CEDAR, INC.

FUTURE of WORK in APPALACHIA - EDUCATION PROGRAM

PROGRAM PROMPT

2024-2025

CEDAR invites you to submit a proposal for the creation, development, and implementation of a Unit of Study about the Future of Work in Appalachia, along with a Grant Request to purchase any materials and/or supplies needed for the Unit’s implementation. Your Unit should be created around one or more of the following SOAR (Shaping Our Appalachian Region) Blueprint Pillars, while exploring with your students its role in helping build sustainability in their community and our region:

1. Broadband - Increase the availability of affordable high-speed broadband, through fiber, to businesses and residents; and increase adoption rates throughout the SOAR region, (54 KY Appalachian counties);

2. 21st Century Workforce - Develop our regional workforce to be competitive in the digital economy and other emerging industries;

3. Entrepreneurship in the digital economy - To create more and expand existing small businesses within the region by taking full advantage of the digital economy;

4. Healthy Communities - To reduce the physical and economic impact of obesity, diabetes, and substance use disorder, as well as any current significant health concerns throughout our region, i.e. COVID-19, et.al.;

5. Industrial Development - Increase the amount of industrial employment which includes manufacturing, natural resources, processing, and distribution by expanding existing companies and attracting new ones;

6. Regional Food Systems - Create a local foods movement by connecting local producers to markets for their products both within and outside the region;

7. Tourism and downtown revitalization - Establish Kentucky’s Appalachian region as a tourism destination;

Additionally, you are encouraged, but not required, to include a component in your Unit that addresses the role that, “Coal”, could possibly play in the Future of Work in Appalachia, relative to emerging or future technologies that could either find a new use for, “Coal”, or advancement in making it an acceptable resource that could regain a significant place in the overall energy strategy of our country. This will take some thinking-out-of-the-box, but should be considered a challenge worthy of the effort. Bonus points will be awarded in the Awards Program, as explained in the Judging Criteria/Scoring Sheet section on page 17.

The approval of your Unit Proposal and Grant Request will be based on the successful completion of the Program Application as outlined in the Program Guidelines, and approved by the CEDAR Study Unit/Grant Committee.