Eschewing the Fed’s State and Local Cybersecurity Grant and its state matching requirement, Florida has opted to push forward its own grant, the Florida Local Government Cybersecurity Grant Program, administered through Florida Digital Service. The end game for the program is to help local government agencies improve their cyber hygiene and integrate them into the state’s Cybersecurity Operations Center.
The $30M competitive grant is designed to “equip local governments with cybersecurity capabilities. This program is intentionally and flexibly designed with options to meet the unique needs of local governments from Pensacola to Key West, regardless of capabilities, resources, or challenges.” The state will provide information and facilitate conversations through a series of town halls and webinars.
“In a world full of threat actors, Florida’s technology infrastructure is only as strong as our weakest link,” said James Grant, state chief information officer, in a release. “Both Governor DeSantis and the Florida Legislature agree and have prioritized millions of dollars to help safeguard our local communities from cybersecurity threats that can exploit and wreak havoc on critical infrastructure. I strongly encourage Florida’s local governments in need of cybersecurity support to apply, whether they’re improving existing infrastructure or starting from the ground up.”
The application deadline is March 31, 2023
Timeline:
- February 16, 2023: Application Process Opened to All Local Governments in Florida
- March 31, 2023: Initial Application Window Closed
- April 18, 2023: Initial Announcement of Awards
Instructions and information on the Grant Application can be found here.