Technical Assistance ToolkitDefinitions

Capacity Building

Capacity building is strengthening local coordination, leadership, knowledge, skills, expertise, and access to resources in California tribes and under-resourced communities with the goal of helping to develop or increase the ability of that community to independently compete for grants and implement projects in the future (SGC, 2022)

Community Based Organization

Any organization incorporated for the purpose of providing services or other assistance to economically or socially disadvantaged persons within its designated community (New York Department of State).

Community Engagement

Community engagement is the process of working collaboratively with a diverse group of residents, community-based organizations, and other impacted or interested parties to address issues affecting their well-being. It involves sharing information, building relationships and partnerships, and involving community members in planning and making decisions with the goal of improving the outcomes of policies and programs (CARB, 2018).

Critically Underserved Communities

A community that meets either of the following:

Has less than three acres of usable parkland per 1,000 residents.
Is a disadvantaged community, as defined by subdivision (g) of Section 75005, and can demonstrate to the department that the community has insufficient or no park space and recreation facilities (CA Pub Res Code § 5642 (2021)).

Disadvantaged Community

For the purposes of California Climate Investments programs, Disadvantaged communities are defined by CalEPA as the top 25 percent of communities experiencing disproportionate amounts of pollution, environmental degradation, and socioeconomic and public health conditions according to OEHHA’s CalEnviroScreen tool (California Climate Investments).

Section 79505.5a of the California State Water Code defines disadvantaged communities as “a community with an annual median household income that is less than 80 percent of the statewide annual median household income.”

Low Income Community

Assembly Bill 1550 identifies low-income communities as census tracts with median household incomes at or below 80 percent of the statewide median income or with median household incomes at or below the threshold designated as low- income by HCD’s State Income Limits adopted pursuant to Section 50093.

Priority Population

The residents of:

census tracts identified as disadvantaged by California Environmental Protection Agency per Senate Bill 535
census tracts identified as low-income per Assembly Bill 1550
a low-income household per Assembly Bill 1550 (California Air Resources Board)

Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers

A farmer or rancher who is a member of a socially disadvantaged group, meaning a group whose members have been subjected to racial, ethnic, or gender prejudice because of their identity as members of a group without regard to their individual qualities. These groups include all of the following:

African Americans
Native Indians
Alaskan Natives
Hispanics
Asian Americans
Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (Aguiar-Curry, 2017)

State Agency

Any department, division, independent establishment, or agency of the executive branch of the state government (CA Gov’t Code § 8557).

Severely Disadvantaged Community

A community with a median household income of less than 60 percent of the statewide average. This definition is included in the language of water bond Propositions 1 and 84, which stipulate funding preference for severely disadvantaged communities (HSC § 116760.20(n)).

Technical Assistance

The process of providing targeted support to an agency, organization, or community with a development need or resource gap. TA may be delivered in many different ways, such as one-on-one consultation, small group facilitation, technical resources and analysis, or through a web-based clearinghouse. TA is one of the most effective methods for building the capacity of an organization.

Technical Assistance Provider

The organization, individual, or other entity that is providing assistance through a TA program.

Technical Assistance Recipient

The organization, individual, or other entity that is receiving assistance through a TA program.

Under-Resourced Community

Communities that are identified pursuant to one, some, or all of the following sections of the California Health and Safety Code:

Section 39711, which reads, “The California Environmental Protection Agency shall identify disadvantaged communities … [that] may include, but are not limited to, either of the following: (1) Areas disproportionately affected by environmental pollution and other hazards that can lead to negative public health effects, exposure, or environmental degradation. (2) Areas with concentrations of people that are of low income, high unemployment, low levels of homeownership, high rent burden, sensitive populations, or low levels of educational attainment.
Subdivision (d) of Section 39713 of the Health and Safety Code, which reads, “(1) ‘Low-income households are those with household incomes at or below 80 percent of the statewide median income or with household incomes at or below the threshold designated as low income by the Department of Housing and Community Development's list of state income limits adopted pursuant to Section 50093. (2) ‘Low-income communities’ are census tracts with median household incomes at or below 80 percent of the statewide median income or with median household incomes at or below the threshold designated as low income by the Department of Housing and Community Development's list of state income limits adopted pursuant to Section 50093 .
Subdivision (g) of Section 75005, which reads, “’Disadvantaged community’ means a community with a median household income less than 80% of the statewide average. ‘Severely disadvantaged community’ means a community with a median household income less than 60% of the statewide average.”