Brookwood-Sago Mine Safety Grant | FOA BS 2020 1

Opportunity Information: Apply for FOA BS 2020 1

The Brookwood-Sago Mine Safety Grant is a U.S. Department of Labor program run by the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) that funds education and training efforts designed to reduce injuries and fatalities in and around mines. The core purpose is practical: help miners, contractors, and mine operators better identify hazards, avoid risky behaviors, and prevent unsafe working conditions through stronger training programs and better training materials. The funding is rooted in the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response (MINER) Act of 2006, which directs MSHA to prioritize safety demonstrations and pilot projects that can be broadly applied across the mining industry, with a strong emphasis on reaching workers at smaller mines where resources and training capacity may be limited.

For Fiscal Year 2020, MSHA set clear priority topics for projects it wants to support. A major focus is powered haulage safety, especially efforts that reduce vehicle-on-vehicle collisions, increase seat belt use, and improve belt conveyor safety. Additional priority areas include improving safety outcomes for contractors (who often move between sites and may face inconsistent safety systems), reducing electrical hazards and electrocutions, strengthening training for new and inexperienced miners, and improving mine emergency prevention and preparedness. MSHA also leaves room for other training approaches that directly address mine hazards and prevent unsafe conditions, particularly where MSHA has identified persistent or high-risk issues.

Eligible applicants include a wide range of public and nonprofit organizations that are positioned to deliver training at scale. This includes state and local governments (and U.S. territories such as Puerto Rico and Guam), public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, private institutions of higher education, federally recognized tribal governments, and nonprofit organizations with 501(c)(3) status (other than colleges and universities). In practical terms, the program is aimed at organizations that can design credible safety curricula, produce usable training products, and reach miners and mine operators with targeted instruction.

Grant awards are competitive and are intended to support the creation and delivery of training rather than general operations. Individual awards must be at least $50,000 and can be as high as $400,000, with total funds available up to $400,000 in this opportunity announcement. MSHA indicated it could make multiple awards (the narrative notes MSHA could award up to eight grants, while the source data lists expected awards as 20), so the number of awards may depend on the final applicant pool and funding strategy. Regardless of the final count, the key point is that MSHA expects funded projects to be actionable and results-oriented, not just conceptual.

MSHA’s expectations for grantees go beyond simply writing a curriculum. Funded organizations are expected to develop training materials and/or deliver mine safety education programs, actively recruit mine operators and miners to participate, conduct the training, and evaluate the effectiveness of what was delivered. The program also explicitly prioritizes materials and instruction that help smaller mines comply with MSHA standards and address high-risk activities and hazards MSHA has identified as priorities. The overall intent is to produce training that can be used widely, improves real-world behavior and decision-making, and measurably lowers the likelihood of serious incidents in mining environments.

Key administrative details from the announcement include the funding opportunity number (FOA BS 2020 1), CFDA number 17.603, and an original application closing date of September 9, 2020 (with the notice created July 10, 2020). The funding instrument is a grant, and the activity category is education, reflecting the program’s focus on training development and delivery rather than equipment purchases or enforcement activities.

• The Department of Labor, Mine Safety and Health Administration in the education sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Brookwood-Sago Mine Safety Grant" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 17.603.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jul 10, 2020.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Sep 09, 2020. (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 $400,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 20 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education.

Apply for FOA BS 2020 1

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: