Opportunity Information: Apply for FOA ETA 21 05
The Workforce Data Quality Initiative (WDQI) Round 8 is a U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (ETA) discretionary grant program designed to help states build, expand, and strengthen workforce longitudinal administrative databases. The central idea is to support states in collecting and analyzing linked, individual-level data over time so they can better understand how education and training translate into real employment outcomes. By following people from schooling and training into the labor market and tracking outcomes like job placement, industry alignment, and wage progression, states can evaluate what is working, identify gaps, and improve how workforce and education services are delivered. The program is meant to turn administrative records into practical evidence for decision-making, while staying consistent with federal and state privacy and confidentiality requirements.
A major focus of WDQI Round 8 is developing or improving a State Workforce Longitudinal Administrative Database. Funds can be used to build a new database from the ground up or to enhance an existing one by adding new data sources, improving matching across programs, and strengthening the ability to follow individuals across time. The goal is to make it possible to connect a person’s participation in workforce training programs with later employment and earnings outcomes, allowing states to see whether training leads to work in related fields and whether workers experience long-term earnings gains.
Another core requirement is connecting workforce data with education data contained in a Statewide Longitudinal Data System (SLDS). WDQI emphasizes linking data across the education-to-workforce pipeline, ideally creating a longitudinal view that spans pre-kindergarten through K-12, postsecondary education, and workforce training into employment. When workforce and education data are connected, states can analyze how different combinations of education credentials, training services, and career pathways affect outcomes. This helps leaders determine how to maximize the impact of education and training investments and how to improve program effectiveness across agencies.
WDQI Round 8 also targets improving the overall quality, completeness, and relevance of workforce longitudinal data. That means encouraging better data collection and governance practices, streamlining and standardizing processes, and ensuring the resulting data are accurate and usable for analysis. Stronger data quality supports more reliable evaluation of workforce programs and helps states produce trustworthy insights for policymakers, program administrators, and the public.
A key expected use of these longitudinal databases is performance evaluation of federally and state-supported education and job training programs. The grant is built around evidence-based management: using linked administrative data to assess outcomes, spot trends, and make adjustments that improve results for job seekers and employers. This includes analyzing outcomes such as training completion, employment rates, wage changes, and longer-term career progression, with the broader purpose of improving strategic planning and accountability.
WDQI Round 8 also supports making data more accessible and useful to end users, especially through user-friendly tools like state-customized scorecards. These scorecards are intended to help job seekers and students compare training providers and programs of study, using outcome measures such as completion, employment, and wage information. When made publicly searchable by provider and program, these tools can also serve policymakers, researchers, and education leaders by showing which programs lead to strong labor market outcomes and which may need improvement.
Finally, the program encourages states to integrate performance, fiscal, and/or case-management systems with the longitudinal administrative database. Integration across systems is framed as an important step toward more modern, connected state data environments, aligned with the broader vision of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). ETA highlights that these enhancements can enable practical information-sharing tools such as dashboards, interactive scorecards, and even mobile applications that different users (case managers, performance staff, fiscal teams, and others) can use for their specific operational needs. The broader promise is that better linkages across wage records, longitudinal systems, and cross-agency data can significantly improve workforce data quality and strengthen how states manage and evaluate workforce services.
Administratively, this opportunity was issued as FOA ETA-21-05 under CFDA 17.261 (Employment, Labor and Training). It is a grant funding instrument with an award ceiling of $2.9 million, with an expected 7 awards. The announcement was created March 22, 2021, and the application deadline was April 26, 2021 (by 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time). Eligibility is listed as “Others,” with clarification provided in the full announcement text, and the program is intended for eligible State Workforce Agencies (SWAs) to carry out one or a combination of the WDQI objectives described above.Apply for FOA ETA 21 05
- The Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration in the employment, labor and training sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Workforce Data Quality Initiative – WDQI Round 8" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 17.261.
- This funding opportunity was created on Mar 22, 2021.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Apr 26, 2021 The closing date for receipt of applications under this announcement is April 26, 2021. Applications must be received no later than 40000 p.m. Eastern Time.. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $2,900,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 7 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).
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| Registered Apprenticeship Technical Assistance Centers of Excellence Apply for FOA ETA 21 06 Funding Number: FOA ETA 21 06 Agency: Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration Category: Employment, Labor and Training Funding Amount: $13,000,000 |
| Work Opportunity Tax Credit Funding Allotments for Fiscal Year 2021 Apply for ETA WOTC TEGL 06 20 21 C1 Funding Number: ETA WOTC TEGL 06 20 21 C1 Agency: Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration Category: Employment, Labor and Training Funding Amount: $2,016,774 |
| Workforce Opportunity for Rural Communities (WORC) Apply for FOA ETA 21 08 Funding Number: FOA ETA 21 08 Agency: Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration Category: Employment, Labor and Training Funding Amount: $1,500,000 |
| Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations (WANTO) Technical Assistance Grant Program Apply for FOA WB 21 01 Funding Number: FOA WB 21 01 Agency: Department of Labor, Womens Bureau Category: Employment, Labor and Training Funding Amount: $750,000 |
| Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Adult Activities Program Allotments for Program Year (PY) 2021 Apply for ETA TEGL 19 20 ADULT Funding Number: ETA TEGL 19 20 ADULT Agency: Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration Category: Employment, Labor and Training Funding Amount: $120,643,129 |
| Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Dislocated Worker Program Allotments for Program Year (PY) 2021 Apply for ETA TEGL 19 20 DW Funding Number: ETA TEGL 19 20 DW Agency: Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration Category: Employment, Labor and Training Funding Amount: $149,720,408 |
| Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Workforce Information Grants Allotments for Program Year (PY) 2021 Apply for ETA TEGL 19 20 WIG Funding Number: ETA TEGL 19 20 WIG Agency: Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration Category: Employment, Labor and Training Funding Amount: $2,481,342 |
| Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Employment Service (ES) Allotments for Program Year (PY) 2021 Apply for ETA TEGL 19 20 ES Funding Number: ETA TEGL 19 20 ES Agency: Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration Category: Employment, Labor and Training Funding Amount: $79,341,643 |
| Program Year (PY) 2021 Planning Instructions and Allotments for Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) State, Territorial, and National Grantees Apply for ETA TEGL 20 20 Funding Number: ETA TEGL 20 20 Agency: Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration Category: Employment, Labor and Training Funding Amount: $47,186,793 |
| FY 2021 Foreign Labor Certification Grant Planning Guidance Apply for ETA FLC TEGL 21 20 FY21 Funding Number: ETA FLC TEGL 21 20 FY21 Agency: Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration Category: Employment, Labor and Training Funding Amount: $1,923,695 |
| Program Year (PY) 2021 Funding Allotments and Instructions for the Indian and Native American (INA) Programs Apply for PY21 NA SEC166 FUNDING Funding Number: PY21 NA SEC166 FUNDING Agency: Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration Category: Employment, Labor and Training Funding Amount: $6,205,922 |
| The National Farmworker Jobs Program (NFJP) Career Services and Training Grants Reopening for Maine Apply for FOA ETA 20 08 B Funding Number: FOA ETA 20 08 B Agency: Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration Category: Employment, Labor and Training Funding Amount: $109,629 |
| Program Year 2021 National Farmworker Jobs Program: Career Services and Training Grantees and National Farmworker Jobs Program: Housing Grantees Apply for ETA TEGL 23 20 Funding Number: ETA TEGL 23 20 Agency: Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration Category: Employment, Labor and Training Funding Amount: $8,301,291 |
| Targeted Topic Training Apply for SHTG FY 21 01 Funding Number: SHTG FY 21 01 Agency: Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration Category: Employment, Labor and Training Funding Amount: $160,000 |
| Training and Educational Materials Development Apply for SHTG FY 21 02 Funding Number: SHTG FY 21 02 Agency: Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration Category: Employment, Labor and Training Funding Amount: $75,000 |
| Capacity Building Developmental & Capacity Building Pilot Apply for SHTG FY 21 03 Funding Number: SHTG FY 21 03 Agency: Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration Category: Employment, Labor and Training Funding Amount: $180,000 |
| Workplace Safety and Health Training on Infectious Diseases, Including COVID-19 Apply for SHTG FY 21 05 Funding Number: SHTG FY 21 05 Agency: Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration Category: Employment, Labor and Training Funding Amount: $200,000 |
| CAREER (Comprehensive and Accessible Reemployment through Equitable Employment Recovery) National Dislocated Worker Grants Apply for ETA TEGL 25 20 Funding Number: ETA TEGL 25 20 Agency: Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration Category: Employment, Labor and Training Funding Amount: $3,000,000 |
| Child Labor in Botswana Apply for GABPE ARDF FY20 01 Funding Number: GABPE ARDF FY20 01 Agency: Department of State, U.S. Mission to Botswana Category: Employment, Labor and Training Funding Amount: $300,000 |
| Strengthening Conciliation to Enhance Resolution of Labor Disputes in Mexico Apply for FOA ILAB 21 09 Funding Number: FOA ILAB 21 09 Agency: Department of Labor, Bureau of International Labor Affairs Category: Employment, Labor and Training Funding Amount: $10,000,000 |
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