Grants Management 101: Understanding Federal Grants Processes

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Grants Management 101 Understanding Federal
Grants Processes

• NASTAD University
• 2009 NASTAD Annual Meeting

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Topics To Be Covered

• Tips and Peer-based Problem Solving
• Grants Management Definitions and Overviews
• CDC/HRSA Grants Management Policies
• Practical Tips from Peers
• By the end of this session, you will be able to
  define
• IPRs and APRs and Continuation Applications
• Supplemental Applications
• Notice of Grant Award (NGA)
• Financial Status Reports (FSRs)
• Carryover

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Understanding Federal Grants Process

• 1 Rule of Thumb Your Project Officer is your
  Friend
• Serves as a liaison with the grants management
  office
• Helps interpret and translate FOAs and other
  requirements
• Your advocate inside the agency

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The Budget Cycle
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The Budget Process

• Congress Appropriates
• Agencies Get their Budgets
• Agencies Make Funding Awards
• Process Is Not Always Smooth, Impacting HDs
  Through.
• Continuing Resolutions
• Partial Awards

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Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA)

• FOAs
• Announcement of funding availability
• Also called a program announcement
• Specific numbers for federal FOAs often the
  shorthand for that program
• Funding award types
• Cooperative agreement
• Grant
• Contract

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Funding Opportunity Announcements

• Funding Award Length
• Usually 3-5 years
• Ryan White Program - length depends on
  authorizing language
• Access FOAs at www.grants.gov

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Funding Awards

• Notice of Grant Award (NGA)
• Indicates award amount
• Includes specific Terms and Conditions
• Summary Statement/Technical Review (TR)
• The NGA and all the references are legally
  binding documents 

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Funding Awards

• Request for Negotiation
• If revised budget required
• To clarify points in the TR
• Approval required for any .
• Changes in excess of 25 percent of the total
  cumulative award, or 250,000, whichever is less

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Major Federal Funding Awards to States

• CDC 04012
• Current prevention program CoAg
• Funded on January December cycle
• A two-tear bridge funding opportunity
  announcement (FOA) will be issued in 2009 for a
  start date in 2010
• Amount based on combination of impact and
  historical experience with supplemental funding

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Major Federal Funding Awards to States

• HRSA Ryan White Program, Part B
• Formerly called Title II under previous
  authorization
• Includes funding to state health departments for
  care and treatment services
• AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAPs)
• Funded on April March cycle
• Authorized through Ryan White Program
  legislation, with specific funding formulas

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Federal Grants Management Organization

• Grants Management Offices
• Responsible for the business/non-programmatic
  administration of grant
• Each award assigned a grants management
  specialist
• CDC Procurement and Grants Office (PGO)
• HRSA Grants Management Office (GMO)

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Financial Status Report (FSR)

• Annual report of expenditures
• Includes unobligated balances
• Includes unliquidated, obligated funds
• Reported on Federal Form 269
• Due no later than 90 days after the close of the
  budget period.
• Example If your budget period ends Sept. 30,
  2009, your FSR is due December 30, 2009.

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Financial Status Reports (FSRs)

• Unobligated Balance
• Portion of funds awarded by the federal agency
  not obligated by the recipient
• Example Grantee anticipated buying new
  computers, but decided that the old computer
  would be sufficient to meet the needs for the
  remainder of the budget period
• Unliquidated Obligation
• Obligation that has not been paid
• Example Grantee purchased 5 computers but has
  not paid for the computers. (Must document
  obligation)

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Financial Status Reports (FSRs)

• Revised FSRs Are Required
• When grantee overcharged and theres a balance
  due the federal agency
• Upon discovery of an error
• Must be submitted
• No later than one (1) year from due date (fifteen
  months following the end of the budget period)
• Must include written explanation of the revision

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Financial Status Reports Lets Have Some Fun!
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Carryover

• Carryover
• A request to carry over funds not obligated
  into next budget period
• Requests should include
• Grant/CoAg
• Rationale or need for carryover
• Budget
• Contact information and signatures
• FSR and progress report must be current to
  request carryover

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Carryover

• Additional Carryover Policies
• Only for one time needs
• Received by grants management office 120 days
  before the end of the budget period
• Funds from previous budget periods are available
• CDCs PGO recently changed this to allow requests
  of more than the previous year funds

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Progress Reports and Policies

• Frequency
• Prescribed in the FOA and in the Terms and
  Conditions of the Award
• Often required quarterly, semi- annually, or
  annually
• Submitted by authorized or designated
  representative

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Continuation Applications/IPRs

• Application to continue funding for one or more
  years
• CDCs Interim progress report (IPR) a
  continuation application
• Requested at least 90-120 days before the start
  date
• Includes
• Report of current year's objectives
• Objectives for the coming budget period
• Update on administrative issues
• Plan, revisions in methodology and/or shift in
  program focus
• Evaluation plan
• Budget and justification

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Continuations, Closeouts and More

• Closeout
• Term used to describe process to complete one
  funding announcement
• Cost Extension
• Time limited extension of budget year/funding
  award at same or specified funding level
• No-Cost Extension
• Extension to continue project activities through
  a certain date without additional funds

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Supplemental Application

• Application to supplement existing funding for
• Expansion of Scope Treated as
• New
• Competitive, if over 250K or 25 of the award
• Administrative Increases Provided for
• Increased costs
• Continued scope
• Supplemental requests
• Require approval from grants management office
• Must include itemized budget and narrative

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Practical Tips Peer Based Problem Solving

• Questions?
• What is not clear?
• What has been your experience with grants
  management offices?
• How have you handled?

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Where To Go For More Information

• Funding Opportunities and guidelines
  www.grants.gov
• Division of Payment Management
  http//www.dpm.psc.gov/access_pms/system_status.as
  px
• HRSA HAB Grants - http//www.hrsa.gov/grants/defa
  ult.htm
• CDC Procurement and Grants Office (PGO) -
  http//www.cdc.gov/od/pgo/funding/grants/glossary.
  shtm