How to position your agency and drone program to secure funding
Learn strategies for securing funding to kickstart and expand new and existing UAS/drone programs.Hear from Laura Milford, a public sector technology and funding expert with over 30 years’ experience who has assisted many agencies in navigating the complex funding landscape. She’ll walk through how to identify potential funding sources and will share notable funding programs applicable to DOT and Public Safety drone initiatives. This includes highlighting the success of our funding strategy assistance program through the USDOT SMART Grants program with Caltrans and Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities.
You’ll gain insight on how to:
- Navigate the complexities of internal and external funding alignment
- Prepare to apply for various grants applicable to drone technology
- Use Skydio’s no-cost Skydio Funding Advisory Services to assist public sector agencies seeking to fund a new program
Note: Skydio is not providing legal advice nor is it making any representations regarding the viability of any grant application. Any Skydio advice or assistance provided in the grant application process is provided 'as is.’
Learn more about the Skydio grant services team.
- Good afternoon. Welcome to Grants for Department of
- Transportation and Public
- Safety Drone Operations. This session is the first in a
- series of webinars exploring funding mechanisms and strategies to
- kickstart or expand public sector drone programs.
- Our focus today is threefold. Since grants can be the first thing
- that come
- to mind when thinking about how to fund a new technology initiative, we'll
- discuss several notable grant programs for Department of
- Transportation and Public Safety drone operations.
- Next, we'll describe Skydio's new funding
- advisory services.
- This is a no-cost program designed to help agencies identify
- and secure funding for Skydio drone initiatives.
- We can work with you to align your dro- drone program, prepare to
- apply for funding, and create solid funding applications.
- And we'll talk about that program a little bit later in this
- webinar.
- And then finally, we're going to highlight two recent
- customer grant success
- stories whose application processes were a collaboration with
- Skydio's funding advisory services team.
- We have a really varied audience today, so the content is going to resonate
- differently to each of you based on your role.
- Our objective is for all participants to take away some useful
- information to apply to your individual funding considerations.
- Next slide.
- So let's do some introductions. Uh, my name is Lara Milford.
- I am today's primary presenter, and I'm a consultant to
- Skydio, providing the... or in the role of
- a funding strategies advisor. My background in the public
- sector and public safety technology space dates back to the early
- 1990s, so don't even bother doing the math.
- My projects and clients are pretty varied, ranging from
- technology master plans for municipalities and the
- largest state department of motor vehicles to dispatch center
- build-outs and consolidations and 911 network designs.
- Many of these projects I've worked on had a financial feasibility component,
- and that focus evolved me into a real interest in
- funding mechanisms for public sector tech- sector technology
- initiatives.
- I'm going to turn it over now for my partner, Noreen, to do her
- introduction.
- Thanks, Lara, and thanks to all of you for joining us
- today on
- our live talk. My name is Noreen Charlton, and I lead
- public safety marketing here at Skydio.
- I've spent the last several years in the reality capture space
- as it pertains to scene reconstruction and forensic analysis
- with public safety applications.
- And before that, I spent just over a decade with the Las
- Vegas
- Metropolitan Police Department as a crime scene analyst.
- I've noticed a few of you are local to me in the Ohio area, so
- I'm located just west of Cleveland, and if you ever need anything, please
- don't hesitate to reach out.
- Before we get started, as your moderator for today, I wanted
- to cover a few housekeeping items.
- First, the number one question everyone always
- has, yes, this
- session is being recorded, and you will have access to this
- recording through Skydio's Airborne Insights, where you registered
- for the event.
- Secondly, if you have any questions or comments, please feel free
- to drop those in the chat. I will be here to monitor them throughout
- the
- session, and we will have time to go through the
- Q&A at
- the end.
- With that said, I think it's easy to understand how
- drones can fit into a variety of workflows
- across many industries. Figuring out where they
- can be used to make your job more efficient or
- cost-effective or safer isn't difficult.
- However, often the hardest part is figuring out how
- to fund that program. We are extremely
- grateful to have Lara on board, as she is a wealth of
- information regarding available grants and providing assistance
- in obtaining funding. So let's get into it.
- Lara, I'll hand it back to you.
- Thank you.
- This slide is a, a bit of a teaser, um, talking about Skydio's
- no-cost funding advisory services.
- Um, these are the three threads that I'll be talking about kind of
- throughout
- the presentation, and then we'll get into more detail later.
- But those being drone alignment, preparing to apply,
- and creating funding applications.
- So keep these concepts in mind as we work through today's
- presentation, and know that you'll hear more about them
- when we get to the end.
- Before we delve into specific grant programs, I wanna talk about an
- overarching concept that's crucial to the funding equation, and
- that's the concept of alignment. Five elements of drone
- program or ali- alignment are shown here, and I'd like to discuss each of
- them.
- The first element of alignment is champions.
- So we use the term champion to refer to the command staff or
- executive level person whose support will open the
- doors needed for a drone pr- program to begin or to
- persist.
- So how and who is that? A champion might not be
- the chief or agency head, but it's the one who will connect the
- drone subject matter experts to the internal grant resource people
- and to the budget staff.
- The champion will advocate for recognition of the program as a department
- priority against competing initiatives and may advocate on a
- regional stage as well if regional grants are involved.
- The champion will ad-advocate for budget. So let's take a step back here.
- Grants are certainly a viable source of funding for Skydio drone
- initiatives, but it's important to consider the right
- role for
- grants in any budgetary mix. A former administrator of the
- FEMA grants portfolio challenges that a program or
- technology that's mission-critical should not be grant funded.
- And a police chief I spoke to earlier this week told me, "If a technology is
- gonna help my guys and girls work better and safer,
- I'm gonna figure out how to use
- my budget to pay for it." The champion is the person who's going to be
- integral to such decisions.
- Additionally, the cha- the champion will be the person who
- shepherds the project through governing body approvals, and the
- champion will ultimately approve expenditures.
- So one of the first questions Skydio Advisory Services asks
- is if the project champion is identified, because an area of
- alignment in which champions are typically deeply involved is
- agen-agency budgeting.
- So whether funding a drone program internally or with external
- resources such as grants, understanding the agency budget
- and aligning drone program milestones will get and keep the program
- on track. Some important things to understand:
- When does the
- fiscal year begin? When does the budget process begin?
- You know, this may be six to 12 months prior to the
- start of the new fiscal
- year. What is the budget process, and how does the drone
- initiative need to be represented, represented, whether
- with direct funding or seeking grants?
- If grants are being sought that require payment upfront with
- reimbursement
- or a match, can the budget accommodate those sums?
- And finally, are year-end unspent funds anticipated?
- And if so, can those funds be prioritized for a drone
- initiative?
- The next three areas of alignment specifically apply to grant seeking.
- Drone use cases must align to the specific objectives
- and outcomes of the grant funding being sought.
- This sounds obvious, but calls out the importance of clearly
- understanding the
- grant rules or guidance and tailoring program
- descriptions, use cases, and outcome measures to the
- guidance. Your Skydio rep and Skydio Advisory
- Services can collaborate to draw in the functional and technical details that
- are needed to fully address the grant requirements.
- Grant cycle alignment is similar to agency budget alignment and
- is key to timely funding. Each grant program has a unique
- cycle for announcement, submission deadline, award announcement,
- availability of funds, and period of performance.
- Understanding the annual cycles of key grant programs should
- factor into overall project timelines for drone initiatives and
- should also drive collaboration and alignment with internal grant
- resources.
- And finally, each agency needs to align and
- foster positive relationships with state resources, such as
- the state administering agencies to optimize grant funding.
- We'll talk more about SAAs a little bit later.
- So let's move on now
- and talk about federal grant programs for the
- US Department of Transportation and FEMA, or rather
- through those, those overarching organizations.
- I want to talk briefly about how grant programs work, specifically the
- federal grant programs of the US Department of Transportation
- and FEMA, which is an element of the Department of
- Homeland Security.
- This is a very high-level explanation, but a good level set for more detailed
- discussion.
- First, where does the money originate?
- The funding sources we'll highlight today come from two sources:
- annual appropriations and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
- or BIL.
- First, annual appropriations.
- Federal grants are funded by Congress through the annual
- appropriations process. Funding is authorized in one bill
- and appropriated in another. Congress expects funds to be
- expended in the fiscal year for which they were appropriated.
- So if, for example, a grant program has a period of
- performance of three years,
- Congress expects the full amount of the grant award to be spent in the first
- year, not spread over three.
- Second, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which you might also know as
- IIJA, is a $550 billion package of
- new infrastructure investments signed into law last year.
- The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law includes funding for roads and bridges,
- transit and rail, broadband upgrades, improving water and
- power systems, upgrading airports, ports, and waterways,
- environmental remediation, and electric vehicles.
- Grant types may be formula or competitive.
- The majority of federal funds are distributed to states via a
- formula defined by law.
- Each state may determine a different method of distribution, whether its own
- formula based on a population or a competitive process.
- Each state has various state administering agencies, as we mentioned a minute
- ago, that oversee distribution of federal
- funds.
- It's important to know the state administering agency that oversees
- funds pertaining to your organization and to know how the state will
- d-distribute the funds it receives from the federal government.
- SAA designations are listed on the websites of the federal
- agencies whose funds they administer.
- The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law programs we will highlight are competitive rather
- than formula grants. Eligibility is determined by each
- granting organization of the US Department of Transportation, and
- eligible entities apply directly rather than through state administering
- agencies. The BIL programs, as suggested by name,
- offer investments in infrastructure over five years.
- Some of the programs are relatively modest, and others
- are just plain massive.
- We see a fit for drones either as standalone initiatives or as tools
- for project delivery in numerous of those programs.
- Finally, it's important to note that grant programs may offer funding
- through upfront drawdown or may require a recipient to expend its
- own
- funds and submit for reimbursement.
- A non-federal match of either, either money or in-kind products
- and services
- may be required. These requirements are all spelled out in grant
- guidance documents.
- Let's move on.
- So this slide is another kind of level setter. Uh, key terms.
- We show terms that are gonna recur throughout the remainder
- of this webinar
- and are in prominent in grant speak and in grant documents.
- First, FHWA and NHTSA refer spexi-
- specifically or respectively to the Federal Highway
- Adminis- Federal Highway Traffic Safety
- Administration,
- and... Sorry, let's try this again.
- The Federal Highway Administration and the National Highway Traffic Safety
- Administration. Each of, is one of the seven
- organizations comprising USDOT, and we'll talk
- about several relevant grant programs from those organizations a bit
- later.
- We just discussed BIL, which is the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
- The next, SHSO, is State Highway Safety Office.
- Each state has one and is broadly responsible for the state's
- federally funded highway safety program.
- If you aren't already, you can get acquainted with your SHSO by
- reviewing its website.
- NOFOs are Notices of Funding Opportunity.
- These are the means by which the federal government announces
- grant
- opportunities. NOFOs specify the opening,
- closing, award, and period of performance dates of grants,
- note eligibility, describe in detail the information to be
- provided in
- the application, and define evaluation criteria.
- It's important to understand NOFO timing.
- While many programs have a 30, 60, or 90-day application
- period, successful applicants begin developing
- their application
- content well in advance of the date the NOFO was released.
- Skydio's funding advisory services can assist with this process.
- We've touched briefly on State Administering Agencies, or SAAs, and the
- importance of knowing the State Administering Agency that oversees funding
- pertaining to your organization.
- The final three items refer to the component programs of the
- comprehensive FEMA Homeland Security Grant Program that's part of
- the FEMA preparedness grants portfolio.
- We'll discuss the State Homeland Security Program, or
- SHSP, Urban Area Security Initiative, or UASI, and
- Operation Stonegarden, or OPSG, in more detail.
- Now let's talk about some specific grant programs.
- We'll discuss specific USDOT and DHS FEMA
- grants, but first level set with some fundamentals
- about each
- portfolio.
- The USDOT programs we're focused on today are formula-based
- programs flowing from FHWA and NHTSA to
- state highway safety offices and competitive programs funded through
- the
- Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
- The FHWA NHTSA program focuses on traffic
- and highway safety plans, while the competitive BIL funding targets
- infrastructure investments.
- The grants offer program and project-based funding, and all offer
- opportunities to acquire drones to use as technology
- tools to more efficiently execute projects.
- So we call this the first of our bubble slides.
- The three USDOT programs we'll discuss today are represented in the
- visual by the relative value of each program.
- Please note these are only three of many, many grant programs offered
- by USDOT that can be evaluated for a fit for drone
- acquisition and deployment.
- Let's move ahead and discuss the State Highway Safety Grant Program,
- SMART, and the Bridge Investment Program.
- So these are the three notable USDOT programs we'll
- focus on today.
- The first is the State Highway Safety Grant Program, which is jointly
- administered by NHTSA and FHWA at the federal level
- and State Highway Safety offices at the state level.
- Funds can be spent on any of 19 specified program types
- supporting the state highway safety plan.
- Three of the areas that may be supported through drone
- initiatives include
- improving enforcement of traffic safety laws, enhancing
- emergency services, and improving traffic records.
- Typically, each State Highway Safety office has its
- own competitive
- program with applications due to that office
- prior to the, the office's submission of the state's
- application to
- NHTSA and FHWA on August first. So this is
- a, a good example of how the date of a
- NOFO is not when you begin work, because programs
- that trickle up to a federal program often
- have many advancing components and gates to pass through.
- The next program of note is SMART, which stands for Strengthening
- Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation.
- SMART program, which we noted is rooted in the Bipartisan Infrastructure
- Law, focuses its grants, grant awards to public
- agencies conducting demonstration projects using
- technology to help improve safety and/or efficiencies.
- SMART is a highly competitive program with eight focal areas, one
- of which is innovative
- aviation, excuse me, aviation innovations.
- In the first round of SMART awards earlier this year, which were just for
- stage one planning and demonstration efforts, seven UAS
- demonstration projects were awarded funding, including three in
- which Skydio was a named partner. The stage one recipients will
- be eligible to apply for stage two deployment grants later this
- year. The next NOFO for a new round of stage one
- awards is expected to be released this month, with a due date in
- October or November. If your agency is preparing to submit a SMART
- application that includes a Skydio drone component, component,
- our funding advisory services are ready, willing and able to
- assist you.
- And then finally, the Bridge Investment Program
- is another competitive
- BIL program. It focuses on existing bridges in the
- National Bridge Inventory to reduce the overall number of bridges in poor
- condition or in fair condition at risk of falling into poor condition.
- The eligibility includes states, metropolitan planning
- organizations, and local and tribal governments, with
- applications submitted directly to FHWA.
- In twenty twenty three, nine awards were made ranging in value from eleven
- million
- dollars to seventy-two million dollars, which illustrates the substantial
- size of these awards, defined as planning projects, bridge
- projects under a hundred million dollars, and large bridge
- projects over one hundred million dollars.
- The likely opportunity we see with the Bridge Investment Program is to
- include drones for inspection-related tasks as tools
- to heighten efficiency and safety of a project being documented
- for
- application submission. The next NOFO release is anticipated
- for this summer, although DOT hasn't offered any more
- specific
- details as to what month that might be.
- Next slide, please.
- [clears throat]
- Let's shift gears now and talk about the DHS FEMA portfolio
- and several
- of its programs that might be a fit for public safety drone initiatives.
- FEMA grants fall into four buckets.
- The programs we're focused on today are preparedness grants, which are defined
- as grants that support citizens and first responders to ensure we work
- together as a nation to build, sustain, and improve our
- capability to prepare for, protect against, respond
- to, recover from, and mitigate terrorism and other high
- consequence disasters and emergencies.
- Have you noticed the federal government never says anything concisely?
- Preparedness grants reflect the mission areas, national
- priority areas, and thirty-one core capabilities of the
- national
- preparedness goal.
- FEMA reviews and adjusts the national priorities annually based
- on threat and risk assessment.
- The tar- the capability called Protection of Soft
- Targets
- and Crowded Places has been one of the six stated national priorities
- in recent years and fits drone use cases.
- These programs favor regional investments and are administered
- through state administering agencies.
- Each SAA has its own unique program requirements for
- collecting and evaluating sub-award applications, but all
- must align with FEMA guidelines.
- Significantly, DHS and FEMA recently updated its
- risk methodology to ensure its grant programs are as simple and easy
- to access as possible, and similarly urged the SAAs to
- do the same thing. So hopefully we're going to see some,
- some streamlining
- of application documentation processes.
- Funding for sustainment and new capabilities
- built with Homeland Security funding must be deployable if needed to
- support regional and national efforts.
- Drones are allowable expenditures,
- but any funding application requiring or requesting drones must
- include detailed documentation required
- relating to utilization, privacy, civil rights and civil liberties,
- data and records retention, and additional policies.
- Those requirements are stated clearly in each SAA's grant
- guidance.
- Let's go to some more bubbles.
- Similar to our slide depicting select USDOT programs,
- this visual shows three programs in the DHS FEMA
- preparedness grants portfolio. We will discuss the Port Security
- Grant Program, Transit Security Grant Program, and the
- Homeland Security Grant Program, which comprises the State Homeland
- Security
- Program, Urban Area Security Initiative, and Operation Stone
- Garden.
- The State Homeland Security Program and UWASI are non-competitive
- formula-based awards based on statutory minimums and
- relative risk as determined by the DHS FEMA risk
- methodology. Operation Stone Garden, the Port Security Grant
- Program, and Transit Security Grant Program
- are competitive.
- So I see we're already on the next slide. No need to move.
- We'll talk about some of these notable DHS FEMA programs now.
- The Homeland Security Grant Program is the most intricate of the DHS
- FEMA grants we'll talk about today, and also the most far-reaching.
- Through its three component programs, the Homeland Security Grant Program
- supports a full range of preparedness activities, including
- equipment purchases across defined core capabilities and mission
- areas. As previously noted, SHSP and
- UWASI are formula-based, while Operation Stone Garden
- is competitive,
- but all applications under these three programs are submitted by the state
- administering agency, and each SAA has its own multi-tiered
- process for determining the final mi-mix of projects and
- investment justifications included in its state
- submission to DHS.
- I mention this to reiterate that a positive relationship with your
- SAA,
- be it through a grants administrator or a member of the command staff,
- is really
- important. Most states State processes
- begin in January or February with the formal NOFO released in
- February and SAA submissions due in May.
- So again, this is getting to the work that needs to be done prior
- to the NOFO date and when those final applications are due.
- So here are a few key notes about the State Homeland Security program and
- UASI.
- First, both of them have a 36-month period of
- performance and
- require no match. And as we talked about earlier,
- despite being a
- 36-month period of performance, funds need to be expended in
- the first year of the award.
- New programs need to identify a risk gap and define how to
- close that gap.
- UASIs are structured with working groups or sub-committees that align
- to the 31 core capabilities identified in the FEMA National
- Preparedness Goal.
- In a, in a particular UASI region, proposals are typically
- pushed to the working group or to the sub-committee associated
- with the core capability for the identified gap and solution.
- This is the process through which new technology initiatives
- are introduced
- into the funding queue.
- As an example, in one UASI, the Fire HAZMAT USAR
- sub-committee is aligned with the th- with three core capabilities,
- including mass search and rescue operations.
- For the State Homeland Security program, those working groups are at the state
- level and under the purview of the SAA.
- UASIs typically have the flexibility to reorder projects for funding
- and/or to apply unyear- unused year-end funding for
- new initiatives.
- 25% of the combined State Homeland
- Security program UASI allocation in any state
- must be dedicated to what's called law enforcement terrorism prevention
- activities, which is a potential fit for drone
- programs
- identifying and addressing a threat or a risk-related gap.
- And finally, some eligi- some agencies are eligible for
- State Homeland Security program funding and also for UASI
- funding, but all o- agencies eligible for
- UASI funding are eligible for SHSP funding.
- So if you're contemplating introducing a new request and are a UASI
- jurisdiction, the local relationships with the UASI
- community could garner a more favorable dis- fu- favorable response
- than a submission through the SAA process for
- State Homeland Security program funds.
- And really, that comes down to simple. Local is better relationships.
- Local may have a better chance of using those
- relationships to advance a program.
- The third component of the Homeland Security Grow- Grant Program,
- Operation Stonegarden's purpose is to enhance coordination and
- cooperation among law enforcement agencies to jointly
- enhance security along the nation's land and sea borders.
- Eligibility is limited to counties and border states, and that
- eligibility is tiered based on proximity to the border.
- Rather uniquely, counties must have an ongoing US Border
- Patrol
- operational coordination through a Customs and Border Prol- Patrol sector
- office to be eligible to receive funds.
- Like the Homeland Security program and UASI, Operation
- Stonegarden has a 36-month period of performance and requires no
- match.
- Moving on, the Port Security Grant Program supports
- maritime security
- risk management and mitigation.
- Any entity subject to an area maritime security plan,
- including local government agencies, is eligible to apply through a
- multi-step application directly to FEMA.
- The NOFO for this program is released in February with applications
- due
- in May. The Port Security Grant Program has a
- 36-month
- period of performance and requires a 25% match.
- Skydio recently helped guide a Port Security Grant Program application
- that included an investment justification for drones to
- address the enhancing protection of soft targets in crowded places
- national priority area.
- Finally, the Transit Security Grant Program funds
- owners and
- operators of public transit systems to protect surface
- transportation and the traveling public from acts of
- terrorism and to increase the resilience of the transit infrastructure.
- A list of eligible entities is published each year, and an
- additional eligibility requirement is a security plan approved by the
- entity providing transit security.
- Deploying drones to scan surface instru- infrastructure for routine
- maintenance or to detect threats may be viable use cases
- for this program.
- The Transit Security Grant Program has a 36 to 48-month
- period of performance and requires no match.
- The information provided here about select DHS FEMA grant programs really
- barely scratches the surface. Much more detail is compain-
- contained in the FEMA Preparedness Grants Manual, which is available on
- the FEMA website. You can also contact me with specific
- questions through grants@skydio.com.
- Well, we've covered a lot of funding information
- today,
- specifically touching on several of the many grants offered by
- USDOT and FEMA.
- Skydio created its Funding Advisory Services program to help
- agencies and organizations navigate funding complexities,
- both internal and external.
- We offer our services at no cost to those who envision a Skydio drone
- program and need to figure out how to fund it.
- Here's how we can help. First is drone program alignment, which
- we discussed early in today's webinar.
- Our account executives recognize that their contacts may understand drone
- technology, use cases, and potential benefits to their
- agencies But aren't aligned with an internal champion and aren't
- positioned to influence financial commitments and prioritization.
- We can support those alignment efforts with questions to pose,
- coaching, and talking points to position your
- program internally.
- We can also assist with regulatory improvements, including FAA pilot
- licensing and BVLOS waivers through Skydio's
- regulatory support as a service team.
- Next, we can help you prepare to apply for
- funding.
- We'll work with you to hone the use cases of your envisioned drone program
- and offer specific suggestions about grant programs and other
- potential funding mechanisms that fit your use cases and agency
- profile. We can also meet and work with your internal grants
- resources to discuss current grants your agency receives and
- coordinate new applications and program cycles.
- And finally, we can work with your agency to create new
- funding
- applications.
- This type of work typically, typically takes one of three forms.
- First, we can review and edit application content that is
- created by your drone subject matter experts and internal grant resources
- to serve as an external check and balance to ensure all NOFO
- requirements and evaluation criteria are addressed.
- We can collaborate with your resources to jointly prepare
- application content, or we can take the lead in crafting
- content based on an outline and technical details you
- provide.
- While we can't guarantee that you will be awarded funding for a
- Skydio drone
- initiative, we can help you put your best foot forward
- in the application process.
- Skydio recently assisted Caltrans and the Alaska Department of
- Transportation and Public Facilities with stage one smart
- applications. Both of those were funded, uh, two of the,
- uh, the five or seven that we mentioned earlier in the smart
- discussion.
- So next, we're gonna give a brief overview of each
- project and how Skydio
- assisted before we wrap up today's presentation.
- I see we've moved on to Caltrans. Okay.
- So
- Caltrans was a very interesting project in
- that it, it demonstrates remote autonomous
- infrastructure
- constructions ins- construction inspection,
- that's kind of tough to say, um,
- u- using pr- progressive, uh, deployment of, um,
- dock technology.
- Um,
- the two sites were, were, were totally different of
- each other.
- Um, the one site is a Butte City bridge
- replacement,
- and the second was the East Otay, Otay Port of
- Entry project site. Um, those of you who know California
- know that the East Otay, Otay Port of Entry is an
- enormous project. It has huge ramifications
- for commerce, um, between the United States and Mexico,
- and the facilitation of...
- facilitation and e- expediency of this
- project is, is quite critical. So to be able
- to shorten project time frames through the use of drones is
- quite important.
- Um, we were the application lead on this,
- this, um, application. We worked tightly with Caltrans, uh,
- back and forth, creating content and, uh,
- buffing it up, making it pretty, and, and ultimately ensuring that all the
- boxes were checked. As we mentioned, this project was funded,
- and we'll be moving into a stage one application for a
- broader deployment when the next notice of funding
- opportunity is released.
- Let's move on to Alaska.
- So our, our second success story today is the Alaska Department
- of Transportation and Public Facilities.
- Um, this initiative supports the Alaska Rural
- Remote Operations Work Plan and uses drone technology
- for infrastructure inspections and gathering situ- situational
- awareness data. What's really integral about
- this program is Alaska's rural way of life
- and how the drone use cases are
- also being utilized for smart disaster response.
- Um, this was a collaborative effort as well,
- also awarded,
- and we're presently moving on collectively to a
- stage two application as well as other program applications.
- So we asked Ryan Marlow from Alaska if
- he'd give us a quote for our presentation, and I'd like
- to conclude with this,
- if we can move on to the next slide.
- Ryan said, "Our collaboration with Skydio
- was key to our Smart Grant
- award. If working with Laura on stage one
- was this much fun, I
- can't imagine what stage two will be." Honestly, he really did say
- that. So we're, we're very appreciative to have been part
- of this
- project and, um, also very flattered by his
- comment.
- So the... Before we move to questions, the last thing I'd like to leave you with
- is three takeaways. The first is when
- seeking to fund a project, no single approach is going to fit all.
- Alignment is absolutely essential, and relationships can make a
- difference.
- So with that, I wanna thank you very much for your
- participation and
- turn it to Noreen for questions we may have received.
- Yeah. Thanks, Laura. Um, you obviously know a lot about this,
- and we're
- really fortunate to have you to assist us in understanding
- it, but also to assist our customers in
- obtaining that funding.
- Um, I do have a question for you, and a lot of times this is specific more
- to public safety agencies because when you apply for grant funding,
- it's great that you have the money now, but what happens with additional
- years and additional money that you may need for, you know,
- continuing
- to maintain your program? So- Typically with grants,
- do you have to use that money for only an initial purchase,
- or
- can you use it for renewals or maintenance on your hardware
- and software?
- You're right. That's very important.
- [laughs]
- A, a grant application may include the
- initial
- purchase and some one-time bundled
- services,
- but you're not going to typically submit a grant application
- just for renewals of licenses or maintenance.
- Those are not typically funded items.
- So the, the conclusion is bundle your procurement in your
- initial application, and that will, depending
- on what you're buying and how it's licensed
- or how it's maintained,
- um, that may mean creating a, a unique
- contract for what you need to purchase.
- Excellent. Thank you. We had some questions about how to
- obtain more information or specifically questions about your
- slides or some information on your slides.
- So once again, I just wanted to remind everyone you have
- the ability to
- email grants@skydio.com. Laura definitely has
- access to that email as well as several other people, so we can all
- collectively work together to make sure you get the information that you
- need. Um, I mentioned this in the chat.
- We will not be distributing the slide deck.
- But you will have access to this recording, um, within a couple
- days. It will be posted live to Airborne
- Insights.
- Um, and I'm not giving out Laura's personal
- email address just so she
- doesn't hate me from here on out. [laughs]
- Thank you. [laughs]
- [laughs] Um, so, you know, there's a lot of
- information in here regarding kind of DOT
- specific funding. But would you say that there's also a fair amount of money
- out
- there for public safety law enforcement agencies?
- Uh, yes. Um, clearly DOT is, is the bigger
- beast just because
- USDOT is such a massive agency. Um, there
- are opportunities for funding for public safety programs.
- Um, those I talked about today are a lot of the
- ones that are a really good fit. Um,
- unfortunately,
- the program that law enforcement relies on
- most heavily for
- technology acquisitions, the Byrne JAG money, does not allow the
- use of funding for drones. Um,
- head scratcher as to why,
- and sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but unfortunately that,
- that's true. So to fund your,
- your public safety drone initiatives, need to get creative,
- get understanding the State Homeland Security Grant Program
- because that is available to all entities depending on how
- your SAA
- creates that sub-award process. Um, additionally, the
- State Highway Safety Grant Program, uh, we, we mentioned that on
- the DOT side, but there, there are u- use cases
- within those funding streams for some of the, um,
- the traffic safety initiatives that local law enforcement undertakes.
- Excellent. Thanks. Um, we do have a question.
- Are grants available for single person LLCs or only
- for large entities?
- I imagine some grants are available for single person
- LLCs. They are not the ones that we're talking about in this
- batch of programs.
- Thank you. Um-
- Um, hold on a minute. Um-
- No, go ahead
- ... with, uh, I didn't talk about this today,
- but within the,
- the FEMA portfolio is also a nonprofit security
- grant program. It, it, it has some of the same
- focal points in term, in terms of core capabilities and national
- preparedness goals.
- That's aimed at nonprofits rather than
- government entities. Um, it still doesn't address the single
- person LLC, but it is kind of a, a one-off on
- additional funding.
- Perfect.
- Are you aware of eligible grants for fire departments?
- Fire departments, depending on use case, are eligible
- to apply for both State Homeland Security funding and for UASI
- funding.
- Um-
- Excellent
- ... the AID to Firefighter Grant program
- also disallows direct purchase of drones.
- Okay.
- Are government municipalities, namely cities,
- eligible to receive a grant from the SMART Grant program?
- Yes.
- Short and sweet. I like it. Are there funding sources out there
- that are more
- than just grants?
- Oh, yes, there are. [laughs] So we mentioned this
- was going to be
- a series of webinars. And while we're still
- developing what that, that schedule's going to look like,
- uh, we will be offering additional content
- that talks about other
- programs. Um, they, they range from
- the, the use of law enforcement trust funds,
- which is, um,
- asset forfeiture money, to, um, budget
- realignment, to private foundations and police
- foundations. So yeah, there, there are all kinds of interesting
- ways to secure funding, and we just kind of
- scratched the surface today.
- Yeah, I think that's a, a good call-out.
- You know, Laura, you mentioned it in the beginning of the
- webinar.
- But we do plan on having a series of these.
- Um, this kind of was intended to be like a
- high level
- umbrella overview of the fact that we have our Skydio
- funding service at no cost if you need assistance, um, as
- well as kind of just some high level information on the DOT
- public safety monies that are out there.
- But we do anticipate having public safety, kind of law
- enforcement, fire specific webinar, as well as a webinar more
- specific for DOTs.
- Um, so with that said, Laura, I think we're going to wrap it up for
- today. If there were additional questions in the
- chat that we did not get to,
- please know that your name and information has been logged in there
- with the
- question, and someone will be reaching out to you
- shortly with some additional
- information. Again, grants@skydio.com
- if you need further assistance. Laura and team will make sure they follow up,
- and you can get the help that you need.
- Laura, thank you so much for all of your
- information today.
- I'm sure that there were a lot of key takeaways
- that people have, and you know, the
- recording that they can go back and listen to, of course, for additional
- note-taking. Um, to all of you that joined us today, we really
- appreciate you attending. Um, we're kind of looking for some
- feedback. So if there are, uh, you know, specific
- topics that are related to funding or grants or the
- application process that you would like more information on
- kind of in a broader
- view that maybe we can turn into a webinar, throw that feedback our way.
- We would really appreciate it.
- Laura, any last words for the group here?
- Uh, thank you for participating. I, I hope this was interesting
- and you learned
- something. And, uh, we're here to help you work on your
- funding
- challenges.
- Excellent. Thank you so much, everyone. We appreciate your time.
- Have a wonderful day, and stay safe
Watch Time
44 Mins 17 Secs
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