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Receive a presentation by the Solano Economic Development Corporation on an application to the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) for the California Jobs First Initiative grant program
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Published Notice Required? Yes ____ No _X _
Public Hearing Required? Yes ____ No _X _
DEPARTMENTAL RECOMMENDATION:
The County Administrator’s Office recommends the Board of Supervisors receive a presentation by the Solano Economic Development Corporation on an application to the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) for the California Jobs First Initiative grant program.
SUMMARY:
The Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) is conducting its second round of the California Jobs First Initiative, a strategy designed to foster a bottom-up approach to economic development efforts with focus on regional collaboration and a sustainable future. The second round focuses on the California Jobs First Economic Blueprint, creating good-paying jobs in the manufacturing sector. This second round provides competitive grant opportunities to support economic development efforts which accelerate economic and workforce projects throughout the State.
The Solano Economic Development Corporation has submitted an application for $2.5m to GO-Biz to establish regional coordination for strengthening the Bay Area's fragmented maritime industrial base across Solano, Contra Costa and Alameda counties. Functions include comprehensive asset mapping, unified Maritime Industrial Base Roadmap development, pooled funding of administration and shared data infrastructure. The effort, under the project name the Bay Area Maritime Ecosystem Backbone Organization, will coordinate regional applications for funding with a goal of providing for workforce pipelines and capital deployment across 15 plus shipyards and 200 plus supply-chain firms. The effort aims to attract federal investment in domestic and naval shipbuilding to support a re-emerging maritime cluster, with the potential to resurrect the Mare Island Naval Shipyard and leverage the Cal Poly Maritime Academy in Vallejo.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
The costs associated with preparing the agenda item are nominal and absorbed by the Department’s FY2025/26 Working Budget.
DISCUSSION:
Project 1: Bay Area Maritime Industrial Base Ecosystem Backbone Organization
Lead Entity: Solano County Economic Development Corporation
This project establishes a formal coordination mechanism to integrate fragmented maritime and advanced manufacturing stakeholders across the Bay Area into a cohesive industrial ecosystem. The Backbone Organization will serve as the strategic integrator, fiscal sponsor and performance manager for multi-institutional initiatives spanning workforce development, technology commercialization and capital deployment. Core functions include comprehensive asset mapping, development of a unified Maritime Industrial Base Roadmap, administration of pooled funding vehicles and operation of shared data infrastructure for workforce analytics and supply-chain optimization. This organizational layer addresses the coordination failure that currently constrains regional competitiveness and limits access to federal maritime modernization capital.
Project 2: Maritime Innovation Campus Lead Entity: Cal Poly Maritime Academy
The Maritime Innovation Campus transforms Mare Island's legacy shipyard infrastructure into an applied research and technology acceleration platform focused on maritime decarbonization and advanced manufacturing modernization. The facility integrates three core capabilities: a Robotics and Digital Shipbuilding Laboratory advancing autonomous systems and digital twin modeling; a Hybrid Propulsion and Energy Systems Testbed for zero-emission vessel technologies; and an Advanced Materials and Coatings Laboratory developing corrosion-resistant composites and lightweight structures. The Campus operates as a pre-competitive collaboration space bridging basic research, pilot-scale demonstration and commercial deployment, with dedicated accelerator capacity for maritime technology startups and small manufacturers seeking to scale innovations.
Project 3: Workforce Integration Network Lead Entity: Cal Poly Maritime Academy
The Workforce Integration Network constructs a vertically integrated talent pipeline spanning secondary education through advanced technical training, designed to meet the specialized human capital requirements of modern shipbuilding and maritime manufacturing. The network synchronizes K-12 career technical education pathways, stackable community college credentials, registered apprenticeship programs and bachelor's-level engineering curricula around industry-validated competency frameworks. Programming emphasizes portable credentialing, work-based learning placements and accelerated reskilling pathways for displaced workers and veterans. This integrated approach addresses the critical constraint facing maritime industrial expansion: access to workforce capacity capable of operating advanced manufacturing systems and next-generation propulsion technologies.
ALTERNATIVES:
The Board could choose not to receive this presentation; however that is not recommended because the presentation provides an opportunity to learn about this regional effort.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
Cal Poly Maritime and the Working Waterfront Coalition participated in the application.
CAO RECOMMENDATION:
APPROVE DEPARTMENTAL RECOMMENDATION