What is the Workplace Innovation Grant?
The Workplace Innovation Grant Program is a collaboration between the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) and the Department of Workforce Development (DWD). The program provides up to $10 million grants to regional organizations to design and implement innovative plans that help solve the workforce challenges the COVID-19 pandemic has caused in their regions.
This program encourages the development of leading-edge, long-term solutions that enable businesses to more easily find workers and empower those workers to more successfully prepare for and connect to the family-supporting careers in their regions. The goal of the Workforce Innovation Grant Program is to help the regions of Wisconsin solve their most pressing workforce challenges by financially supporting collaborative, sustainable and innovative pandemic-recovery plans developed by regional organizations.
The fund can contribute up to £5,000 towards activities that will allow your business to introduce new and innovative workplace practices. It will support projects centred on at least two out of the three following themes:
People
To support motivating staff beyond pay. For example, recognising the benefits of diversity, reward and supporting learning and development.
Place
Supports:
- Improving or maintaining a positive workplace culture
- Creatively using physical space to improve how employees work together
- Creating time to innovate
- Training associated with integrating technology which enables employees to share knowledge
Practice
Supports work practices to become fair, responsible and improve productivity. For example, flexible working practices, creating self managed teams and a culture of leadership and coaching.
Types of training that are eligible for funding include:
- information technology training
- technical training
- workflow systems and processes training
- other training that will benefit your business or organization and that isn’t typically eligible for funding through other government programs