Community Engagement Initiative

Comparing Two CPB Initiatives with Local Engagement Goals:
Community Engagement Initiative (CEI) and Local Services Initiative (LSI)

Both the Local Service Initiative and the Community Engagement Initiative seek to deepen public broadcasting's engagement with their local communities, and both are highly competitive programs, but there are important differences between the two programs.

The Community Engagement Initiative and Local Service Initiative are two distinct programs. Stations may apply to either program or to both, depending on their needs. Applying to one program will have no impact on applications to the other.

The Community Engagement Initiative

The Community Engagement Initiative will help public broadcasting stations realize their unique potential as local community organizations capable of spanning boundaries to connect and convene people around an issue of public concern, to build community, and to provide citizens with pathways back into public life. The dozen stations selected will spend a year working closely with Richard Harwood, a nationally recognized expert in this field.

The Local Service Initiative

The Local Service Initiative builds on the work already underway in the public television community through the Affinity Group Coalition's strategic planning effort. It is designed to provide seed money to develop new or significantly enhanced public service initiatives aligned with a station's strategic plan. The result should be a sustainable initiative with measurable impact that increases the public awareness of the grantees' local service.

Comparing the Two Initiatives

	Local Service Initiative	Community Engagement Initiative
Who may apply	CPB-funded public television stations.	CPB-funded public television and radio stations.
Deadline for application	March 15 - There will be additional rounds of funding in 2007 and in coming years.	March 12 - No additional funding rounds are anticipated.
Grant value	Up to $200,000 per station; grant must be matched 100%.	$20,000 per station plus travel expenses.
Number of grants available	Unspecified – will be based on size and number of proposals.	Up to 12.
Grant term	All grant funds must be spent within three years of the award.	21 months, beginning in April 2007.
Partnership requirements	Collaboration with partners is strongly encouraged.	Although there are no specific partnerships required to enter the program, participants must be prepared to work with other organizations and to forge new relationships.
Additional requirements	Project must be entirely new or demonstrate a significant increase in investment and impact. Multiple grantees can apply together for a single grant.	Project must be based on an existing project that is already underway. Two station personnel, preferably including the general manger, must participate in all project activities.
Metrics and measurement	Projects must address a measurable need (revenue, station awareness, audience, etc.) and should propose metrics to measure such elements. About 5 percent of the budget should be dedicated to evaluation.	The Harwood Institute will work with grantees to develop, evaluate and refine "local significant metrics" during the course of the project. These metrics will become a tool for long-term evaluation of these and other projects.