Trainings & Events

On March 11, 2021, President Joseph R. Biden signed the American Rescue Plan into law. This historic legislation was designed to enable all Americans to respond to and recover from the impacts of COVID-19.

Under the American Rescue Plan, EDA was allocated $3 billion in supplemental funding to assist communities nationwide in their efforts to build back better by accelerating the economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic and building local economies that will be resilient to future economic shocks.

American Rescue Plan funding enables EDA to provide larger, more transformational investments across the nation while utilizing its greatest strengths, including flexible funding to support community-led economic development.

With an emphasis on equity, EDA investments made under the American Rescue Plan will directly benefit previously underserved communities impacted by COVID-19. Attend this webinar to learn more about the American Rescue Plan and what it means for your community!
 

Building back better means investing in projects that will promote equity and develop local economies that will be resilient to future economic shocks and climate change.

Through the Statewide Planning, Research & Networks program, EDA is supporting states in planning efforts by allocating $59 million for Statewide Planning Grants.

In addition, the program will allocate $31 million for Research and Networks Grants to invest in research that assesses the effectiveness of EDA’s programs, and provides support for stakeholder communities around key EDA initiatives.
 

EDA’s American Rescue Plan Economic Adjustment Assistance program makes $500 million in Economic Adjustment Assistance grants available to American communities.

The Economic Adjustment Assistance program is EDA’s most flexible program, and grants made under this program will help hundreds of communities across the nation plan, build, innovate, and put people back to work through construction or non-construction projects designed to meet local needs.

A wide range of technical, planning, workforce development, entrepreneurship, and public works and infrastructure projects are eligible for funding under this program.

As part of the $300 million Coal Communities Commitment, EDA will allocate at least $200 million of the Economic Adjustment Assistance funding to support coal communities. Attend this webinar to learn more about the American Rescue Plan and what it means for your community!
 

Through the Indigenous Communities program, EDA is allocating $100 million in American Rescue Plan funding specifically for Indigenous communities, which were disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.

This program is designed to support the needs of Tribal Governments and Indigenous communities. EDA will support these important partners to develop and execute economic development projects that they need to recover from the pandemic and build economies for the future.

A wide range of technical, planning, workforce development, entrepreneurship, and public works and infrastructure projects are eligible for funding under this program.

Indigenous communities are also eligible and encouraged to apply under all of EDA’s other programs.
 

This Summit on “Census Bureau Data for Migrant Workers” is a FREE Virtual Webinar which will provide guidance on the utilization of resources on the census.gov as it pertains to migrant workers and those that serve these communities. Featured will be ACS data, Population Estimates data, Small Area Health Insurance Estimates (SAHIE) and Small Area Poverty Estimates (SAPIE).
 

NW Conservation District, CT USDA NRCS, CT Resource Conservation & Development, and Berkshire Agricultural ventures have partnered together to help farms realize a fuller potential for cover crops. After the discussion on Aug 11th, farms located in the NW Conservation District region (nwcd.org) will be eligible to sign up for A free soil health test, and free cover crop seed by participating in the cover crop challenge. There will be a Limited Number of Spots Available to participate.

Whether you are new to cover crops or experienced, if you are interested in getting more from your cover crops and participating in the challenge, join experts for an interactive conversation about the benefits of growing cover crops to their full potential for increased soil health, nutrient cycling, weed management, soil biology, and soil moisture. Learn More during the online discussion about the free cover crop seed giveaway and challenge.
 

EDA’s American Rescue Plan Good Jobs Challenge aims to get Americans back to work by building and strengthening systems and partnerships that bring together employers who have hiring needs with other key entities to train workers with in-demand skills that lead to good-paying jobs.

Through the Good Jobs Challenge, EDA is allocating $500 million to collaborative skills training systems and programs. EDA encourages efforts to reach historically underserved populations and areas, communities of color, women, and other groups facing labor market barriers such as persons with disabilities, disconnected youth, individuals in recovery, individuals with past criminal records, including justice impacted and reentry participants, serving trainees participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Women, Infants and Children (WIC), and veterans and military spouses.

These systems and partnerships will create and implement industry-led training programs, designed to provide skills for and connect unemployed or underemployed workers to existing and emerging job opportunities. Ultimately, these systems are designed to train workers with the skills to secure a union job or a quality job that provides good pay, benefits, and growth opportunities.
 

Accurate statistics about 2020 will rely on much more than the decennial census data collection. Developing reliable data will require an understanding of challenges resulting from the pandemic, combined with greater use of non-traditional sources like administrative records. The solutions to these problems will impact how data is gathered going forward for a variety of purposes: education, housing, economic development, public health, and more.

Register today for this series of town hall events and trainings. During this workshop series you will learn more about the quality of the data that state and local leaders rely on and how you can improve and supplement it.
 

New York Sea Grant, Connecticut Sea Grant, and the Long Island Sound Study National Estuary Program are excited to be showcasing their latest tool for educators: the Long Island Sound Habitat Tour StoryMap. The StoryMap, based on Next Generation Science Standards, includes videos from local researchers and experts, pictures and footage from the field, and information highlighting some of the work done in habitats around the Long Island Sound estuary.

This webinar will include a walkthrough of the StoryMap with NYSG and CTSG, a Q&A panel with expert Long Island Sound researchers and resource managers, and a break-out discussion session among attending educators to explore the tool together and exchange ideas about how to incorporate it in the classroom.

This educator webinar is suitable for anyone interested in learning about LIS habitats and this new educational tool showcasing them for students. Teachers and educators in New York and Connecticut are especially encouraged to join in!
 

Join Sustainable CT for informal discussions the third Friday of each month. We'll share program updates and resources, explore your questions, and strengthen the network of Sustainable CT champions. These sessions are open to all and will be recorded.

Recordings of Previous Coffee Hours

Organizing Your Sustainability Team with the Town of New Milford - January 15th

Equity Coaching and Old Lyme's Approach to Equity - Februrary 19th

All Eyes on Our No-Cost Assistance - March 19th

The Many Flavors of Municipal Collaboration - April 14th

Community Conversations with the Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness - May 21st

Meeting the Fellows and Understanding the Sustainable CT Website - June 18th

Creating Inclusive Community Growing Spaces - July 21st
 

Data Experience Level: Intermediate

Once you learn how to gain insights from data or tell data stories, you may still not be sure how to create clear, compelling charts and graphs electronically to support your story.

By learning the principles of data visualization, and applying them with free data tools we will use in this workshop, you will learn how to create simple, compelling charts that effectively convey insights you gain from data.

During this TWO-PART workshop, you will learn how to begin using Datawrapper and Tableau, and how you can improve your Excel charts.

In Data Visualization you will learn how to:

• Make decisions about color and design to communicate your message.


• Create graphs in Datawrapper and Tableau Public (free tools).


• Make decisions about how much detail to show (or not) depending on your audience.

A note about the fee:

Workshops build skills, clear up confusion, and enhance professional development, but you didn’t need us to tell you that. Studies have found that by charging a small fee, it increases the likelihood that you will attend this workshop and reap the benefits of the training. For this reason, we charge a small fee to help you follow-through on your desire to improve your data skills - which is why you signed up. However, if you are truly unable to pay the fee, please contact Sarah (sarah@ctdata.org) to attend this training free of charge.

A reminder of the schedule:

• Part 1, September 9, 10-11am.


• Part 2, September 16, 10am-12pm.