2007 Minnesota Statutes

116L.16 DISTANCE-WORK GRANTS.
The Job Skills Partnership Board may make grants-in-aid for distance-work projects. The
purpose of the grants is to promote distance-work projects involving technology in rural areas and
may include a consortium of organizations partnering in the development of rural technology
industry. Grants may be used to identify and train rural workers in technology, act as a catalyst
to bring together employers and rural employees to perform distance work, and provide rural
workers with physical connections to telecommunications infrastructure, where necessary, in
order to be self-employed or employed from their homes or satellite offices. Grants must be made
according to sections 116L.02 and 116L.04, except that:
(1) the business match may include, but is not limited to, office space; additional management
or technology staff costs; start-up equipment costs such as telecommunications infrastructure,
additional software, or computer upgrades; consulting fees for implementation of distance-work
policies or identification and skill assessment of potential employees; and the joint financial
contribution of two or more businesses acting as a consortium;
(2) cash or in-kind contributions by partnering organizations may be used as a match;
(3) eligible grantees may be educational or nonprofit educational training organizations;
(4) grants-in-aid may be packaged with loans under section 116L.06, subdivision 6; and
(5) with respect to grants serving as a catalyst to bring together employers and rural
employees to perform distance work, the match must be at least one-to-two.
The board shall, to the extent there are sufficient applications, make grant awards to as
many parts of the state as possible. Subject to the requirement for geographic distribution of
grants, preference shall be given to grant applications that provide the most cost-effective training
proposals, that provide the best prospects for high-paying jobs with high retention rates, or that
are from more economically distressed rural areas or communities.
Grantees must meet reporting and evaluation requirements established by the board.
History: 2000 c 488 art 2 s 7; 1Sp2001 c 4 art 2 s 6