Block Grant Program Judges Needed

SCOPE OF WORK
Grant Competition Judges
Arkansas Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program for Small Cities and Counties

During this assignment you will serve as a judge for Arkansas Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) Program for Small Cities and Counties.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 provided the State of Arkansas with funding to spur substantial, sustainable and measurable energy savings, job creation/retention and economic activity in small cities and counties throughout Arkansas. The Arkansas EECBG Program for Small Cities and Counties will assist local governments in implementing strategies to reduce fossil fuel emissions, reduce total energy use, improve energy efficiency and deploy market-ready renewable energy technologies. Small cities and counties throughout Arkansas will be awarded funding on a competitive grant basis. This is a program of the Arkansas Energy Office and is being administered Winrock International.

The EECBG Program’s goals are to assist eligible cities and counties in creating and implementing strategies to:

• Reduce fossil fuel emissions;
• Reduce the total energy use of the eligible entities;
• Improve energy efficiency in the building, transportation, and other appropriate sectors; and
• Create and retain jobs

Eligible applicants for the program will submit applications for funding, which will be judged by a team of reviewers. Grants will be awarded in the range of $5,000 to $750,000 for building energy audits; financial incentive programs; building energy efficiency retrofits; development of building codes and inspection services; replacement of street lighting; and installation of renewable energy systems. A full description of the program can be found in the Request for Applications document at .

Tasks:

1. Participate in a judge’s orientation session via Internet meeting on May 4 or 5, 2010, from 10:00 – 11:00 am Central (Two sessions will be held. You will only need to attend one.)
2. Review and score up to 20 grant applications and provide written comments. You will be provided with guidelines and a scoring sheet for your review. You will receive your applications (in hard copy) to review on or prior to May 10, 2010, and your scores need to be submitted by noon on May 19, 2010.
3. Be available for a maximum of one hour for consultation by appointment at your convenience on May 20^th or May 21^st. This session may not be necessary, but we would like to reserve the right to call for consultation in case we have questions or need clarification when making the final rankings and funding recommendations.

Deliverables:

1. Numerical scores for up to 20 applications
2. Brief written feedback for applicants on each application
3. Funding recommendation (yes/no) for each application reviewed

Payment:

An honorarium of US $750 will be paid to each reviewer upon completion of the tasks above.

To Apply:

If you are interested in applying to serve as a judge for this competition, please submit a letter detailing your interest, experience and expertise in building energy efficiency accompanied by a resume and any other associated documentation (for example, certification documents) by 5:00 pm on April 23, 2010 to kmcspadden@winrock.org.

We are seeking judges with demonstrated experience and expertise in building energy efficiency who neither live in Arkansas nor conduct business with local governments in Arkansas.

Those judges selected will be notified on or before Thursday, April 29^th.