Adult Education Innovation

All interested applicants will have the opportunity to participate in the Design Lab. The interest form serves as a method to gather information from attendees required to deliver customized support through the Design Lab.

To complete the Adult Education Innovation Design Lab process, and subsequently develop a proposal to be considered by LEO-WD for a 107a grant, each applicant will work with the technical experts provided by TalentFirst to complete the following elements during the 2-month planning process:

1. A needs assessment detailing: (1) the size of the adult learner population that would benefit from improved enrollment/completion rates, (2) an analysis of completion rates based on demographics, and (3) barriers experienced by learners at the organization with an emphasis on barriers faced by those demographics that are lagging other groups for completion.
2. An asset map detailing which local resources are available to enhance the proposed project, as well as which organizations will serve as key project partners, including employers, nonprofits, other providers, local workforce boards, etc.
3. A description of the process or work plan the organization intends to pursue to evaluate and improve its current delivery mechanism to achieve higher enrollment and completion rates, including a plan to mitigate risk and a path to eventual scaling of innovations.
4. Clear numerical goals and timelines to increase enrollment and completion rates against the provider’s current rate, both overall and demographically.
5. A clear and realistic sustainability plan.

The goals are broken down into two categories. The first for the Design Lab itself, and the second for Design Lab attendees. 

Design Lab Goals

• Provide resources and technical support to prospective applicants to maximize the number of high-quality, competitive proposals that will result in a sustainable and scalable innovation to improve enrollment in, and completion of, adult education programs;
• Prepare applicants to apply for 107a funding to execute their proposal; and
• Create a learning network to foster greater collaboration, partnerships, and a formal mechanism to facilitate knowledge-sharing and collective problem-solving.

Attendee Goals

• Develop and articulate an innovative proposal to improve enrollment in, and completion of, adult basic education programs based on research and best practices;
• Prepare proposal to be packaged in a manner that will set up the applicant for success in obtaining resources to implement the proposed innovation (including a project budget, timeline, goals, key performance indicators, and plans for sustainability and risk mitigation);
• Develop relationships that will lead to collaboration between providers and other stakeholders to enact system changes resulting in better outcomes for adult learners.

Attendees should expect the following commitments as part of this process: 

Approximately 28 hours of staff time throughout the 3-month process, allocated as follows:

• 24 hours for Design Lab distributed across (4) 6-hour workshops, scheduled to occur from December 2024 to February 2025,
• 4 hours for individualized (virtual) coaching between Design Lab workshops with technical experts, TalentFirst, and other stakeholders in 1-hour increments, and
• A few hours each week for independent proposal development using the concepts and insights shared during Design Lab workshops and coaching.

Virtual meetings to engage in planning.

Attendees are encouraged to dedicate at least one hour per week to continue to develop and refine their proposals independently, using the concepts and insights shared during Design Lab workshops and coaching.

Attendees will be expected to share design concepts, challenges, and solutions to overcome with TalentFirst and technical experts, and will be asked to share high-level ideas and challenges during Design Lab workshops (detailed proposals will not be shared with other applicants to prevent concerns with competitive grant applications).

Each Design Lab workshop will feature a different theme and focus on different elements of the Section 107a application. Attendees are not required to attend all four workshops, but it is highly recommended. Each workshop be hosted virtually.

The Design Lab schedule is outlined below. 

• Workshop 1: January 15, 9 AM – 3 PM
• Workshop 2: February 6, 9 AM – 3 PM
• Workshop 3: February 26, 9 AM – 3 PM
• Workshop 4: March 18, 9 AM – 3 PM

This program is designed to assist eligible adult education providers, community colleges, and organizations with experience serving adult learners with the capacity and expertise to design innovative proposals that will boost enrollment and completion rates of adult basic education programs. It does not provide any funding directly to the provider, nor directly fund the implementation of any proposed system changes. The Design Lab is not intended to replace staff and leadership engagement in planning, but is meant to supplement and enhance existing resources to plan and develop an innovative proposal within the parameters of the Section 107a RFP administered by LEO-WD.