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DHCD rolls out feedback loop for Go Virginia applications; site-planning grants freed from allocation cap to add capacity
Summary
DHCD described a new application feedback loop to improve transparency and urged regions to align projects to growth plans. Staff previewed a site-planning grants capacity study estimating 30–40% added capacity in some regions after policy changes.
DHCD staff told the Go Virginia Regional Council Committee that a redesigned feedback loop and recent policy changes around site-planning grants are intended to boost application quality and create more room in regional allocations.
Sharon Gibson, program manager for Go Virginia at the Department of Housing and Community Development, outlined the new feedback process: DHCD performs a technical review, a work group of at least two board members plus two subject-matter experts evaluates the application, and the work group either issues an approval recommendation or forwards feedback questions to the region. Regions have about one week to respond; they may respond with clarifying answers or withdraw the application.
Gibson said the work groups are designed to be practical rather than onerous and warned regions to consult the competitive-fund scoring rubric when applying. She emphasized four recurring qualities of strong applications: clear alignment with a growth and diversification plan, demonstrated regional collaboration across industry and education, measurable outcomes, and realistic sustainability beyond the grant period.
"The strongest applications are clearly anchored in the growth and diversification plan," Gibson said, adding that projects that define measurable outcomes and show cross-sector collaboration move through evaluation more smoothly.
Committee members welcomed staff offers to provide targeted workshops and listening sessions to help regional council members and applicants with project development and scoring expectations. Several members credited staff (including named staff members) with helpful technical assistance during application development.
On site-planning grants, staff previewed an upcoming, more detailed analysis to be presented at the next governance and policy meeting. Gibson said removing site-planning activities from a region's annual allocation increased available capacity in many places and that the initial estimate shows a 30–40% capacity increase for regions that had not been fully using their planning grant allowance.
The committee did not take formal action but asked staff to return with the detailed capacity analysis and recommended next steps for regional outreach and application support.
