Basic Information
The National Center for Environmental Innovation (NCEI) developed the State Innovation Grant Program in 2002 in response to EPA’s Innovation Strategy, Innovating for Better Environmental Results: A Strategy to Guide the Next Generation of Innovation at EPA (EPA 100-R-02-002; http://www.epa.gov/innovation/strategy.htm). The Strategy was developed by the EPA Innovation Action Council (IAC) and the Office of Policy, Economics and Innovation (OPEI). There are four major elements in the innovation framework: 1) strengthen EPA’s innovation partnerships with states and tribes; 2) focus on priority environmental problems; 3) diversify environmental protection tools and approaches; 4) foster a more “innovation-friendly” culture and management systems.
Beginning with the 2002 competition, we set out to help states build on previous experience and undertake strategic innovation projects to promote larger-scale models for “next generation” environmental protection with promise of better environmental results. Our goal was to provide funding to seed projects that had promise to: 1) go beyond a single facility experiment to promote change that is “systems-oriented;” 2) provide better results from a program, process, or sector-wide innovation; 3) and promote integrated (cross-media) environmental management with high potential for transfer to other states.
Additionally, we wanted to use the State Innovation Grant Program to: build more effective collaboration with states to identify areas ripe for innovation; help state agencies identify operating cost efficiencies through innovation; realize cost or time savings for regulated entities; elicit best ideas through a competitive process with states submitting a proposal in response to an EPA solicitation; and build in measurement and evaluation essential to transferability of the innovation.
Under the general theme of "innovation in permitting" we have focused on three strategic topics in these competitions:
- Environmental Results Programs (ERP) link compliance assistance, compliance self-certification and statistically-based auditing and have been used by states to improve compliance and environmental business practices for small business sectors as a more effective alternative to traditional permitting;
- Environmental Management System (EMS) apply a system of continuous process improvement and a mechanism for beyond-compliance performance for facilities and communities and the grant-funded projects explore the relationship between permitting and EMSs with a goal of helping businesses and communities reduce their environmental impacts and increase operating efficiency, and;
- Performance-Based Environmental Leadership Programs provide opportunity for programs that promote beyond-compliance performance through specific incentives. These programs include EPA’s National Environmental Performance Track Program and similar state performance-based environmental leadership programs.