Grants Compliance

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Grants Compliance from a Colleges 360 Degree
Perspective Maryland Governors Grants Office
Higher Education Conference May 22, 2012 Bowie
State University Nancy Smith, Dir. of Grants
Development The Community College of Baltimore
County
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Grants Compliance

• What is grants compliance?
• Adopting and consistently applying systematic
  procedures to assure that grant funded programs
  are effectively implemented and that provisions
  imposed by the funding agency are being met.
• Why is compliance important and necessary?
• Assuring compliance with funding agency
  requirements is critical as federal regulations
  are becoming more stringent and competition for
  limited grant funds is increasing.

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CCBCs Grants Compliance Goals

• Program begun in 2011 with following goals
• Development of policies and procedures that
  facilitate, not impede successful program
  implementation
• Provide a continuous communication loop among
  stakeholders
• Support a proactive approach to grant management
  and early detection of issues and challenges
• Steward funder relationships positioning CCBC to
  continue its success in securing external funding
  support and
• Provide accurate and accessible information to
  support CCBC leaderships strategic
  decision-making.

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Areas of Initial Focus

• Sub-awards to CCBC and by CCBC
• Recruitment and hiring of grant-funded positions
• Project evaluation and data collection
• Time and effort certification

• Preparation and submission of reports
• Preparation and submission of requests for
  modifications or extensions
• Grant closeout and record retention practices
• Design of grant proposals to be ultimately
  manageable and successful

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Focus areas

• Sub-awards developed a template for acting as a
  subgrantee to another organization or to use as
  prime with a subawardee organization.

• Recruitment and hiring of grant-funded positions
  working with Human Resources to define matrix of
  pre-approved positions in interest of expedient
  hiring and project initiation.

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Focus areas

• Project evaluation and data collection work
  closely with project directors to determine
  effectiveness of their review process. Also work
  closely with Planning, Research, and Evaluation
  office staff to ensure high quality evaluation.

• Time and effort certification work closely with
  Finance staff to determine their practice and to
  help clarify faculty and staff ability to
  participate on projects.

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Focus Areas

• Work with project directors on submission of
  reports. Currently do not review reports prior
  to their being submitted, but will work toward
  this in the next year. Electronic process of
  reminders will be put in to place, too.

• Working with project directors and Finance staff
  to determine best way to identify need for
  project modification and to approach agencies
  successfully.

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Focus areas

• Worked with Finance staff to determine
  appropriate retention of records and codifying an
  appropriate length of time for records to be
  maintained and for documentation to occur.

• Proposal development staff working with Grants
  Compliance Officer for successful project design.
  Review of reports, effective or challenged
  project development processes added a new
  dimension to already efficient proposal
  development process.

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Tools

• Grants Compliance Manual
• Bamboo Solutions grants management system
• Work through grants SharePoint site

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Tools (Continued)

• Adoption of a standard sub-award process
• On-going communication and support to project
  directors (Award Kick-off briefings monthly and
  quarterly compliance reviews reporting process)
• Replication of best practices and lessons
  learned (workshops learning communities
  mentoring)
• Facilitation of grant close-out and record
  retention process

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GRANTS COMPLIANCE MANUAL

• Serves as a how-to document for project
  directors
• Contains info about effective project
  implementation internal processes (budget
  monitoring, procurement, etc.)
• Establishes policy previously not in place

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GRANTS COMPLIANCE MANUAL

• Sample provided
• Content addresses many areas of the colleges
  grants implementation process, with the intent of
  helping to demystify the grant project process.
• Clarification of such processes as budget
  monitoring, project implementation, project
  evaluation, procurement, and hiring practices.

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Grants Management System

• Operates on SharePoint
• Allows for access by project directors, grants
  office staff, and senior management
• Serves as tool to efficiently generate reports
  and inform stakeholders of grant status

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Technological tools

• Also working with improving promotion of
  information about project successes. These are
  being undertaken through in-house email
  announcements, through college publications, and
  through our Grants Office SharePoint site.

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Success Indicators

• Percent change in proportion of extensions
  requested as a result of untimely completion of
  activities or expenditures
• Percent change in proportion of grants with funds
  remaining at the end of performance period
• Percent change in proportion of reports submitted
  late and/or with inaccuracies
• Additional Indicators to be determined

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Newer success indicators

• Work on establishing a grading system for
  notification of Senior Staff on project successes
  and projects needing attention and help
• Work to promote successes
• Work to get project managers to use Bamboo Grants
  Management Accelerator software
• Establish training workshops for proper project
  management

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Next steps

• Assist with preparation of periodic and
  nonrecurring reports
• Establishment of schedules for renewed/continuing
  grants based on project need.addressing
  sustainability.

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Ultimate goal

• Assist CCBCs project directors to implement
  effective projects that meet college strategic
  directions and funder requirements.

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Advice for compliance

• Find ways to consistently and easily track
  compliance needs.
• Train those involved to effectively implement
  project goals and objectives.
• Share best practices among those involved in
  projects.
• Be true to project intent.

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Questions?

• THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO TALK WITH YOU
  ABOUT GRANTS COMPLIANCE!!

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CCBC office of grants development

• Nancy Smith, Director, [phone],
  nsmith4_at_ccbcmd.edu
• Joe Coffey, Grants Development Coordinator,
• [phone], jcoffey_at_ccbcmd.edu
• Julie Brown, Grants Compliance Officer,
• [phone], jbrown18_at_ccbcmd.edu
• Deborah Raspi-Weldon, Administrative Assistant,
• [phone], draspi-weldon_at_ccbcmd.edu