The Employment Social Enterprise (ESE) Technical Assistance (TA) Program

The Employment Social Enterprise (ESE) Technical Assistance (TA) Program for Program Year 2024-25 is administered by the California Employment Development Department (EDD) in partnership with the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency. Funded through a $1 million allocation from the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Governor’s Discretionary Fund, this program aims to provide tailored technical support to entities implementing social enterprise employment programs serving individuals facing significant employment barriers across California. The purpose of the ESE TA grant is to support program awardees in developing and improving Employment Social Enterprise projects that provide supported employment opportunities to populations such as justice-involved individuals, disconnected youth, older workers, veterans, long-term unemployed, English language learners, and people with disabilities. The selected TA provider will work closely with grantees to enhance service delivery through activities such as organizational development, workforce partnership building, program evaluation, and sharing of best practices to inform real-time improvements. Funding will support activities over an 18 to 24-month period, concluding no later than March 31, 2027. Allowable expenses include costs related to training, consultation, data collection, evaluation, reporting, and convenings. Administrative costs are capped at 10%. Proposals must demonstrate a comprehensive technical assistance strategy, capacity to support statewide grantees, and a learning-oriented framework involving the use of data for continuous improvement. Applicants are encouraged to partner with evaluation experts and community-based stakeholders to support sustainability and innovation. Eligible applicants include a broad range of entities with capacity to deliver technical assistance statewide. These include public workforce development agencies, nonprofit and for-profit social benefit corporations, labor organizations, workforce intermediaries, and other organizations aligned with the social enterprise model. Individuals are not eligible. Applicants must demonstrate experience with the target populations and ability to operate within California. The application process includes an informational webinar scheduled for February 11, 2025. While submission of a Notice of Intent is encouraged by February 25, 2025, final proposals must be received via email no later than 3 p.m. PT on March 4, 2025. Required application components include a project narrative, budget forms, a work plan, partner roles, and supporting letters. Only one application will be awarded. Awards are expected to be announced in May 2025 following a competitive review process. The selected TA provider will be responsible for facilitating communities of practice, coordinating virtual and in-person support, providing individualized consultation, and producing a final report with recommendations and evaluation of outcomes.

Ensure file naming conventions match required format. Applications missing any required document or received after the deadline will be disqualified. Partner roles and budget contributions must align exactly across narrative and forms.