OUTCOME: Capacity
Problem
Episodic, fragmented, and project-based funding undermines organizational momentum of plans and projects, organizational capacity, and the ability to develop innovations and achieve impact at scale.
Solution
Long-term Funding - Advocate for ongoing, stable, and diverse funding that increases and sustains impact, capacity, and innovation.
Background and Context
The scale and complexity of the intersecting wildfire, water, ecosystem, and climate change challenges and the multiple strategies needed to address them will require time and stable resources. State and federal leaders have committed significant funding to hazardous fuel management, which helps address the lack of funding that has until recently been the biggest obstacle identified by organizations implementing projects. Sustaining this focus and agency commitment across multiple years is critical to enable regions and communities to implement long-term strategies and move ecosystem and community safety projects to completion.
When identifying their biggest obstacles in advancing wildfire resilience work, 38% of respondents in the Watershed Research and Training Center Capacity Survey cited barriers related to inadequate funding to cover base program operations and administrative time and costs. While no organization should charge unrealistic administrative costs, organizations frequently do not receive sufficient funding to cover their full project and indirect costs, and this may lead to unstable organizations that cannot sustain programs and implementation initiatives.
Economically disadvantaged or historically underrepresented communities often suffer from funding and capacity problems such as lack of local tax base, outmigration from rural to urban areas, and fewer civic organizations. Decreased private investment in local business and local economic development compound these problems. Without addressing sustainable and stable funding for local community organizations, the disparity in state and federal funding allocations to vulnerable communities will continue to grow.
Recommendations
Restructuring the time-frame and nature of state and federal funding can achieve more effective outcomes for watershed, ecosystem, and community health. NCRP and regional partners will work closely with public agencies and policymakers to advance three approaches to structuring funding to improve outcomes: 1) increase overall effectiveness by providing predictable and sustained funding over multiple years, for both capacity building and for moving projects through implementation; 2) build and sustain capacity by providing adequate funding to cover core program operating and administrative costs; and 3) evaluate the effectiveness of more stable, sustainable funding approaches and refine the approach in collaboration with state and federal funding partners.
NCRP will advocate for creating funding pipelines that are flexible and encourage cross-sector, multi-benefit projects (i.e., watershed, forest, ecosystem, climate, community development, workforce development) and expand capacity by reducing the overhead necessary for organizations to apply for funding from different programs for different purposes and the redundancy of creating projects to serve siloed programmatic interests. NCRP will convene Tribal, federal, state, regional, and other local leaders and partners to evaluate current approaches to allocating funding and opportunities to increase efficiencies and increase ROI. NCRP will work closely with the public agencies implementing watershed and ecosystem resilience and wildfire strategies and serve as a voice for the region within these agencies where state policy is being developed.
Actions
Regularly convene agencies, Tribes, communities, and other partners to evaluate, coordinate, develop strategies, and share successes related to funding, permitting efficiencies, policy, and capacity.
Regularly convene agencies, Tribes, communities, and other partners to evaluate, coordinate, develop strategies, and share successes related to funding, permitting efficiencies, policy, and capacity.
- Expansion of grant funding timeline to 10 years.
- Funding for core administrative functions (i.e., accounting, facilities, and legal costs) and full project costs.
- Funding for short- and long-term project maintenance and monitoring in grant funding, or related funding programs focused on maintenance, and that any grant-required monitoring is an eligible project expense.
- Increased use of block grants administered by regional collaboratives in coordination with state and federal agencies.
- Increased use of cross-sector grants that address multiple benefits and reduce the number of siloed, single-benefit focused grant programs.
- Increased efficiency of proposal and grant applications process by developing coordinated funding, unified, online grant applications accessing multiple funding streams/agencies, contract templates, streamlined grant approval and legal review.
- Simplified grant management and reporting processes, including online templates with clear instructions for grant financial management, as well as simplified processes to upload project photos and treatment polygons.
- Establishment of a maintenance fund tied to some form of ongoing state revenue (i.e., GHG auction revenues, lottery proceeds, timber tax, etc.)
- Funding to maintain environmental situational awareness of regional priorities between major projects. Provide mechanisms for extended monitoring compliance.
- Increased funding for permit, environmental compliance, and NEPA/CEQA during project planning. Support programmatic NEPA/CEQA at the landscape scale where effective to reduce time frames from funding to implementation of projects (See Capacity – Smart & Efficient Permitting Solution).
Work with Tribes and economically disadvantaged communities to develop a long-term funding strategy to fill capacity needs (See Capacity – Year-Round Local Capacity and Capacity – Tribal Capacity Solutions).
Work with Tribes and economically disadvantaged communities to develop a long-term funding strategy to fill capacity needs (See Capacity – Year-Round Local Capacity and Capacity – Tribal Capacity Solutions).
Facilitate planning and funding for multi benefit projects (i.e., conduct riparian restoration above and beyond permit requirements in conjunction with fuels projects or timber harvests: See Ecosystem Restoration – Planning Solution).
Facilitate planning and funding for multi benefit projects (i.e., conduct riparian restoration above and beyond permit requirements in conjunction with fuels projects or timber harvests: See Ecosystem Restoration – Planning Solution).
Explore options for ensuring adequate administrative cost recovery. Public and private funders can make it policy and practice to fund the indirect costs of organizations, using the federally determined rate when available or working with the organization to determine an appropriate rate. The CA Department of Finance could also consider adopting a methodology and policy for cooperator indirect cost rate negotiations and determinations, mirroring the federal system.
Explore options for ensuring adequate administrative cost recovery. Public and private funders can make it policy and practice to fund the indirect costs of organizations, using the federally determined rate when available or working with the organization to determine an appropriate rate. The CA Department of Finance could also consider adopting a methodology and policy for cooperator indirect cost rate negotiations and determinations, mirroring the federal system.
Examine alternatives to reimbursement-based funding (i.e., providing funds at project initiation from state, federal, and other sources), such as creating a pooled revolving fund or an endowment from foundation or other private funding sources, low/no interest loans, federal, state sources that change policy to allow for some up-front funding (i.e., advances) to bridge the project-award-to-reimbursement funding gap.
Examine alternatives to reimbursement-based funding (i.e., providing funds at project initiation from state, federal, and other sources), such as creating a pooled revolving fund or an endowment from foundation or other private funding sources, low/no interest loans, federal, state sources that change policy to allow for some up-front funding (i.e., advances) to bridge the project-award-to-reimbursement funding gap.
Explore feasible public-private partnerships that function within the NCRP landscape. These may include environmental impact bonds, Enhanced Infrastructure Financing Districts (EIFDs), and revolving loan funds that may leverage public and private funds.
Explore feasible public-private partnerships that function within the NCRP landscape. These may include environmental impact bonds, Enhanced Infrastructure Financing Districts (EIFDs), and revolving loan funds that may leverage public and private funds.
References and Resources
- Davis et al. 2020. Investment Opportunities for Increasing Forest and Fire Management Capacity in California. Watershed Research and Training Center RFFC Statewide Capacity Assessment.
- Odefey, J and V Russell. 2020. Because it’s worth it: new approaches for delivering sustainable water infrastructure to disadvantaged California cities.