| BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The East-West Gateway Coordinating Council (EWGCC) is pleased to announce the availability extend this opportunity for communities and community-based
organizations to compete for funding under the Community Improvement Challenge Grant Program (CICG). This unique program, one of several under the EWGCC’s Initiative for a Metropolitan Community (IMC), was devised to stimulate innovation and creativity in community-based planning projects. The primary purpose of the CICG program is to
provide financial incentives for communities and their citizens to work in concert to develop and implement innovative and transferable projects with demonstrable community benefits. EWGCC is seeking quality, creative and innovative projects that: - Help communities improve and maintain the quality of the lives of their residents;
- Assist communities in envisioning and achieving their desired futures through focused planning activities;
- Promote collaborative action and enhanced understanding about issues surrounding the economic, social, and physical development of the region.
ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES FOR 2001 CICG PROJECTS While
the range of eligible projects is quite broad, the CICG program seeks to provide “seed funding” to assist communities in undertaking cutting-edge planning activities related to the metropolitan transportation planning process. Applicants may wish to consult with EWGCC staff prior to developing full applications. Examples of the types of projects the CICG program is seeking include: - Comprehensive planning projects which utilize innovative processes or techniques to address community-wide planning issues (e.g., public involvement, quantitative community impact analyses, administrative reorganization or regulatory reform). These type of projects should clearly challenge the notion of “business as usual” in the community planning process.
- Local transportation plans which take a multimodal and interdisciplinary approach to solving local transportation issues are encouraged. Plans which integrate facility analyses with land use and socioeconomic considerations and incorporate new measures of performance (e.g., accessibility) are strongly encouraged.
- Transportation corridor or subarea studies intended to identify solutions to systems-level issues (e.g.,
access management) are eligible.
- Communities seeking to develop and implement neo-traditional and/or transit-oriented plans, standards, or regulations which address transportation accessibility, land use, and trip-making characteristics are encouraged.
- Visioning activities which help communities to identify common issues, concerns, and provide a consensus-based future direction for planning and
development activities are encouraged. Examples include charrettes, community surveys, focus groups, electronic town meetings, etc.
- Special district plans, such as may be necessary to create or support a main street program, town center, scenic byway district, or neighborhood preservation/revitalization strategy, are encouraged. In particular, communities experiencing economic disinvestment are encouraged to apply.
- Educational programs related to transportation, land use, and the environment (e.g., youth education, public information centers, conference speakers, etc.).
DEADLINES - Letter of intent with one page project prospectus or concept are due by Tuesday, February 20, 2001 to the East-West Gateway offices.
- CICG full applications are due by Friday, March 9, 2001 at 5:00 p.m. to the East-West Gateway offices.
PROJECTS AWARDED CICG FUNDS FOR 2001 FOR MORE INFORMATION
 Contact: Steve Nagle or Todd Antoine
Phone: 314-421-4220 or 618-274-2750
Fax: 314-231-6120
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