Board discusses 'new and novel' funding vehicle: separate 'new' (local) from 'novel' (system-changing)

Staff presented a proposed design for a 'New and Novel' funding opportunity intended to support either projects that are new to a community (e.g., recovery housing where none exists) or genuinely novel approaches that could change systems (multi-year, milestone-driven projects).

Board members recommended separating the two tracks to match review processes and timeframes: use RFIs and targeted grants for community-specific 'new' projects and a staged, milestone-based challenge or innovation-grant process for the 'novel' track. Chris (attorney with the AG's office) reminded the board the statute limits the board to issuing grants and cautioned that taking equity or issuing debt would require statutory changes and could raise governance issues.

Members discussed logistics — whether to limit applicant pools by funding size, require letters of support, stage challenge grants with initial planning funding, and how to manage applicant volume without overburdening staff. Staff committed to returning with draft application materials, sample RFIs and options to segment the opportunity by funding bands or geographic focus.