Peer-Learning Cohorts Frequently Asked Questions

What are peer-learning cohorts?
C2C peer-learning cohorts bring together communities with similar clean energy goals, opportunities, or challenges to:

• Learn from subject matter experts, who will provide education, best practices, analysis tools, templates, and other resources as needed.
• Exchange case studies, experiences, and insights with other communities that can inform their own activities.
• Gain insights that can help them access upcoming funding or programmatic opportunities.
• Develop proposals, action plans, and strategies to overcome common challenges and enable accelerated clean energy progress.

What is the timeline for cohort application, evaluation, and notification?

January Launch Cycle:

• Mid-September: Cohort cycle topics are announced and applications open.
• Late October: Applications close; evaluation begins.
• Early December: Communities are selected and notified.
• January: Cohorts launch.

July Launch Cycle:

• Late March: Cohort cycle topics are announced and applications open.
• Early May: Applications close; evaluation begins.
• Early June: Communities are selected and notified.
• July: Cohorts launch.

What organization types are eligible to apply for cohorts?
Local and regional governments; tribes, including Alaska Native Villages, Alaska Native Corporations, and state recognized tribes; planning organizations; municipal and co-op utilities; community-based organizations; and other public entities in the United States and U.S. territories may be eligible as primary applicants on C2C peer-learning cohorts.

For certain cohort topics, applicants may benefit from including secondary partners (e.g., electric utilities, community-based organizations, and other public agencies) on their application, especially those who may play a significant role in planning, decision-making processes, and implementation efforts.

Some cohort topics may allow other organization types as prime applicants, and those exceptions will be indicated on the cohort description and application.

Can organizations outside the United States apply?
U.S. territories are invited to apply to participate in C2C offerings. However, governments and organizations based outside the United States are not eligible to participate in C2C peer-learning cohorts. International organizations are encouraged to look into opportunities available through the Clean Energy Solutions Center.

What personnel constitutes an eligible "community representative" for peer-learning cohorts?
It is important that the right individuals represent their communities through participation in C2C cohorts to ensure a high level of engagement, build organizational capacity, and create long-term, sustainable impacts. Applying organizations will be required to indicate their primary community representative, which must be a member of the applicant organization, on their application. Full-time, permanent employees are preferred, but exceptions may be made in cases in which other team members show that they will support increased institutional knowledge. In either case, the primary community representative should be a team member who has both the technical background and available staff capacity to meaningfully engage with the cohort as well as the authority to make decisions and inform organizational activities.

How many people can represent my team in the cohort? Do we all need to attend every meeting, or can we send a specific delegate each time?
Applicant communities must indicate at least one dedicated community representative for each cohort but can provide a secondary representative on the cohort application as desired. The primary representative should try to join every cohort meeting, and additional representatives are encouraged to join meetings as well.

For certain cohorts, additional members of your organization (e.g., legal staff or those in charge of procurement) may be asked to join on an ad hoc basis. These specific staff members do not need to be indicated on the application in advance.

How many communities will be in each cohort?
The number of communities engaged in each cohort will depend on the number of applications received and the cohort topic. It is estimated that each cohort will consist of 8–15 communities, but in some cases cohorts may be larger or smaller.

How long will each cohort last?
Cohorts are expected to last approximately 6 months on average, but some may be shorter or longer depending on the content and time needed to effectively meet participant needs. Participants will have time to share their goals, availability, and preferred cohort duration through a needs assessment to be administered prior to the first cohort meeting.

What is the expected time commitment for participants in a single cohort?
It is anticipated that each community representative will require approximately 4 hours per month for each cohort, including participation in sessions, limited one-on-one technical assistance, and individual work between sessions.

If my organization applies to multiple cohorts in the same cycle, can we participate in all of them, or is each community limited to participation in one cohort per cycle?
Communities are welcome to apply for up to two cohorts in a single cohort cycle if they are interested in two selected topics. Applicant communities will be asked on their applications to indicate whether they have the capacity to engage fully in two cohorts simultaneously or if they would like to rank cohorts as first- and second-choice options.

If an applicant community has already been selected to participate in a cohort, can that community still apply for future cohort cycles? Can a community apply if it is currently receiving support from another U.S. Department of Energy program?
Yes! In both cases, a community can still apply to participate in a cohort. However, if there are more applicants than spots available and other applicants are equally qualified, priority may be given to communities that have not received, or are not currently receiving, support from the U.S. Department of Energy.

Is any financial commitment required from communities to participate?
No, there is no associated financial commitment for communities.

Is any funding available through these cohorts for participating communities?
No direct funding will be made available for participants. However, cohort facilitators may help identify funding opportunities if participants are interested.

I have a question that is not answered here. Who can I contact to learn more?
For inquiries not addressed here, email C2C@nrel.gov.

To apply, fill out the application form on the C2C website with your cohort selections, community background, community representative contact information, and responses to application questions.