NGP Blog

STREAMLINING GRANTS MANAGEMENT PILOT PROJECT: MUNICIPALITIES AND NONPROFITS

The American Association of Grant Professionals, National Grants Partnership and several other organizations are addressing one of the critical issues today in grant administration.  The majority of municipal governments and local non-profits are having a difficult time, or not participating at all, in the distribution of funds through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) as a result of increased reporting and management requirements to achieve transparency and accountability. This translates into a large number of service providers not being able to assist in the economic recovery through the provision of goods and services that they have traditionally administered for millions of children, families, and communities.

 

The Streamlining Grants Management Pilot Project will develop a set of methods and procedures that will enable local governments and nonprofits to gather information in a systematic way, file reports with all requisite agencies, and manage procurement and record keeping in a manner consistent with the requirements of established accounting rules and federal reporting standards.

 

Objective

To reduce the administrative burden associated with grant funds by developing a system that incorporates project management tools, automated checks and balances, and “standardization” of the following to enable local governments and non-profits to effectively manage the increased demands of today’s grants administrators:

 

    Terms and Definitions

    Data Elements

    Forms

    Performance Measures

    Reporting Periods

    Report Formats

    Systems (Software and Hardware)

    Procurement Regulations

    Labor Rules (i.e. Davis Bacon)

    ARRA Requirements

 

Participants

 

Principal Sponsor: National Grants Partnership (NGP)

 

Lead National Organization: American Association of Grant Professionals (AAGP)

 

Project Director: Jesse Buggs, President, AAGP National Capital Area Chapter, and Director, Office of Grant Development & Administration, City of Bowie, Maryland

 

Project Participants: City of Bowie (City Manager’s Office/Grants Office), MD; MD Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD); United Communities Against Poverty (UCAP) of Prince George’s County, Maryland

 

Systems Development Partners: Streamlink, Blackbaud, SAGE, Accenture

 

Project Advisors: Eric Brenner, Director, MD Governor’s Grants Office; Cornelia Chebinou, Director, Washington Office of the National Association of State Auditors, Comptrollers, and Treasurers (NASACT); Bill Levis, Urban Institute

 

 

Additional Information

 

For additional information, please contact:

 

Gail Vertz, CEO, AAGP

ceo@grantprofessionals.org

 

Adam Roth, President, StreamLink Software

aroth@streamlinksoftware.com

 

Jesse Buggs, Director, Office of Grant Development & Administration

City of Bowie and President, AAGP NCA Chapter

jbuggs@cityofbowie.org

 

NOTE: Preliminary project design is underway which includes roles, responsibilities, and expectations of parties, data requirements, staff and resource commitments, and timelines.

Accountability for Non-Compliant 1512 Reporters

Yesterday, OMB released an additional memorandum to Federal agencies directing the agencies “to use every means available to identify any prime recipient required to file a report on FederalReporting.gov who has failed to do so and hold such recipients accountable to the fullest extent permitted by law.”  The memorandum provides “updated guidance, including additional actions and strategies, designed to assist agencies in fulfilling their responsibility to hold recipients accountable for reporting compliance.”

 

Federal agencies are responsible for contacting recipients to make them aware of their obligation to report and will report non-reporters to the Office of Management and Budget.  Additionally, recipients not filing reports as required under section 1512 of the Recovery Act could face sanctions including:

 

·         Termination of Federal funding

·         Suspension and debarment (prime recipient)

·         Other appropriate actions the agencies deem appropriate under the circumstances

 

The memorandum is available at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/assets/memoranda_2010/m-10-17.pdf

Grants Management Job Opportunities

Associate Director, Livelihoods

Organization: Save the Children

Location: Washington D.C

The Associate Director heads the Livelihoods Department’s portfolio management and administration team (aka the Systems Team). S/he is responsible for the management of the operational and financial aspects of the Department’s portfolio which includes: grant management of centrally-managed grants/contracts and designated departmental funds; managing administrative and financial support to Country Office- and Alliance-led grants; providing resource mobilization support; and administration of the departmental budget, processes and systems.

Requirements:

MA or MBA preferred and five to eight years experience in non-profit or development/relief organizations in program management/operations, preferably some of which was gained overseas. Excellent knowledge of grants/contracts budgeting, specifically the development and management of large complex program/project budgets and significant experience working with USAID rules/regulations and other key funders. Prior successful experience managing staff, liaising with international bodies, governments, funding and technical agencies on operational, contractual and financial issues; familiarity with funding mechanisms and regulations of food security programs, especially Title II, strongly preferred. Excellent interpersonal, management, oral and written communication skills and multi- cultural experience. Strong team player but can also work independently. Language ability in Spanish, French, Arabic, or Portuguese preferred.

Please submit your cover letter and resume on-line at www.savethechildren.org under “Careers” reference # 4492

Finance and Administration Specialist, HIV/AIDS Unit

Organization: Save the Children

Location: Washington D.C

The Finance & Admin Specialist will be responsible for: leading the HIV/AIDS budgeting and financial management and administration functions for the team under the oversight of the Associate Director; supporting HIV/AIDS grants; developing proposal budgets; supporting travel, communications and team administrative needs; coordinating with other departments in Washington and Westport; and other office tasks as required and assigned.

Requirements:

BA/BS or equivalent, 3-5 years of experience supporting international projects, financial and/or administrative systems, strong experience in budget management and development required. Ability to develop and manage tracking and reporting systems; proven experience with proposal development and excellent knowledge of Microsoft Office software including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Strong interpersonal and verbal/written communications skills and proven organizational skills and attention to detail required.

Apply on–line at www.savethechildren.org under “Careers” ref # 4482

Grant Manager,

Organization: Save the Children

Location: Westport, CT

The Grant Manager is responsible for management of finance, grants and contracts for the Department of Health and Nutrition (DHN) with a focus on management, systems coordination, proposal development, and capacity building.  The incumbent assures the overall fiscal and contractual accountability and compliance for DHN.  S/he works in conjunction with DHN technical staff in WWO and country offices, as well as other departments within the agency, and donors/partners to ensure compliance and quality of processes. Working with the Associate Director, the Grant Manager is part of the Department of Health and Nutrition’s Management and Support Team (MAST). 

Requirements:

Master’s degree in management, business administration or related field of study preferred and at least five – seven years experience in management of financial/accounting systems, proposal development (including USG/USAID) and contracts. Experience working with donor requirements (USG & NGOs) for program implementation and reporting, including familiarity with USAID regulations and requirements, and with developing management systems, tools and budgets. Proven finance and budgeting skills and experience in project administration and umbrella grant management and computer skills, including proficiency in Excel, Microsoft Word, ACCESS, and database for monitoring and tracking deliverables required. Excellent organizational skills, attention to detail, strong interpersonal skills, ability to work as a team member and strong verbal and written communication skills. Knowledge of maternal, newborn, and child health programs and research and working knowledge of a second language (preferably French or Spanish) desired.

Interested applicants please apply on-line at www.savethechildren.org under “Careers” Ref# 4503

Register Now: NGMA Annual Conference

The National Grants Management Association is hosting its popular annual grants management conference from April 26-28, 2010 at the Hilton conference center in Rockville, Maryland.  This exciting event features sessions on internal control, monitoring "Recovery Act" grants, fraud prevention, improving program compliance and much more. In addition, the ever-popular "Roundtables Express Program" will return along with several fun new networking events. 

 

NGMA is pleased to offer a special grants management boot camp at the front end of the conference for new grants managers and others wishing to sharpen their grants management skills.  The workshop is designed to provide participants with valuable and useful resources that are critical to the implementation of effective grants management systems, and to help minimize the common pitfalls often faced by new managers.   

 

To view the conference program and the half-day Grants Management Boot Camp workshop, please visit www.ngma.org/id17.html<http://www.ngma.org/id17.html> .

 

For more information or to register, please visit www.ngma.org/id17.html<http://www.ngma.org/id17.html>  or contact Alicia Leonard at leonard@ngma.org.

Your Input Needed - Reducing Improper Payments

PRESIDENTIAL WORKGROUP CALL TO ACTION

 

Reducing Improper Payments

 

 

President Obama signed Executive Order (EO) 13520 - Reducing Improper Payments,  in 2009 "...to reduce improper payments by intensifying efforts to eliminate payment error, waste, fraud, and abuse in the major programs administered by the Federal Government..."  One section of that EO focuses on improving incentives and accountability for State, local governments, and other entities receiving Federal funds.  An intergovernmental work group, comprised of high ranking Federal, State and local representatives, has been created to address this mandate. The work group is seeking input from and collaboration with the recipient community to address this important Presidential priority.  Recommendations will be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget for consideration in May 2010.

 

 

 

High priority program issues the work group will address are, but not limited to:

 

·         Failure of participants to report changes in status, coupled with difficulty in agency's ability to identify this change,

 

·         Lack of timely information/documentation to refute a participant's eligibility for a claim, and

 

·         Administrative errors.

 

 

 

Incentives the workgroup may consider are:

 

·         Increasing the cost reimbursement rates to allow for increased administrative costs,

 

·         Allowing entities to retain a portion of the recovered/reduced improper payments, and

 

·         Changing the cost principles to allow more flexibility on multi-year capital investments and reduce administrative burdens. 

 

 

 

Accountability measures the workgroup may consider are:

 

*     Identify a single responsible representative in each entity who will report annually on the activities and results,

*     Establish reduction targets and report more frequently when targets are not met, and

*     Future funding is correlated to previous year's improper payments.

 

 

 

We seek your suggestions for incentives and accountability measures appropriate to reducing improper payments for major federal grant and disbursement programs.

 

 

 

Your voice needs to be heard!  You don't want to miss this opportunity to work directly with the Federal government as it develops policy for public good.

 

 

 

To submit your ideas go to www.Partner4Solutions.gov <http://www.partner4solutions.gov/>   type "Improper Payments - Incentives and Accountability" in the "Issues and Concern" field, you will then be prompted for your ideas.  The deadline for submission is February 28, 2010. 

 

 

 

Please pass this opportunity along to your friends and colleagues.

 

 

 

For additional information, please contact: Ms Pat Reese, Department of Health and Human Services [(301) 443-0270, PReese@HSRA.GOV] or Ms. Merril Oliver [(410) 974-5090, moliver@GOV.STATE.MD.US].

 

Input on Next Generation Grants.gov Sought

The team at grants.gov is soliciting your input to the below questions concerning the next generation of grants.gov.  We would appreciate if you could provide you thoughts to thengp@aol.com no later than COB next Wednesday, February 10th.  We will then organize the responses and send to grants.gov team.  Thank you for your continued interest in a more efficient and effective grants process.  -The NGP

Questions:

 

 

1.    What are the top 5 improvements you would like to see in the current Grants.Gov site?

 

2.    What are the top 5 problem-areas of the current Grants.Gov site?  What CAN'T you currently do or what is TOO HARD to do?

  

3.    Outside of Find and Apply functionality, what other aspects of the Grants Management Lifecycle would you like to see in the NextGeneration of Grants.Gov?

 

 

 

February 2nd NGP Webcast Agenda

The National Grants Partnership

Webcast

February 2, 2010

1:30-3:00 p.m. EST

http://blog.thengp.org/

This is an informational meeting open to vendors and members of the press.

 

For admittance and security, ALL participants must register in advance by

NOON on January 28th at  TheNGP@AOL.com

 

U.S. Department of Education

PCP Auditorium, 10^th Floor

550 12^th St, SW

Washington, DC  20202-4250

 

L’Enfant Plaza Metro, L’Enfant Plaza Exit, walk up D St SW to 12^th St SW

Smithsonian Metro, Exit Independence Ave. SW, walk down 12^th St SW

 

WEBCAST MEETING LINK: http://tcg.acrobat.com/thengp

Questions can be Typed in Message Prompt Box

 

	NGP Co-Chairs
	Cornelia Chebinou, NASACT	Tony Cavataio, ED
	cchebinou@nasact.org	Tony.Cavataio@ed.gov
	(202) 624-5451	(202) 245-6151

National Grants Partnership

WEBCAST AGENDA & APPROXIMATE TIMETABLE

February 2nd

 

1:30 pm -1:35 pm - Introductory Remarks

 

o   Tony Cavataio, US Department of Education, NGP Co-Chair

o   Cornelia Chebinou, NASACT, NGP Co-Chair

 

1:35 pm -2:15 pm - American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Update

 

Government Accountability Office

 

o   Status of States' and Localities' Use of Funds and Efforts to Ensure Accountability – Tom James, Assistant Director, Strategic Issues

o   GAO’s Recipient Reporting Mandate - Jay McTigue, Assistant Director, Strategic Issues

 

Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board

 

o   Enhancements to Federalreporting.gov, Nancy DiPaolo, Assistant Director, Congressional & Intergovernmental Affairs, RATB

o   2^nd Round of Recipient Reporting, Nancy DiPaolo, Assistant Director, Congressional & Intergovernmental Affairs, RATB

 

2:15 pm – 2:30 pm - Grants.gov Update

 

o   Michael Pellegrino, Grants.gov

 

2:30 pm – 2:40 pm –Workgroup on Incentives for Recovery of Improper Payments

 

o   Patricia Reese, Workgroup Chair, Director, Division of Financial Integrity Office of Federal Assistance Management Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) -Invited

 

2:40 pm -2:50 pm –Survey on Government Contracting and Grant Policies and Practices: How They are Affecting the Ability of Nonprofit Human Service Providers to Deliver Services

 

o   Erwin de Leon, The Urban Institute, Center on Nonprofits & Philanthropy

 

2:50 pm – 2:55 pm – Maryland Governors Grants Office Grants Management Training Series

 

o   Eric Brenner, Director, Maryland Governor’s Grants Office

 

2:55 pm – 3:00 pm - Closing Remarks and Next Webcast, Tuesday, May 11, 2010

 

Input Requested on Grants.gov Applications

The GPC is in the early stages of developing a proposed response to GAO’s recommendations about the timeliness of Grants.gov applications and would like to gather early input from stakeholders. The purpose of this outreach effort is to provide a mechanism for the applicant community to submit topics or a list of topical issues and major challenges that impact individuals/organizations' ability to submit grant applications in a timely fashion. The January 7th, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 4) Federal Register Notice http://www.cfoc.gov/Documents/GPC_Federal_Register_20100107.pdf

announcement provides more detail about this outreach effort. 

 

Please submit your comments and thoughts on the GPC’s Policy Comments page http://www.cfoc.gov/index.cfm?function=policy_comments.

Save the Date: February 2nd NGP Webcast

Please mark your calendar for the next NGP webcast on Tuesday, February 2^nd at 1:30 pm ET. In addition to an update on Grants.gov, the webcast will highlight progress on the Recovery Act including an presentation from the Government Accountability Office on their work in 16 states regarding implementation of the Act. 

 

We hope that you are able to join us.

 

 

DRAFT AGENDA
The National Grants Partnership
Meeting and Webcast

 

February 2, 2010

1:30-3:00 p.m., EST

 

For admittance and security, ALL participants must register in advance by noon on January 28, 2010, at TheNGP@AOL.com 

U.S. Department of Education
PCP Auditorium, 10th Floor 550
12th St SW Washington, DC 20202-4250

Metro Access:

· L’Enfant Plaza Metro, L’Enfant Plaza  Exit, walk up D St SW to 12^th St SW

· Smithsonian Metro, Exit Independence Ave. SW, walk down 12^th St SW 

WEBCAST: http://tcg.acrobat.com/thengp (includes audio)

Co-Chairs
Cornelia Chebinou, NASACT	Tony Cavataio, ED
mailto:cchebinou@nasact.org	Tony.Cavataio@ed.gov
(202) 624-5451	(202) 245-6151

  

DRAFT AGENDA

 

1:30 pm -1:40 pm - Introductory Remarks

1:40 pm -2:20 pm - American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Update

            GAO, RATB and OMB (invited)

2:20 pm – 2:35 pm - Grants.gov Update

2:35 pm – 2:55 pm – State, Local and Non-profit Collaboration for Improved Grants Management/Grants Streamlining

2:55 pm – 3:00 pm - Closing Remarks and Next Webcast

 

 

Provide Your Input - Partner4solutions.gov

 

The U.S. Office of Management and Budget has established Partner4Solutions.gov to gather solutions and best practices to improve service delivery, payment accuracy, administrative efficiency, and reduce access barriers in federally funded assistance programs.  

 

States and local governments are already addressing these issues head-on and have identified many innovative approaches.  Partner4Solutions.gov is an opportunity for taxpayers, program participants, and Federal, State, and Local program administrators to provide their input and begin a dialogue to better understand some of the on-the-ground best practices in this area.

 

This website is also a central element in meeting the transparency and collaboration principles of Executive Order 13520 – “Reducing Improper Payments and Eliminating Waste in Federal Programs.”

 

Please join this effort as a partner by contributing your ideas and solutions at Partner4Solutions.gov.