadline. The Application Request Form should include the Lead Applicant organization and tentative name of the proposed Promise Zone. The Application Request Form can be completed and submitted via MAX Survey (LINK TO BE ADDED). Once the form is submitted, the applicant will receive, no later than by the next business day, an individualized link to access the Promise Zone application.

HUD encourages applicants to submit an Application Request Form to receive their unique link several weeks before the application submission deadline. In addition, HUD urges applicants to submit applications 72 hours prior to the application due date to address in a timely fashion any technical problems that the applicant may experience in MAX Survey. Applicants are also encouraged to participate in tutorial and help sessions that may be organized by HUD to support applicants in using the MAX Survey system. Notification of such sessions will be posted to the Promise Zone website and distributed via email during the application response period. Electronic copies of application materials must be received by 5:00 p.m. EST on [TBD] via MAX Survey (LINK TO BE ADDED). Your application must be received by MAX Survey. Your application is “received” when MAX Survey provides you an email confirmation of receipt with a date and time stamp. If you do not see this confirmation of receipt with a date and time stamp, your application has not been received. Please note that busy servers, slow processing or upload issues due to large file sizes are not valid reasons for extensions, and only applications received via MAX Survey by 5:00 PM EST will be considered.

Receipt of a confirmation email from MAX Survey does not indicate that the application contains all of the required information, only that information has been input to the survey and/or files have been attached, and such information and files have been received. Applicants are strongly encouraged to review the application checklist prior to clicking the “submit” button at the end of the survey, in order to check that they have included all required information. Once an applicant clicks the “submit” button, the applicant loses the ability to modify its information. After a submission, MAX Survey provides an opportunity to download a copy of submitted information in addition to providing an email confirmation of submission. Except as provided below in regard to technical corrections of deficient applications, HUD may not consider any unsolicited information that applicants may want to provide after the application deadline.

Corrections to Deficient Applications

HUD may not seek clarification of items or responses that improve the substantive quality of an applicant’s response to any rating factors or which correct deficiencies which are in whole or part of a rating factor. HUD has determined that it will not request clarifications or replacement of the Mapping Tool data sheet, which consists of the map graphic plus data output based on the geographical area described by the boundaries shown on the map. HUD may contact the applicant to clarify other items in its application. In order not to unreasonably exclude applications from being rated and ranked in situations where there are curable deficiencies, HUD will notify applicants of each technical deficiency and will do so on a uniform basis.

If HUD finds a curable deficiency in an application, HUD will notify the contact(s) listed in the application by email describing the clarification or technical deficiency. Email notification will be sent from HUD with confirmation of delivery receipt requested. The email notification will be the official notification of the need to cure a technical deficiency. It is the responsibility of applicants to provide accurate email addresses for receipt of these notifications and to monitor their email accounts to determine whether a cure letter has been received. The applicant must carefully review the request for cure of a technical deficiency and must provide the response in accordance with the instructions contained in the deficiency notification.

Clarifications or corrections of technical deficiencies must be received by HUD within the time limits specified in the notification. In no case shall the time allowed to correct deficiencies exceed 14 calendar days or be less than 48 hours from the date of the email notification. The start of the cure period will be the date stamp on the email HUD sends to the applicant. If the deficiency cure deadline date falls on a Saturday, Sunday, federal holiday, or other day when HUD’s Headquarters offices in Washington, DC, are closed, then the applicant’s correction must be received on the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or federal holiday, or other day when the HUD’s Headquarters offices in Washington, DC, are closed.

Waiver of Electronic Submission Requirements

An applicant demonstrating good cause (such as an inability to access MAX Survey in a reliable way) may request a waiver from the requirement for electronic submission. Applicants who are unable to submit their applications via MAX Survey (LINK TO BE ADDED) must submit a request by email to make alternative arrangements 15 days prior to the application due date [TBD]. Applicants that are granted a waiver of the electronic submission requirements will not be given additional time to submit their applications. The deadline date for paper and electronic applications will remain the same. Applicants requesting a waiver should submit their waiver requests via e-mail to [email protected]. The subject line must contain the name of the applicant and “Request for Waiver to Electronic Application for Promise Zones.” Such requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis and approvals or rejections for alternative submission will be sent by [a date TBD] by HUD. If an applicant is granted a waiver of the electronic submission, the approval notice will provide instructions for submission, as well as how and where to submit each copy. Paper applications received without a currently approved waiver from the Promise Zone office and/or after the established deadline date will not be considered.

Application Overview

The application consists of a combination of items directly entered into MAX Survey (executive summary, general abstract information, and a Goals and Activities Template) and a series of attachments that must be uploaded independently into MAX Survey. A more thorough breakdown of the application components and threshold requirements are located on page 27. The documents that must be uploaded into MAX Survey include:

A Mapping tool data sheet (automatically generated via email for applicant when using the Promise Zone mapping tool as detailed within Application Section II, and on page 33),
Additional Documents that when combined do not exceed 35 pages (does not include the mapping tool or narrative). These additional documents include:

Letter(s) that demonstrates the commitment from leadership of the Unit of General Local Government³ (UGLG),
A to-scale city map and community level map,
Preliminary Memorandum of Understanding (MOU),
Any additional letters of support, tables, figures, charts, or additional maps.

A separate narrative not to exceed 28 pages detailing items as requested in Application Sections III, IV, and V. The specific formatting requirements of the narrative are as follows:

Double-spaced text to include any tables or figures (pages with single-spaced text will be counted as two pages),
8½ x 11-inch paper;
Approximately one inch margins (½ inch margins or smaller will count as 2 pages);
12-point Times New Roman font (to include text that accompanies tables or figures);
All pages should be numbered, any pages marked as sub-pages (e.g., with numbers and letters such as 28A, 28B, 28C), will be treated as separate pages
Mark each section clearly (i.e. Section IV Part A: Needs and Assets)
Shrunken pages, or pages where a minimized/reduced font are used, will be counted as multiple pages

To the extent that application components require resolutions, approvals or other actions by local governing boards, legislative bodies, regulatory bodies, or other entities with fixed schedules for consideration of such actions and such actions cannot be taken prior to the application deadline, applicants must submit electronically by email to [email protected] the following information by the application deadline: description of the action to be taken, date on which the action is expected, and information necessary to demonstrate its relevance to the proposal. Upon completion of the identified governmental action, applicants must submit by email evidence of the action taken. All emails must include the subject line “Additional submission materials” and the name of the Promise Zone lead applicant. If applicants are not able to send electronic copies of the materials, they may request to send paper copies. However HUD must grant written permission for such a paper transmission in advance. Depending upon the importance of such actions to a selected applicant’s Promise Zone Plan, the participating federal agencies may make the Promise Zone designation contingent upon the receipt of evidence that the action has been taken.

APPLICATION SECTIONS

Section I – Executive Summary

An Executive Summary that describes the Promise Zone Plan, including (1) a brief description of the needs and assets of the proposed Promise Zone; (2) the goals of the Promise Zone; (3) activities to achieve goals; (4) the Lead Applicant’s capacity to achieve results; and (5) how the Promise Zone designation would accelerate or strengthen existing efforts at comprehensive community revitalization.

An optional submission of no more than 3 JPEG photographs of the neighborhoods, buildings and streets within the proposed Promise Zone is also encouraged. Since these photos may be used in promotional material in association with the announcement of the third round designees, be sure the photographs do not include images of individuals as this would require specific release forms from anyone in the image. The submission of photographs will in no way affect the scoring of any application.

Section I Submission Requirement:

Executive Summary via MAX Survey (LINK TO BE ADDED) with a 2,000 character limit, including spaces (this limit is applied automatically to information entered into MAX Survey).
Optional: Up to 3 optional JPEG images of the neighborhoods, buildings and streets within the proposed Promise Zone. Include a statement verifying that the applicant owns all rights to the images submitted and that HUD and its federal partners may use those images for promotional purposes.

Section II – Eligibility Criteria
- Abstract

The abstract will serve as a summary of key application information and must clearly identify one Lead Applicant organization, staff point(s) of contact and provide the email and telephone contact information of the Lead Applicant. The abstract will also: identify the application category (urban, rural or tribal) and, for urban applications, the subcategory (large Metro CBSA or small/medium Metro CBSA; see page 30); jurisdictions included in the proposed Promise Zone boundaries; name of the supporting UGLG(s); and list of implementation partners; and provide the economic and population data provided from the Promise Zone mapping tool data sheet (described below under Community Eligibility Criteria).

Lead Applicant Eligibility

Due to the nature of the initiative, Promise Zone activities are likely to be carried out by a variety of organizations and organization types. Eligible Lead Applicant/Lead Organization for Promise Zone designations are:

Units of General Local Government (UGLG)^⁴;
An office/department of a local government submitting on behalf of the local government under a local delegation of authority;
Nonprofit organizations^⁵ applying with the support of the UGLG; and
Public Housing Agencies, Community Colleges, Local Education Agencies (LEAs), or Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPO)^⁶ applying with the support of the UGLG.

Community Eligibility Criteria

All of the following must be present in an application for a proposed Promise Zone to be eligible for designation:

Proposed Promise Zone must have one contiguous boundary and cannot include separate geographic areas;⁷
The rate of overall poverty or Extremely Low Income rate (whichever is greater) of residents within the Promise Zone must be at or above 32.5%;⁸
Promise Zone boundaries must encompass a population of at least 10,000 but no more than 200,000 residents;
The Promise Zone application must affirmatively demonstrate support from all mayors or chief executives of UGLGs that include any geographical area within the proposed Promise Zone boundary, subject to the following conditions:

Counties and county equivalents (collectively “counties”)^⁹. The chief executive of a county must demonstrate support for any Promise Zone Plan (Plan) that includes an area within the unincorporated boundaries of the county. The chief executive of a county may support as many Plans as he or she wishes in incorporated areas within the county, but may only support one Plan that includes an area within the unincorporated boundaries of the county. If the chief executive of a county supports multiple Plans, the chief executive must include an explanation of how the county intends to work with multiple designees at the same time and sustain the necessary level of effort, resources, and support for each designee for the full term of each designation.

UGLGs other than counties. For UGLGs other than counties, the chief executive of an UGLG must demonstrate support for a Plan that includes any area within the geographic boundaries of the UGLG. The chief executive of UGLGs that are not counties may support only one Plan. If the chief executive of an UGLG that is not a county supports more than one Plan, HUD will disqualify all Promise Zone applications supported by that chief executive.

Crossing Jurisdictions. The Promise Zone application must demonstrate support for the Plan from all chief executives of UGLGs included within the proposed Promise Zone boundary. The chief executive of a county must demonstrate support for any Plan that includes area within the unincorporated boundaries of the county. For UGLGs other than counties, the chief executive of an UGLG must demonstrate support for a Plan that includes any area within the geographic boundaries of the UGLG. For example, a Plan that includes areas in two cities requires the support of the chief executives from both cities. A Plan that includes area within the boundaries of a city and the unincorporated boundaries of the county requires support from the chief executive of the city and the chief executive of the county.

UGLGs with Designated Promise Zones. If a Promise Zone designated in Round 1 or 2 is located within a UGLG in which a new application is being submitted, the applicant must include an explanation of how, if a second Promise Zone designation is made, the UGLG plans to work with both of the Promise Zone designees at the same time and sustain the level of effort, resources and support committed to each Promise Zone under its respective Promise Zone Plan for the full term of each Promise Zone designation. This explanation must be evidenced by commitments from the UGLG in materials submitted by the chief executive in support of the application.

	Is support from the chief executive of City X required?	Is support of the chief executive of City Y required?	Is support of the chief executive of County Z required?
The PZ Plan is for an area entirely within the boundaries of City X.	Yes.^*	No.	No.^**
The PZ Plan is for an area entirely within the boundaries of City Y.	No.	Yes.^*	No.^**
The PZ Plan is for an area entirely within the boundaries of unincorporated area of County Z.	No.	No.	Yes.^***
The PZ Plan consists of area within City X and City Y.	Yes*	Yes.^*	No.^**
The PZ Plan consists of area within City Y and an area within the unincorporated boundaries of County Z.	No.	Yes.*	Yes.^***
The PZ Plan consists of area within City X, area within City Y, and area within the unincorporated boundaries of County Z.	Yes.*	Yes.*	Yes.^***
^* For UGLGs other than counties, the chief executive of an UGLG must demonstrate support for a Plan that includes any area within the geographic boundaries of the UGLG. However, the chief executive of a county may support as many Plans as he or she wishes in incorporated areas within the county. * The chief executive of a county must demonstrate support for any Promise Zone Plan that includes area within the unincorporated boundaries of the county.

Section II Submission Requirements:

All pages of the PDF mapping tool data sheet, which will be emailed to the applicant in PDF form, to demonstrate poverty level and population levels. Does not count toward 28 page narrative (a combination of sections III-V) or the 35 page limit for attachments.
Abstract and mapping tool data information (to be entered on MAX Survey).
Letter(s) that demonstrates the commitment from Chief Executives of all UGLGs (see page 9 for approved delays). Letter(s) of support from UGLGs count toward the 35 page limit for attachments.

Note: If the local elected executive leadership is in transition, the city manager or city council may submit a letter of support. A letter from the incoming local leader may also be included in application materials. The letters count toward the 35 page limit for attachments.

Section III – Selection Criteria: Need (10 points)

The applicant’s submission materials must contain the mapping tool data sheet (submitted in Section II) and sufficient information to verify the following data within the boundaries of the proposed geographic area of the Promise Zone, to the greatest level of specificity possible using available data sources. Data will be compared with that submitted by other applicants in the applicant pool. Points will be awarded for:

Higher poverty rate/extremely low income rate – Concentration of households in poverty or with extremely low incomes (whichever is greater) residing within the proposed Promise Zone (3.33 points);
Lower employment rate – Employment rate for working-age adults within the Promise Zone (3.33 points);
Description of the nature and scope of crime in the proposed Promise Zone. (3.33 points)

Note: Secondary sources or locally published data can be used in Section IV—Strategy and Section V—Capacity, to supplement the data points provided by the mapping tool, with attribution to the publication. If the Lead Applicant requests to use alternative data sources in Section II—Eligibility Criteria or for Section III—Need, a one-page explanation noting the alternative data source must be submitted along with the Promise Zone mapping tool data sheet to [email protected] with the subject line “Alternative data source request” by [XXX XX], 2016 to be approved by the relevant designating agency.

Section III Submission Requirements:

A narrative describing the nature and scope of crime in the Promise Zone, highlighting Part I Violent Crime data. Applicants should provide any available local/state data for the Promise Zone (including data, Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR)^¹⁰, calls for service, and survey results from target area residents) to support the discussion. As applicable, applicants should identify any hot spots where a large proportion of crime or types of crime occur, as compared with crime rates in the overall jurisdiction, and provide additional information about what is causing the crime to occur in the crime hot spots (e.g. the crime drivers¹¹). Applicants may use charts and graphs to display data.

Suggested 2 page limit of the 28 page narrative.

Section IV – Selection Criteria: Strategy (45 points)
- Section IV Part A: Needs and Assets Assessment (10 points)

Reviewers will assess the quality of applicant’s current assessment of the needs and assets of the proposed Promise Zone, including identified gaps in current neighborhood revitalization efforts and areas of opportunity. Where relevant, the assessment should include breakdowns of indicators by specific subpopulations (including age, race, national origin, gender, and individuals in households where languages other than English are spoken) or specific geographic areas within the neighborhood. The assessment should also include, as relevant, information on crime dynamics or hot spots, education, barriers to employment or issues with the quality of jobs, housing insecurity, overcrowding, homelessness, existing regional economic growth efforts and industries, areas of commercial blight and/or environmental concern, private economic activity, access to capital, transportation options and mobility and/or other characteristics related to connectivity and public safety.

Section IV Part A: Submission Requirements

A narrative summarizing needs and assets of the proposed Promise Zone community. The narrative should describe proposed Promise Zone boundary and provide a justification regarding why the boundaries were determined as such. As applicable, the assessment should include data points and analysis based on information that is no more than 24 months old.

Suggested 2 page limit of the 28 page narrative.

Provide a to-scale city map and community-level map that clearly labels the proposed Promise Zone in the context of existing city streets, the central business district, other city and neighborhood sites important to the Promise Zone Plan, and census tracts. Applicants should submit a map that clearly labels the following information:

If applicable, the boundaries of other federal investments, such as: Choice Neighborhoods grant, Promise Neighborhoods grant, Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation grant, Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant, Sustainable Communities Regional Planning, Challenge grants, Investing in Manufacturing Communities Partnerships, Performance Partnerships Pilots, HUD Community Needs Assessment, EPA Making a Visible Difference in Communities initiative, or Preferred Sustainability Status;
Other useful information to place the Promise Zone in the context of the region, city, county/parish, or municipality: schools, health centers, transit centers/hubs, job centers, other community assets, as well as physical barriers, crime hot spots or concentrations of crime locations, health hazards, and revitalization activity underway or already planned. Maps count toward the 35 page attachment limit.

Section IV Part B: Promise Zone Plan (25 points)

Reviewers will assess the strength of the applicant’s plan to revitalize the Promise Zone and address the Promise Zone initiative goals: creating jobs, increasing economic activity, improving educational opportunities, reducing violent crime, leveraging private capital and other community goals such as increase access to quality affordable housing, promote health and access to healthcare, improve community infrastructure and promote civic engagement.

Reviewers will rate all of the following factors:

Rationale and Sequencing of the Promise Zone Plan including elements such as:

Extent to which the plan addresses synergies and potential conflicts among identified goals, including addressing connections among different policy areas;
Extent to which the plan articulates a rationale for setting priorities among different goals and activities, and if necessary, addresses the timing of implementation of specific goals and activities;

Alignment of Activities of the Promise Zone Plan including elements such as:

Extent to which the plan aligns activities within the proposed Promise Zone, including specific description of how the Promise Zone plan includes and integrates the activities of any other federal investments including, as applicable: Choice Neighborhoods, HOPE VI, Promise Neighborhoods, Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation, Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grants, HUD Community Needs Assessment, EPA Making a Visible Difference in Communities initiative, Performance Partnerships Pilots, federally qualified health center funding in the proposed Promise Zone, or other federal grants and initiatives; and
Extent to which the plan will contribute to or benefit from broader regional economic development, livability or revitalization efforts, including sustainable communities regional plans, federally funded Jobs Accelerator plans, IMCP plans, CEDS or other multi-jurisdictional plans submitted to federal agencies.

Responsiveness of the Promise Zone Plan to the gaps and opportunities identified in the assessment of needs and assets Section IV-Part A;
Data Management, Accountability and Measurement of the Promise Zone Plan including elements such as:

Extent to which the Promise Zone Plan establishes a clear system for accountability and measurement of progress and performance among the partners, including, a plan to establish the partnerships and processes necessary to access, manage, and share data for execution, evaluation and continuous improvement, particularly where the evidence base for chosen strategies is still emergent, and a plan and timeline for finalizing the set of intended outcomes, metrics for measuring progress towards those outcomes, and timelines for when each metric will be measured and when milestones and outcomes will be achieved¹²; and

Barriers to Implementation of the Promise Zone Plan including elements such as:

Extent to which the Plan addresses removing barriers and improving systems that impede delivery of services, such as changes in policies, delivery capacity, technology, and program reporting including barriers related to cross-jurisdictional work, if applicable.

Note: For example, if improving transportation is a goal of the Promise Zone Plan, include specific efforts – planned or underway – to address infrastructure and flow in a way that will provide for more reliable and affordable transportation options. If job creation is a goal of the Promise Zone Plan, consider how employers will identify the skills and credentials required for in-demand jobs and help develop training programs; how workers and job seekers will access education and training that meets their unique needs and the requirements for good jobs and careers; and how you will assist employers to find workers who have or can acquire those skills.

Section IV Part B: Submission Requirements

An overarching narrative of the Promise Zone Plan. The narrative should cover all the selection criteria listed above. However, the narrative should not repeat specific information presented in the Goals and Activities Template.

Suggested 2 page limit of the 28 page narrative.

Complete the Goals and Activities Template within MAX Survey for each proposed goal in the Promise Zone. The applicant must complete at least one template for each applicable Promise Zone goal and may identify additional community goals if needed. The MAX Survey will allow the applicant to identify up to six goals each of which may include up to four activities. The applicant is required to address the four Promise Zone Initiative goals and may select up to two additional identified community goals. See the Goals and Activities Template on page 35 for examples. The Goals and Activities Template will not count toward the narrative’s 28 page limit.

Section IV Part C: Promise Zone Sustainability and Financial Feasibility (5 points)

Reviewers will assess the sustainability and financial feasibility of the Promise Zone Plan and coordinating structure.

Reviewers will rate all of the following factors:

Across all of the identified goals, the strength of the plan for obtaining funds for activities;

Soundness of the organizational structure for retaining commitment and coordination of implementation partner organizations that promotes sustainability of the Promise Zone Plan, including public and private partnerships and stakeholders, during the planned life of the Promise Zone.

Section IV Part C: Submission Requirements

A narrative outlining the budget projection for funding project coordination for the first 5 years of designation; and

A narrative description of how a Promise Zone designation would bolster efforts to secure additional funds for partnership structure and/or specific Promise Zone goals and activities.

Suggested 2-3 page limit of the 28 page narrative for sub-sections i & ii above.

Note: Financial support sections of the Goals and Activities Template will be considered for scoring.

Section IV Part D: Resident Engagement Strategy (5 points)

Reviewers will assess the strength of the applicant’s strategy for meaningful resident engagement in the Promise Zone plan.

Reviewers will rate all of the following factors:

Involvement by resident and community organizations in development of overall Promise Zone Plan;
Engagement with current residents and New Americans that may include immigrants and refugees. Narrative should address how the strategy addresses barriers to meaningful, constructive involvement of all residents, including racial and ethnic minorities and other disadvantaged groups; and
Extent to which the strategy ensures sustained, informed, inclusive, and substantive resident participation in the continued development, implementation and oversight of the Promise Zone Plan.

Section IV Part D: Submission Requirements

A narrative describing the role of residents in developing the Promise Zone Plan and the proposed strategy for ongoing resident engagement in the Promise Zone Plan, including engagement with current residents and New Americans that may include immigrants and refugees. Narrative should address how the strategy addresses barriers to meaningful, constructive involvement of all residents including racial and ethnic minorities and other disadvantaged groups.

Suggested 1-2 page limit of the 28 page narrative

Section V – Selection Criteria: Capacity and Local Commitment (50 points)
- Section V Part A: Partnership Structure and Commitment (10 points)

Reviewers will assess the soundness of the partnership structure and the strength/extent of partnership commitment.

Examples of such partnership commitment may include:

Local anchor institution commitment (e.g., hospitals, colleges/universities, major employers and business leaders, national and community foundations);
City council, county, Metropolitan Planning Organization, and state officials;
Local educational officials, criminal justice officials, housing authority officials, transit authorities/operators, and the workforce investment board;
Involvement of neighborhood-serving businesses and/or business associations.

Reviewers will rate the following factors:

The clarity of roles and responsibilities, including factors such as:

Clarity of implementation partner responsibilities for executing components of the Promise Zone Plan;
Appropriateness of implementation partners based on their designated role in the Promise Zone Plan (Section IV-Part B);
The role of Promise Zone residents in the governance structure; and
Clarity of partnership governance structure.

The strength of accountability mechanisms for ensuring effective partnerships, including oversight processes and contractual measures and remedies for non-performance.
The strength/extent of commitment to coordinate work and investments to achieve outcomes within the Promise Zone (that is not contingent upon receipt of a Promise Zone designation).

Section V Part A Submission Requirements:

A narrative detailing the partnership structure, including the specific roles and responsibilities of each implementation partner organization, and the role of residents and the accountability mechanisms. If different offices within a larger organization (for example, departments within city government) are responsible for particular functions, please specify. Should AmeriCorps VISTA members be available to support the Promise Zone Plan, describe potential roles and responsibilities and potential organizational sponsors.¹³
A Promise Zone-specific diagram of the partnership structure that clearly shows the structure for implementing, coordinating, tracking progress, governing, and reporting on the different goals and activities for the Promise Zone Plan. Diagram should be included within the narrative attachment and counts toward the 28-page limit for the narrative.

Suggested 3-4 page limit of the 28 page narrative for sub-sections i & ii above.

A preliminary Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to be finalized upon designation. The lead organization and all implementation partners should sign the MOU. The MOU should clearly state the role and responsibilities of partners, and note the commitment to data tracking and sharing. The MOU should include commitments and provisions that are in force regardless of the designation of a Promise Zone, as well as commitments and provisions that would only be enacted if a Promise Zone designation were made. Such contingent provisions and commitments relate primarily to communicating, sharing data and reporting among the lead organization and its partners, and between the lead organization and HUD, to enable effective collaboration among the local and federal partners for the benefit of a designated Promise Zone.¹⁴

Optional: Letters of support.¹⁵

Note: The preliminary MOU and all letters of support (to include Letter(s) that demonstrates the commitment from Chief Executives of all UGLGs) count toward the 35 page attachment limit.

Section V Part B: Capacity of Lead Applicant (10 points)

Reviewers will assess the capacity of the Lead Applicant organization to achieve outcomes through implementation of sophisticated, multi-layered neighborhood revitalization efforts. Reviewers will also assess the degree to which prior experience of the lead organization is similar to, or has prepared the applicant for, the scale, scope, and complexity of the proposed Promise Zone effort.

As applicable to the Promise Zone Plan, reviewers will rate the following factors:

Role of current organizational leadership within the community and this type of work at the local level;

Previous success achieving intended outcomes through identifying and implementing evidence-based strategies appropriate to goals;
Previous success leveraging private resources, including grants and investment capital, and managing large grants and/or capital investments; and
Previous success identifying and managing multiple non-profit, for-profit, public sector and philanthropic partners towards successful project completion and positive outcomes.

Section V Part B: Submission Requirements:

A narrative describing the lead organization’s capacity to achieve Promise Zone outcomes through implementation of sophisticated, multi-layered neighborhood revitalization efforts. Provide examples of past relevant experience and results achieved.
A narrative assessing the financial stability of the lead organization and discussion of any issues that could affect its ability to play the lead organization role in the Promise Zone Plan. Specifically, the narrative must address any past performance issues under any federal grants, and how the proposed Promise Zone will avoid such issues in future grants that may be made with Promise Zone preferences.¹⁶

Suggested 2-3 page limit of the 28 page narrative for sub-sections i & ii above.

Nonprofit lead organizations must submit their most current IRS Form 990, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax. Public sector lead organizations (local governments, including an office or department within local government, public housing agencies, metropolitan planning organizations, etc.) must submit their most current OMB Circular A-133 (now 2 CFR Part 200) audit report, including balance sheet (statement of Net Position), Statement of Activities (Income Statement), Statement of Cash Flows, Notes to the Financial Statements, Schedule of Findings and Questioned Costs, Report on Compliance for Each Major Federal Program, Report on Internal Controls Over Compliance, and Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards. The Lead Applicant should include IRS Form 990, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax or the most recent OMB Circular A-133 audit. Section is not counted against page limit requirements.

Note: sub-section i & ii submissions will count towards the page limits and scored for 8 points, sub-section iii will not count towards the page limits and scored for 2 points (10 points total for Section V Part B.

Section V Part C: Capacity of Implementation Partner Organizations (10 points)

Reviewers will assess the capacity of implementation partner organizations to implement Promise Zone Plan.

Reviewers will consider the capacity of implementation partner organizations to carry out their roles and responsibilities within the Plan. Points will be based on the degree to which prior experience of each implementation partner has prepared the applicant to successfully fulfill their roles and responsibilities in the context of a situation with the scale, scope, and complexity of the proposed Promise Zone effort.

Section V Part C: Submission Requirements

A narrative describing implementation partner organizations’ capacity to implement their roles and responsibilities under the proposed Promise Zone Plan. A definition of implementation partners is included in the Appendix. Also include any information related to past performance issues under federal grants.¹⁷

Suggested 2-3 page limit of the 28 page narrative.

Section V Part D: Data and Evaluation Capacity (5 points)

Reviewers will assess the extent of the prior experience that the organization responsible for data and evaluation has to collect, manage, share, and use data for evaluation and continuous improvement towards each intended outcome. Plans to address challenges should be described. This should include describing any existing data sharing agreements, experience using technology to track metrics, and/or plans to promote access to data in a way that protects privacy, such as local data protections, informed consent procedures, and staff training.

Identify the organization (lead organization or implementation partner organization) that will manage data collection and evaluation for the Promise Zone goals and activities. Reviewers will also evaluate how organizations relevant to the Promise Zone Plan, such as police departments or local education agencies, have been and/or will be engaged in providing and analyzing data.¹⁸

Section V Part D: Submission Requirements

A narrative explaining the prior experiences of the organization to manage, share, and use data. Discuss how data, including operational outputs and outcome indicators, will be used in the management of activities in the Promise Zone Plan.

Suggested 1-2 page limit of the 28 page narrative.

Section V Part E: Resident Engagement Capacity (5 points)

Reviewers will assess the extent of past experience in resident engagement. Applicants should identify the organization (lead or implementation partner organization) responsible for resident engagement. Describe their experience leading resident engagement efforts of a similar scope to the Promise Zone plan.

Reviewers will rate the applications based on:

Similarity between proposed resident engagement strategy and the previous efforts of the organization responsible for such engagement; and
Extent of resident input on project design and execution for those previous efforts.

The organization responsible for leading resident engagement should be clearly identified in the diagram of partnership structure required in Section V, Part A.

Section V Part E: Submission Requirements

A narrative with detailed information on the organization’s past experience with resident engagement.

Suggested 1 page limit of the 28 page narrative.

Section V Part F: Strength and Extent of Local Government Commitment (10 points)

Reviewers will assess the strength and extent of local government commitment to target local funds and locally-controlled state and federal funds (not contingent upon receipt of Promise Zone designation) to achieve proposed Promise Zone outcomes. This could include: CDBG, MAP-21, HOME, Section 108 or other formula-based program commitments, state bonds, tax-credits, etc.

Section V Part F: Submission Requirements

Letter from local government executive, attached in Section II—Eligibility Criteria. Letter should describe the commitment of local government to coordinate work and investments, including targeting of local and locally-controlled state and federal funds toward Promise Zone activities. The letter must list specific programs, amounts of commitment, distinguish between existing and new commitments, and note how funds are being realigned to support the Promise Zone Plan.

Note: The letter from local government executive(s), required for Section II-Eligibility Criteria, will be used to evaluate this selection criterion. Please include only one copy of the letter within the application submission. See Section II—Eligibility Criteria page 11 for more information about this letter. All letters of support will be counted towards the 35-page limit for attachments.

THRESHOLD REQUIREMENTS

To be rated and ranked, all applicants and applications must meet all threshold requirements of this application guide. Applicants must demonstrate compliance with the threshold requirements through the information provided in their application, unless instructed otherwise in this application guide. If an application does not meet all threshold requirements, HUD will not consider the application as eligible and will not rate and rank it.

The threshold requirements of this application guide include:

Completed Abstract (Section II-Eligibility Criteria, page 10)
Meet all Lead Applicant Eligibility Criteria, including submission of a letter of commitment from chief executives of all UGLGs (Section II-Eligibility Criteria, page 11)
Meet all Community Eligibility Criteria, including submission of all pages of the mapping tool data sheet (Section II-Submission Requirements, page 14)

SUMMARY OF APPLICATION COMPONENTS

In addition to the threshold requirements above, an application that does not include all of the components listed below (except the optional photos) will not receive the maximum possible points:

Executive Summary - entered on MAX Survey (2000 character limit).
Abstract - entered on MAX Survey (various character limits).
Mapping tool PDF data sheet. All pages of the mapping tool must be included and do NOT count against page limitations.
UGLG Letter(s) of support - demonstrates the commitment from UGLG leadership, including the chief executives of the UGLGs represented in the Promise Zone. For applications across UGLG lines, a commitment must be demonstrated by leadership of all UGLGs involved (See Page 9 for approval delay). All letters count towards the 35 page attachment limit.
Narrative - 28 pages or less that includes the most important information for purposes of Promise Zone selection, including a Promise Zone-specific diagram of the partnership structure (see the formatting requirements on page 8). Any pages beyond this limit will not be considered or reviewed. The narrative does NOT count against the 35 page attachment limit.
To scale city map and community level map. Maps will count towards the 35 page attachment limit.
Goals and Activities Template (page 35) - entered on MAX Survey (various character limits)
Preliminary Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) (page 21). The MOU will count towards the 35-page attachment limit.
Additional documentation: Applicants may include additional materials in Microsoft Word or PDF format as attachments, including any tables, figures, charts, or additional maps. All additional documentation will count towards the 35-page attachment limit. Applicants are encouraged not to restate commitments made in the MOU in additional Letters of Support. Any pages beyond this limit will not be considered or reviewed.
Optional: Up to 3 optional JPEG images of the neighborhoods, buildings and streets within the proposed Promise Zone. Photographs should not include images of individuals, as this would require specific release forms from anyone in the image. The submission of photographs will in no way affect the scoring outcome of an application.

Definitions and Clarifying Information
1. Applicant/lead organization:

The applicant is the organization that will, if selected, act as the lead organization for a designated Promise Zone. Due to the nature of the initiative, Promise Zone activities are likely to be carried out by a variety of organizations and organization types. Eligible applicants for Promise Zone designations are Units of General Local Government (UGLG); an office/department of a local government submitting on behalf of the local government under a local delegation of authority; or any of the following applying with support of the UGLG: Nonprofit organizations, Public Housing Agencies, Community Colleges, Local Education Agencies (LEAs), or Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs). The lead organization will execute a Promise Zone designation agreement and be responsible to HUD for fulfilling the responsibilities of the Promise Zone designation. These responsibilities will include organizing and/or coordinating activities pursuant to the plan proposed in the designated community’s application and administering any funding or other benefits that a designation may confer in the future to the designated Promise Zone. The lead organization will also be responsible for tracking outcomes, periodically reporting to the participating federal agencies, and participating in evaluation activities as requested by federal agencies. The lead organization will provide, as requested, any necessary certification to other organizations applying for grants and other benefits that, if received, would help to advance the Promise Zone Plan. Organizations receiving such certification will provide them in federal funding competitions and in other activities relating to the conferring of benefits to designated Promise Zones.

To the extent that the lead organization is unable to directly perform any of these duties, it will delegate them specifically to an implementation partner organization, and continue to oversee the fulfillment of all of the responsibilities under the Promise Zone designation agreement. The lead organization will be responsible for reassigning the roles that implementation partner organizations and other partners may play in the Promise Zone Plan in the event that one or more such partners are unable to fulfill their responsibilities. Transfer of the role of ‘lead organization’ from the lead applicant to another entity will require approval by participating federal agencies, pursuant to the terms of the Promise Zone designation agreement.

Implementation partner organization:

An implementation partner organization is an organization that agrees to fulfill specific responsibilities to carry out the day-to-day work and operations of the Promise Zone Plan, as detailed in the community’s Promise Zone application and any amendments, documents referenced in the Promise Zone designation agreement, and other documents that may exist among the partner organizations in the Promise Zone Plan.

Local Education Agency:

As defined in Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), a public board of education or other public authority legally constituted within a State for either administrative control or direction of, or to perform a service function for, public elementary schools or secondary schools in a city, county, township, school district, or other political subdivision of a State, or for a combination of school districts or counties that is recognized in a State as an administrative agency for its public elementary schools or secondary schools.

Metropolitan Planning Organization:

1) Regional policy body, required in urbanized areas with populations over 50,000, and designated by local officials and the governor of the state. Responsible in cooperation with the state and other transportation providers for carrying out the metropolitan transportation planning requirements of federal highway and transit legislation. 2) Formed in cooperation with the state, develops transportation plans and programs for the metropolitan area. For each urbanized area, a Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) must be designated by agreement between the Governor and local units of government representing 75% of the affected population (in the metropolitan area), including the central cities or cities as defined by the Bureau of the Census, or in accordance with procedures established by applicable State or local law (23 U.S.C. 134(b)(1)/Federal Transit Act of 1991 Sec. 8(b)(1)).

Nonprofit:

Nonprofits eligible to be an applicant under this notice are entities that are classified as such in accordance with section 501(c) of the Federal Tax Code or have been designated as such by their state government. A nonprofit organization can be organized for the following purposes: charitable, religious, educational, scientific, or other similar purposes in the public interest. To obtain tax-exempt status, qualified organizations must file an application with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and receive designation as such by the IRS. For more information, go to www.irs.gov. Entities that are in the process of applying for tax-exempt status, but have not yet received nonprofit designation from the IRS by the application deadline date, will not be considered an eligible applicant. All nonprofit applicants must submit either their IRS determination letter to prove their 501(c) status or the letter from the state government to prove their nonprofit status.

Public Housing Agency:

The term “public housing agency” has the meaning provided in section 3(b)(6) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a).

Examples of local government and other partner commitment:

Commitments may be made to the Promise Zone Plan by many organizations acting in the community in ways that support Promise Zone goals and activities. The level of intensity and duration of such commitments may range from occasional assistance and expressions of general support, to the ongoing roles and day-to-day responsibilities taken on by implementation partners, to the lead organization’s responsibility for overall coordination, reporting and delivery of results. Examples of commitments that would be less intensive and consistent than those of an implementation partner might include: in-kind donations of the use of meeting space, equipment, telecommunications services, or staffing for particular functions; letters or other expressions of support for Promise Zone activities and applications for resources at the local, state and federal levels; participation in steering committees or other advisory bodies with respect to the overall Promise Zone Plan or particular elements of it; permanent donations of funding, land, equipment, facilities, or other resources; or the provision of other types of support without taking on a formal role in the day-to-day operations and advancement of the Promise Zone Plan as described in the definitions of implementation partner or lead organization.

Urban application sub-categories:¹⁹

Large Metro CBSA: The proposed Promise Zone community is located in a Metropolitan Core Based Statistical Area (Metro CBSA) with a total population of 500,000 or more.

Small/medium Metro CBSA: The proposed Promise Zone community is located within the geographic boundaries of a Metro CBSA with a population of 499,999 or less.

Evidence - Levels of evidence:²⁰

The five evidence levels are:

No evidence means that the applicant has not provided evidence that they have collected any qualitative or quantitative data to date.
Pre-preliminary evidence means the applicant presents evidence that it has collected quantitative or qualitative data from program staff, program participants, or beneficiaries that have been used for program improvement, performance measurement reporting, and/or tracking. An example could be gathering feedback from program participants following their receipt of the intervention.
Preliminary evidence means the applicant presents an initial evidence base that can support conclusions about the program’s contribution to observed outcomes. The evidence base consists of at least one non-experimental study conducted on the proposed program (or another similar program that uses a comparable intervention). A study that demonstrates improvement in program beneficiaries over time on one or more intended outcomes OR an implementation (process evaluation) study used to learn and improve program operations would constitute preliminary evidence. Examples of research that meet the standards include: 1) outcome studies that track program beneficiaries through a service pipeline and measure beneficiaries’ responses at the end of the program; and 2) pre- and post-test research that determines whether beneficiaries have improved on an intended outcome.
Moderate evidence means the applicant presents a reasonably developed evidence base that can support causal conclusions for the specific program proposed by the applicant with moderate confidence. The evidence base consists of one or more quasi-experimental studies conducted on the proposed program (or another similar program that uses a comparable intervention) with positive findings on one or more intended outcome OR two or more non-experimental studies conducted on the proposed program with positive findings on one or more intended outcome OR one or more experimental studies of another relevant program that uses a similar intervention. Examples of research that meet the standards include: well-designed and well-implemented quasi-experimental studies that compare outcomes between the group receiving the intervention and a matched comparison group (i.e. a similar population that does not receive the intervention).
Strong evidence means the applicant presents an evidence base that can support causal conclusions for the specific program proposed by the applicant with the highest level of confidence. This consists of one or more well-designed and well-implemented experimental studies conducted on the proposed program with positive findings on one or more intended outcome.

Data and Evaluation:

Lead organizations and implementation partners in designated Promise Zones will be expected to participate in data collection and sharing activities with other Promise Zones, federal agencies and outside partners. HUD and the federal agency partners are engaged in a process of collecting different types of data that could be used in future evaluations of the Promise Zones Initiative, and to monitor changes over time in the zones. HUD and interagency partners are prepared to work with the Promise Zones to develop local approaches and support their data collection needs and efforts.

In working with the first round designated Promise Zones and beginning comparisons with the second round designees, the federal agencies have identified eight general policy domains in which most Promise Zone designees have defined goals. The first four are core goals of the federal initiative. In order to work more effectively with local partners, we are tracking federal activity and providing data to communities in all eight domains:

1. Employment and asset building

2. Investment and business growth

3. Education

4. Public safety

5. Housing

6. Health

7. Community infrastructure

8. Civic engagement

HUD and the federal agency partners have identified a core set of indicators linked to policy domains, based on common goals across sites. These indicators reflect the range policy domains for the initiative, and consistent site-specific strategies identified by multiple or all Round 1 and 2 designees. The indicators are categorized into four groups by characteristics of data accessibility and potential for common measurement. For more information on data and evaluation activities, please see www.hud.gov/promisezones.

Further, all lead organizations of designated Promise Zones, implementation partner organizations in the Promise Zone strategies, and any federal grantees whose federally funded work contributes to Promise Zone strategies will be required to participate in evaluation of Promise Zones and related federal grant activities that may be conducted, as well as tracking outcome and performance indicators.

Lead organizations, implementation partners, and federal grantees contributing to Promise Zones must agree to work with evaluators designated by participating federal agencies, and other agency partner staff working on evaluation-related activities, as specified in their respective grant agreements, regulations and other requirements. Guidance on evaluation, performance/outcome indicators, measures and data sources will be forthcoming, but all participants will be expected to put forth their best efforts to connect HUD/USDA or other partners working on indicators tracking activities with data collected at the local level (e.g. from city government for urban zones, county for rural zones, and tribal government for tribal zones). For Promise Zone lead organizations and implementation partners, this may include providing access to program personnel and all relevant programmatic and administrative data, as specified by the evaluator(s) or federal PZ staff under the direction of a federal agency, as legally attainable, during the term of the Promise Zone designation and/or grant agreement. (See pages 28 and 29 for definitions of lead organization and implementation partner organizations.)

Mapping Tool Overview²¹

The Promise Zone mapping tool (http://www.huduser.org/PZ2013/promiseZone.html) overlays the locally defined neighborhood/community boundaries with data associated with that area and estimates the rates of certain indicators in that area using a proportional allocation methodology. For metropolitan areas, the tool uses Census block group (as defined for Census 2010) as the smallest statistical boundary for the available data. For non-metropolitan areas, the tool uses census tract data to account for less precision in low-population areas. If the locally defined neighborhood/community is partially within two different Census areas, the data for each factor or threshold criteria are calculated based on the portion of the 2010 housing units located in each Census area for the vacancy variables and 2010 population for the population, poverty, and employment variables. The 2010 housing unit and population count data are available to HUD at the block level and thus can be used as the underlying data to apportion each block group and tract’s appropriate share of importance.

For example, based on a user defined geography, 80 percent of the housing units in the locally defined neighborhood/community are in a block group with a poverty rate of 40 percent and 20 percent of the units are in a Block group with a poverty rate of 10 percent. The "neighborhood poverty rate" would be calculated as: (80% x 40%) + (20% x 10%) = 34%.

Mapping Tool Data Sources:

The data are from a variety of sources:

ACS 2011 refers to the US Census American Community Survey 2007-2011 five-year estimates. These are the most recent nationally available data for small geographies at the same Census 2010 boundaries as the other data provided, using a statistical technique that combines five years of data to create reliable estimates for small areas.
CHAS 2010 refers to the Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy (CHAS) special tabulations HUD receives of Census ACS data. The CHAS data used for this tool are based on ACS 2006-2010 five-year estimates see http://www.huduser.org/portal/datasets/cp.html for more information.
Census 2010 refers to block-level 2010 decennial counts of housing and population.
USPS 2013 refers to the United States Postal Service long-term vacancy data as of June 30, 2013.

Additional Notes on Specific Variables

Concentration of People in Poverty is calculated with data at the block group level from ACS 2011 for metropolitan areas and the tract level for non-metropolitan areas. This indicator represents the percent of people within the target geography who are below the poverty line. The estimated concentration of Extremely Low Income (ELI) households represents an approximation of the percent of households within the specified area whose household combined income is below 30% of the HUD defined Area Median Income (AMI). This ELI indicator is calculated with data from the block group level from CHAS 2010. The final number included in this report for "poverty rate" is the greater of these two indicators.

Employment Rate is calculated with data at the block group level from ACS 2011 for metropolitan areas and the tract level for non-metropolitan areas. This indicator represents the percent of the labor force (age 16 and above) that is employed or in the armed forces. Neither the numerator nor the denominator includes people outside of the labor force.

Goals and Activities Template

Use the template below to lay out the goals and activities of the proposed Promise Zone Plan. Complete the template in MAX Survey for each relevant goal in the Promise Zone application. MAX Survey will allow the Applicant to identify up to six goals, each of which includes up to four activities per applicable goal.

Check the box to acknowledge the following statement:

I give HUD and USDA permission to share information included in mapping tool data sheet and the Goals and Activities Template.

Non-federal organizations including foundations, social investors, researchers, consultants, and networks of professionals and organizations have expressed interest in the work underway in communities applying for Promise Zone designations. Community stakeholders and other members of the public also request information from time to time.

Note: Applicants may select up to six goals in total. Applicants must select each of the four Promise Zone Initiative goals in their Goals and Activities Template. The four Promise Zone Initiative goals are: Create Jobs, Increase Economic Activity, Improve Educational Opportunities, and Reduce Violent Crime. If desired, in addition to the four required Promise Zone Initiative goals, applicants may also choose up to two other goals from a list of the four Promise Zone Initiative goals plus the following options: Increase Access to Quality Affordable Housing, Promote Health and Access to Healthcare, Improve Community Infrastructure, and Promote Civic Engagement. The additional goals available for up to two sets of activities have been drawn from experience with the first round Promise Zone designees and review of second round Promise Zone applications.

Promise Zone Goal

For Goals 1-4, select each of the 4 Promise Zone Initiative goals from options listed below once. (You may choose the order. Please note that additional policy areas will be defined for each activity, which allows applicants to characterize their work more specifically):

Create jobs
Increase economic activity
Improve educational opportunities
Reduce violent crime

For Goals 5-6, you may select from a list of 8 goals, from the 4 Promise Zone Initiative Goals listed above or the 4 additional options listed below:

Increase access to quality affordable housing
Promote health and access to healthcare
Improve community infrastructure
Promote civic engagement

Description of Promise Zone Goal – 250 character limit

[Description of the goal and how it connects to the needs identified in Section IV-A.]

Example: Increase educational opportunities and college and career readiness for all children living and attending school in the proposed Promise Zone. Increase graduation rate for all students. In the proposed Promise Zone, there is a 43% high school graduation rate.

Activity A – 250 character limit

[Description of an activity or intervention for implementing this goal. Distinguish between new and ongoing activities.]

Example:

Expand college preparatory program for high school students to help with financial aid, testing, and college applications [Ongoing]

Policy Area

Below is a list of policy areas for Promise Zones activities. Please select up to 5 policy areas that best represent the proposed activity. (While each activity must be part of a larger goal and strategy, activities themselves may have components that cross multiple different policy areas. For example, a goal to "Reduce Violent Crime" may contain an activity such as an ex-offender reentry program that may have a workforce development component. In this case, you may select both policy areas: Workforce Development and Reentry)

Create Jobs:

Workforce Development
Family Asset Building

Increase Economic Activity:

Private Sector Investment
Entrepreneurship

Improve Educational Opportunities:

Early Childhood
K-12
Adult Education

Reduce Violent Crime:

Crime Prevention and Intervention
Community Policing and Trust
Public Safety Capacity Building
Reentry

Expand Affordable Housing:

Housing Development
Homeownership
Renter Assistance
Homelessness

Improve Health and Wellness:

Health
Healthy Food Access
Environmental Health

Improve Community Infrastructure:

Commercial Corridors
Community Infrastructure
Transportation
Broadband

Increase Civic Engagement:

Resident Capacity Building
Strategic Planning

Rationale/Evidence- 500 character limit

Discuss how or why you believe the proposed activity will lead to the achievement of the goal in this specific context.

Implementation Partners- 500 character limit

[List implementation partner organizations, including roles and responsibilities for each.]

Example:

The School District and Principal of the neighborhood high school located in the Promise Zone. The School District will provide additional resources to school counselors and provided targeted interventions to students at-risk of dropping out.

Committed Financial Support

List up to 7 firm financial commitments for implementing this activity. For each commitment, select the type of funding source from the drop down menu. Indicate the source of funds, activity, amount, start and end date for each source, and identify the organization receiving the funds. Type N/A if not applicable
Example:

Please Select Financing Type from Dropdown List

Please Select Source Type from Dropdown List

Please Enter: Total Amount ($), Source Name, Start and End Date, Any Other Details:

Financial Commitment 1

Choose one:

▪ Grant or Direct Allocation

□ Loan

□ Below-Market Loan

□ Guaranteed Loan or First Loss Position

□ Equity

□ Tax Credit Proceeds

Choose one:

□ Federal Government

□ State Government

□ Local, Regional or Tribal Government

□ Local Nonprofit or Foundation

□ Regional/National Nonprofit or Foundation

□ Private Sector Firm (Business or other for-profit entity)

□ Business or Trade Group

▪ School District

□ College/University or Research Group

□ Public Housing Authority

□ Other Public Authority (Transit, Development, Utilities, etc.)

□ Certified CDFI/CDE

□ For-Benefit Corporation/4th Sector

Example: (type in)

$75,000;

General Fund, School District 123;

08/01/2015-07/31/ 2020;

Salary for additional school counselor at Neighborhood High School.

Financial Commitment 2

Choose one:

▪ Grant or Direct Allocation

□ Loan

□ Below-Market Loan

□ Guaranteed Loan or First Loss Position

□ Equity

□ Tax Credit Proceeds

Choose one:

□ Federal Government

□ State Government

□ Local, Regional or Tribal Government

▪ Local Nonprofit or Foundation

□ Regional/National Nonprofit or Foundation

□ Private Sector Firm (Business or other for-profit entity)

□ Business or Trade Group

□ School District

□ College/University or Research Group

□ Public Housing Authority

□ Other Public Authority (Transit, Development, Utilities, etc.)

□ Certified CDFI/CDE

□ For-Benefit Corporation/4th Sector

Type in:

$60,000;

Promise Foundation 2016-2017 Education Technology Grant;

08/01/2016- 07/31/ 2017;

Funding for new computers and statistics software in Neighborhood High School

Financial Support Needed

List up to 7 types of financial support that are or will be needed for implementing this activity. For each financial need, select the type of funding source from the drop down menu. Indicate the activity, estimated amount, date of needed funds and intended organization receiving the funds start and end date for each source, and identify the organization receiving the funds. Type N/A if not applicable.

Example:

Please Select Financing Type from Dropdown List

Please Enter: Total Amount ($), Start and End Date, Any Other Details:

Financial Need 1

Choose one:

▪ Grant

□ Loan

□ Below-Market Loan

□ Guaranteed Loan or First Loss Position

□ Equity

□ Tax Credit Proceeds

Type in:

$25,000;

06/01/2016 – 09/01/2016;

Funds to purchase test preparation materials for students in School District 123

Financial Need 2

Choose one:

▪ Grant

□ Loan
□ Below-Market Loan

□ Guaranteed Loan or First Loss Position

□ Equity
□ Tax Credit Proceeds

Type in:

$50,000;

06/01/2016 – 08/31/2017;

Funds to increase professional development opportunities related to college- and career readiness for educators at Neighborhood High School

Financial Need 3

Choose one:

▪ Grant

□ Loan

□ Below-Market Loan

□ Guaranteed Loan or First Loss Position

□ Equity

□ Tax Credit Proceeds

Type in:

$100,000;

06/01/2016 – 08/31/2017;

Funds to establish a data collection system to track student achievement in School District 123

Committed Non-Financial Support

[List any committed non-financial support for this activity. List the source and type of support, activity, start and end date for each resource and identify the organization receiving each resource. Type N/A if not applicable.]

Example:

Source and type: AmeriCorps Grant, Corporation for National and Community Service
Activity: AmeriCorps member currently helps a small number of students after school
Start and end date: August 2014-July 2015
Recipient: Neighborhood High School

Non-Financial Support Needed

[List the types of non-financial support needed for implementing this activity. List the type of support, activity, start and end date for each resource and identify the intended organization receiving each resource. Type N/A if not applicable.]

Example:

Type: Volunteers
Activity: Need 10-15 total, part- and full-time staff and volunteers to expand the afterschool program beyond a small group of students
Start and end date: September 2015-2018
Recipient: Neighborhood High School

Expected Outcomes and Measurement- 500 character limit

[List measures or metrics that will be used to determine whether the activity is leading to the achievement of the goal or any interim outcomes.]

Example:

Increase graduation rate 10 percentage points by 2018
Increase in student and parent satisfaction on school district survey
Increase in college acceptance rate

Data Collection, Tracking and Sharing –500 character limit

[For top-level tracking of progress of subgoals, describe how data will be collected, tracked and shared.]

Example:

Track graduation, college acceptance, and student and parent satisfaction rates
Share information annually with Promise Zone partners and community

Timeline/Milestones for Implementation – 500 character limit

[Briefly describe anticipated timeline and milestones for implementation of this activity. Omit information on needed financial or non-financial support that would be redundant with information provided above.]

Example:

Hire extra afterschool staff by the beginning of 2016-17 school year
Have a completed and staffed tracking system by 2017-18 school year
Secure Federal grant funding by 2017

OPTIONAL Federal Regulatory and/or Statutory Barriers:

Please Note: Responses to this question are voluntary and will not be evaluated in the application review process

[Describe any regulations and/or statutes that create barriers to the implementation of this activity, with citations if possible. Your voluntary response to this question will help HUD, and agencies across the federal government, with policy development, program administration, and technical assistance.]

Example:

HUD's Regulations at 24 CFR 92.500(d) require that a participating jurisdiction expend its annual allocation of funds under the (HOME) program within five years or the funds will be deobligated. This requirement limits our housing recovery strategy by preventing us from undertaking critical projects that cannot meet this deadline.

OPTIONAL Technical Assistance:

Please Note: Responses to this question are voluntary and will not be evaluated in the application review process

*Technical Assistance is broadly defined as answers to questions, extra support, flexibilities, capacity building, and training that can help organizations to meet their goals by overcoming identified limitations, barriers, and weaknesses. The responses will help HUD, agencies across the federal government, and a wide network of technical assistance providers in efforts to develop new services and tools and improve responsiveness to local capacity needs.

[Select any type(s) of technical assistance that might be needed for this activity.]

□ Community Engagement/Outreach

▪ Direct Technical Assistance for Specific Issues

□ Data Collection and Evaluation

□ Research and Best Practices/General Guidance

□ Grant and Financial Management Resources

□ Needs Assessment

□ Training for Partners and Staff

▪ Peer to Peer Learning and Networking

[Describe each type of identified technical assistance needed for this activity including roles and deliverables, if any, that federal staff could play on short term assignments and the skills gaps or identified challenges the community aims to address (Short-term assignments should generally be less than one year.) Further, technical assistance, including assistance that might be delivered by federal staff, is not guaranteed under a PZ designation and should not be included in a PZ Plan.]

Examples:

Type: Peer to Peer Learning and Networking

Our workforce development partners are interested in collaborating with other organizations in communities that have had a recent large influx of non-English speaking families.

Type: Direct Technical Assistance for Specific Issues

Subject matter expert on brownfields remediation and redevelopment, and applicable federal programs and requirements, needed to work with local teams on feasibility assessments for several contaminated sites in the Promise Zone.

1 The rural and tribal application guide is located at: https://www.hud.gov/promisezones/.

2 See urban application subcategory definitions on page 30.

3 Unit of general local government as defined in section 102(a)(1) of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5302(a)(1)). See definition (a) (1) Unit of General Local Government.

4 Unit of general local government as defined in section 102(a)(1) of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5302(a)(1)). See definition (a) (1) Unit of General Local Government.

5 Including Workforce Investment Boards (WIBS) and Community Action Agencies (CAA) Examples are illustrative and not exhaustive. See Definition of nonprofit on page 29.

6 See Definitions of Public Housing Agency, LEAs and MPO on page 29.

7 Applicants are required to use the Promise Zone mapping tool to show both the boundary and the poverty levels. The mapping tool emails this information as a PDF to the applicant. This PDF, in its entirety, must be included in the application. See page 33 for more information on the mapping tool.

8 The reported poverty rate or Extremely Low Income rate will be rounded to the nearest .1%.

9 Note the reference to county includes all county equivalents, such as parishes.

10 Information on UCR data can be found at http://www.bjs.gov/ucrdata/offenses.cfm

11 Refers to the underlying causes of criminal offending and victims' experiences of crime. It recognizes that certain circumstances of people's lives are associated with a greater likelihood of offending and victimization. For example, the following may be considered examples of “crime drivers” - concentrated poverty, high unemployment, low performing schools, and limited infrastructure such as housing, public transportation, social services, and business.

12 For more information on data being collected and shared among designated communities and federal agencies, applicants should review the material posted under Data and Evaluation at www.hud.gov/promisezones. [insert link]

13 More information about AmeriCorps Vista can be found at http://www.nationalservice.gov/programs/americorps/americorps-vista.

14 An overview of draft communications and reporting framework for Promise Zones, and the draft data sharing framework, are posted on www.hud.gov/promisezones under archived Round 3 public comment documents. Applicants are encouraged to review these documents to become familiar with the types of communication and coordination that would come with the Promise Zone designation. Please note that these framework documents are drafts under discussion with the designated communities, and are likely to be modified based on their feedback. The documents have been posted to give applicants a general sense of the types of information exchange that may be required if a designation is made, for applicants’ planning purposes.

15 Optional letters of support from partner organizations, including local and state elected officials and private entities, included with the application will count against the 35 page attachment limit and be considered in scoring. If a State or local elected official or a private entity is not acting in capacity of a partner, general letters of support should be submitted separately to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development with a copy emailed to: [email protected]. Such general letters of support will not be considered part of the application, will not be read by reviewers during the selection process, will not affect the application's score, and will not count against application page limits. Similarly, Congressional letters should be submitted separately, addressed to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development with a copy emailed to: [email protected]. Congressional letters should not be submitted with the application or included in the supplementary materials, which are limited to 35 pages. Such letters will not be considered part of the application, will not be read by reviewers during the selection process, and will not affect the application's score.

16 The application must note past performance issues under Federal grants and bankruptcies within in the past 5 years. To the extent that the Lead Applicant or any of the partner organizations listed in the application has experienced a recapture of funds, disallowance of costs, monitoring finding, Inspector General finding, or failure to expend funds in conjunction with failure to complete grant-funded activities within the performance period under a federal grant, the applicant must disclose the incident(s), and in its narrative discuss the issues raised, and how, if funds are awarded in the future with Promise Zone preferences, those grants will not experience similar problems. Failure to disclose past performance issues may result in disqualification of the application depending upon the importance of the role that the organization with performance issues will play in the Promise Zone Plan as proposed.

17 See Footnote 16.

18 More detailed information about data and evaluation can be found on page 31.

19 Additional information regarding Metropolitan Core Based Statistical Areas can be found at http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/bulletins/2013/b13-01.pdf

20 Corporation for National and Community Service, Operation AmeriCorps NOFO 2014, http://www.nationalservice.gov/sites/default/files/documents/Operation_AmeriCorps_NOFO_2014.pdf evaluation

21 http://www.huduser.org/PZ2013/promiseZone.html

File Type	application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document
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File Created	2021-01-24

Application Guide

5774-N-04 Promise Zones Round III Urban Application Guide 11-30-15.docx

Promise Zones

Application Guide

OMB: 2506-0209

Contents

GENERAL OVERVIEW

Description of the Promise Zones Initiative

Third Round Promise Zone Designation Process

Categories and Sub-Categories

Geographic Diversity

Promise Zone Finalists

Notifications of Decisions

Application Submission Instructions and Deadline

Overview

Corrections to Deficient Applications

Waiver of Electronic Submission Requirements

Application Overview

A Mapping tool data sheet (automatically generated via email for applicant when using the Promise Zone mapping tool as detailed within Application Section II, and on page 33),

Additional Documents that when combined do not exceed 35 pages (does not include the mapping tool or narrative). These additional documents include:

A separate narrative not to exceed 28 pages detailing items as requested in Application Sections III, IV, and V. The specific formatting requirements of the narrative are as follows:

Double-spaced text to include any tables or figures (pages with single-spaced text will be counted as two pages),

8½ x 11-inch paper;

Approximately one inch margins (½ inch margins or smaller will count as 2 pages);

12-point Times New Roman font (to include text that accompanies tables or figures);

All pages should be numbered, any pages marked as sub-pages (e.g., with numbers and letters such as 28A, 28B, 28C), will be treated as separate pages

Mark each section clearly (i.e. Section IV Part A: Needs and Assets)

Shrunken pages, or pages where a minimized/reduced font are used, will be counted as multiple pages

APPLICATION SECTIONS

Section I – Executive Summary

Section I Submission Requirement:

Executive Summary via MAX Survey (LINK TO BE ADDED) with a 2,000 character limit, including spaces (this limit is applied automatically to information entered into MAX Survey).

Optional: Up to 3 optional JPEG images of the neighborhoods, buildings and streets within the proposed Promise Zone. Include a statement verifying that the applicant owns all rights to the images submitted and that HUD and its federal partners may use those images for promotional purposes.

Section II – Eligibility Criteria

Abstract

Lead Applicant Eligibility

Units of General Local Government (UGLG)4;

An office/department of a local government submitting on behalf of the local government under a local delegation of authority;

Nonprofit organizations5 applying with the support of the UGLG; and

Public Housing Agencies, Community Colleges, Local Education Agencies (LEAs), or Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPO)6 applying with the support of the UGLG.

Community Eligibility Criteria

Proposed Promise Zone must have one contiguous boundary and cannot include separate geographic areas; 7

The rate of overall poverty or Extremely Low Income rate (whichever is greater) of residents within the Promise Zone must be at or above 32.5%;8

Promise Zone boundaries must encompass a population of at least 10,000 but no more than 200,000 residents;

The Promise Zone application must affirmatively demonstrate support from all mayors or chief executives of UGLGs that include any geographical area within the proposed Promise Zone boundary, subject to the following conditions:

Section II Submission Requirements:

All pages of the PDF mapping tool data sheet, which will be emailed to the applicant in PDF form, to demonstrate poverty level and population levels. Does not count toward 28 page narrative (a combination of sections III-V) or the 35 page limit for attachments.

Abstract and mapping tool data information (to be entered on MAX Survey).

Letter(s) that demonstrates the commitment from Chief Executives of all UGLGs (see page 9 for approved delays). Letter(s) of support from UGLGs count toward the 35 page limit for attachments.

Section III – Selection Criteria: Need (10 points)

Higher poverty rate/extremely low income rate – Concentration of households in poverty or with extremely low incomes (whichever is greater) residing within the proposed Promise Zone (3.33 points);

Lower employment rate – Employment rate for working-age adults within the Promise Zone (3.33 points);

Description of the nature and scope of crime in the proposed Promise Zone. (3.33 points)

Section III Submission Requirements:

Section IV – Selection Criteria: Strategy (45 points)

Section IV Part A: Needs and Assets Assessment (10 points)

Section IV Part A: Submission Requirements

Section IV Part B: Promise Zone Plan (25 points)

Rationale and Sequencing of the Promise Zone Plan including elements such as:

Extent to which the plan addresses synergies and potential conflicts among identified goals, including addressing connections among different policy areas;

Extent to which the plan articulates a rationale for setting priorities among different goals and activities, and if necessary, addresses the timing of implementation of specific goals and activities;

Alignment of Activities of the Promise Zone Plan including elements such as:

Responsiveness of the Promise Zone Plan to the gaps and opportunities identified in the assessment of needs and assets Section IV-Part A;

Data Management, Accountability and Measurement of the Promise Zone Plan including elements such as:

Barriers to Implementation of the Promise Zone Plan including elements such as:

Extent to which the Plan addresses removing barriers and improving systems that impede delivery of services, such as changes in policies, delivery capacity, technology, and program reporting including barriers related to cross-jurisdictional work, if applicable.

Section IV Part B: Submission Requirements

An overarching narrative of the Promise Zone Plan. The narrative should cover all the selection criteria listed above. However, the narrative should not repeat specific information presented in the Goals and Activities Template.

Suggested 2 page limit of the 28 page narrative.

Section IV Part C: Promise Zone Sustainability and Financial Feasibility (5 points)

Across all of the identified goals, the strength of the plan for obtaining funds for activities;

Soundness of the organizational structure for retaining commitment and coordination of implementation partner organizations that promotes sustainability of the Promise Zone Plan, including public and private partnerships and stakeholders, during the planned life of the Promise Zone.

Section IV Part C: Submission Requirements

A narrative outlining the budget projection for funding project coordination for the first 5 years of designation; and

A narrative description of how a Promise Zone designation would bolster efforts to secure additional funds for partnership structure and/or specific Promise Zone goals and activities.

Section IV Part D: Resident Engagement Strategy (5 points)

Involvement by resident and community organizations in development of overall Promise Zone Plan;

Engagement with current residents and New Americans that may include immigrants and refugees. Narrative should address how the strategy addresses barriers to meaningful, constructive involvement of all residents, including racial and ethnic minorities and other disadvantaged groups; and

Extent to which the strategy ensures sustained, informed, inclusive, and substantive resident participation in the continued development, implementation and oversight of the Promise Zone Plan.

Section IV Part D: Submission Requirements

Units of General Local Government (UGLG)^⁴;

Nonprofit organizations^⁵ applying with the support of the UGLG; and

Public Housing Agencies, Community Colleges, Local Education Agencies (LEAs), or Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPO)^⁶ applying with the support of the UGLG.

Proposed Promise Zone must have one contiguous boundary and cannot include separate geographic areas;⁷

The rate of overall poverty or Extremely Low Income rate (whichever is greater) of residents within the Promise Zone must be at or above 32.5%;⁸

Optional: Letters of support.¹⁵

Urban application sub-categories:¹⁹

Evidence - Levels of evidence:²⁰

Mapping Tool Overview²¹