2 Nuts and Bolts REGIONAL PARTNERSHIPS  Regional Partnerships in Cincinnati Coordinate American Job Centers, local Partners for a Competitive Workforce is a tri-state employers, education and training partnership in the Cincinnati region managed by providers, economic development United Way. The partnership involves 150+ agencies, and other public and private organizations, including employers, workforce entities to make the most of limited boards, chambers, education and training resources. In addition to working with institutions, and community groups and is one of employers, job-driven training over 40 National Fund for Workforce Solutions sites programs should work with a variety of supported by a group of leading foundations across partners including Workforce the country. Investment Boards and the American The partnership is developing sectoral partnerships Job Centers they oversee, higher in health care, advanced manufacturing, education institutions, labor construction, and IT, seeking to identify industry organizations, philanthropic skill needs and develop aligned curricula and career organizations, state and local human pathways that meet those needs. The partnership service agencies, vocational has benefited workers, training over 7,800 rehabilitation agencies, Medicaid individuals, with 80percent obtaining employment agencies, centers for independent and 73percent retained for 12 months. The partnership has also delivered results for living, supported employment employers, serving over 750 businesses, reducing providers, community- and faith-based turnover and recruitment costs, and leveraging over organizations, and other non-profit $40 million in public and private funds. A 2011 organizations. These partners can quasi-experimental impact study of the provide a network of employment, effectiveness of the health care, manufacturing, training, and related services that help and construction programs by IMPAQ found that all individuals overcome barriers to three were effective in assisting unemployed becoming and staying employed and participants to obtain employment in the 12-month follow-up period, and that the health care program serve many vulnerable populations that in particular was effective in promoting participant should be incorporated into job-driven employment in its focus industry. training programs. Federal agencies plan to implement these seven job-driven characteristics into all of their training and employment programs to the maximum extent possible. Their strategies for doing this will vary depending on the structure of the programs. Competitive grants. The federal government funds many competitive grant programs in which it has discretion over the design requirements and assessment criteria for grant awards. For programs like these, agencies will incorporate the job-driven components into both the design and the assessment processes for awarding competitive grants. Formula grants. The federal government also funds “formula” grant programs, which distribute funds to state and local entities based on established non-competitive criteria like the population, the unemployment rate, or other economic conditions. State and local entities have more control over how these programs operate. Federal agencies can also influence the extent to which formula programs incorporate the job-driven elements and the 32