Community Compass Technical Assistance and Capacity Building
Program Funding
Annual program obligations reported to SAM.gov.
Program Objective
Community Compass brings together technical assistance funding appropriations from across HUD program offices, including the offices of Community Planning and Development, Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, Housing, Public and Indian Housing, and Policy Development and Research. This cross-funding approach recognizes that HUD’s grantees, subgrantees, and other customers often interact with a variety of HUD programs as they deliver housing or community development services. Community Compass allows for holistic technical assistance to address the program and policy implementation deficiencies and skill gaps of grantees and subgrantees across multiple HUD programs, often within the same engagement.
Eligibility
Eligible Applicants
- U.S. State Government
- County Government
- Municipality/Township Government
- Other Special District Government
- Other
- Tribally Designated Housing Authority
- Public Housing Authority
- Nonprofit Organization
- Not-for-Profit Organization
- U.S. Territory Government
Award recipients tasked to provide technical assistance to PHAs must have at least one staff, subcontractor, or consultant that has at least five years of demonstrated Public Housing programs experience, including agency operations, voucher programs, property management operations, and capital investment programs including capital improvements and various methods of housing development. In addition, award recipients tasked to provide technical assistance to PHAs must have at least one staff, subcontractor, or consultant that has at least two years of demonstrated finance and underwriting experience related to RAD conversions.
Funds may only be used to assist organizations to improve their ability to manage HUD funds. Funds may not be used to assist individuals or families.
How to Apply
Award Procedure
In determining the amount awarded to a successful applicant, HUD will take into consideration the amount of funds available, the final score assigned to the application by HUD reviewers, and HUD's overall technical assistance needs, including establishing a range of subject matter expertise and geographic coverage, as well as an applicant’s capacity to serve HUD's grantees, subgrantees, and other customers across multiple programs or topics. For prior award recipient, HUD may consider information from a Contracting Officer, GTR, GTM, POTAC, and/or other HUD staff, as appropriate, on past performance, as well as award balances not committed to TA tasks or work plans. These considerations may reduce an applicant's award. There may be insufficient funds available to make an award to every application scoring within the fundable range.
HUD will send written notifications to both successful and unsuccessful applicants. A notification sent to a successful applicant is not an authorization to begin performance. Upon notification that an applicant has been selected for award, HUD will request additional information to be submitted or may work with the applicant to amend information that was already submitted as part of the application.
Program details & compliance
Description
This Assistance Listing includes three HUD initiatives: Community Compass, Distressed Cities, and Thriving Communities. This listing includes ranges that account for all three initiatives.
Community Compass is HUD’s consolidated technical assistance (TA) and capacity building initiative. Community Compass provides funding to non-Federal organizations that provide the expected cross-program technical assistance and capacity building to HUD’s grantees, subgrantees, and other customers.
Distressed Cities provides TA to units of general local government (UGLGs) and their non-profit partners serving relatively small communities (populations under 50,000 people) experiencing long-term economic hardship.
Thriving Communities will provide funding to technical assistance providers and capacity building teams to help jurisdictions ensure housing needs are considered as part of their larger infrastructure investment plan while supporting equitable development and local economic ecosystems.
Please see specific opportunities for further detail.
Mission Categories
Primary: Construction, Renewal and Operations
Other categories:
Economic DevelopmentHistorical PreservationRural Community DevelopmentAmerican Indian or Alaskan Native Reservation
Use of Funds
Allowed Uses
All successful applicants must operate within the structure of the ‘demand-response system’. Under the demand-response system, HUD identifies technical assistance and capacity building needs and prioritizes them based on Departmental, programmatic and jurisdictional priorities. HUD is solely responsible for determining the entities to be assisted, the location, and the nature of the assistance to be provided.
Successful applicants may be funded to conduct the following eligible activities: Needs Assessment; Direct TA and Capacity Building Engagements; Tools and Products; Self-Directed and Group Learning; Knowledge Management; Data Analysis, Reporting, and Performance Measurement; and NAHASDA Allocation Formula Administration and Negotiated Rulemaking and Consultation. These activities are further described in the Program Notice of Funding Availability.
Restrictions
All use of award funds are subject to restrictions imposed by 2 CFR Part 200 and requirements in the program-specific NOFO.
Required Documentation
Applicants that propose to provide HOME TA to HOME participating jurisdictions (PJs) or HOME community housing development organizations (CHDOs) must have a minimum of two technical assistance and capacity building staff on their team who have passed, with a score of 80 or higher, the Certified HOME Program Specialist – Regulations training exam (“HOME Program certified”). This must include at least one in-house staff person for the applicant, or the lead applicant in the case of a joint application, who is HOME Program certified. All TA providers proposing to deliver TA to HOME PJs or CHDOs must be able to document the staff certifications claimed in their application. In addition to the in-house staff, applicants may include HOME Program certified individuals as subcontractors, consultants or contract with other entities that have HOME certified staff, such as local TA providers that may already be operating under previous or existing CD-TA cooperative agreements.
Matching Requirements
Distressed Cities TA requires cost sharing or matching as described below, this requirement does not apply to Community Compass TA or Thriving Communities TA.
Leveraging at least 5% of the total requested amount is a requirement for this NOFO. Leveraging beyond this 5% up to 10% will improve an applicant’s score. See sections I.A.1.b and V.A.1 of this NOFO.
Generally, Federal sources are not allowed to be used as cost share, match, or leverage unless otherwise permitted by a program's authorizing statute (for example, HUD's Community Development Block Grants program).
Reporting & Compliance
Applicable 2 CFR 200 Subparts
- Subpart B — General Provisions
- Subpart C — Pre-Federal Award Requirements
- Subpart D — Post-Federal Award Requirements
- Subpart E — Cost Principles
- Subpart F — Audit Requirements