Behind the Curtain at TCG

GMLOB shifting to "shared services"?

The Management Concepts (lovely, sweet-smelling, and smart people that they are) Grants Blog reported earlier this week that Danny Werfel, Controller of OMB's Office of Federal Financial Management, said the following at the recent Association of Government Accountants Professional Development Conference:

"While he was specifically speaking about financial management systems, the overall principles he discussed also may be applicable to the Grants Management Line of Business (GMLoB). OMB still believes in the concept, but has learned that the model of forcing agencies to move to a complete service center doesn’t work. Instead they are looking to focus more on “shared services.” For example, an agency may share a vendor invoicing service with other agencies but would not have to migrate their entire financial system to a common source."

Well, I don't know about you, but to this I say "Yaaaaay!" and "Woot!" and "Goodness me, what buck-o news, Biggles!" So who's up for sharing services, hmm?

NGMA Monthly Luncheon announced for June

Here are all the details for the next NGMA monthly training luncheon. Interesting topic again this month! Steve Erickson of the EPA will talk about "Open Government: Expanding Accountability for Federal Spending Information". More details:

"This session introduces the Open Government Directive (OGD), which requires agency accountability for the quality & integrity of public Federal spending information. Impacts on the grants community & future implications will also be discussed. Steve Erickson is an EPA Program Analyst in the OCFO’S Office of Financial Management. He served as the staff lead on the Open Government Data Quality Plan."

Go to http://www.ngma.org for in-person or tape delay registration.

NGMA launches new web site

I'm aghast -- aghast! -- that NGMA has launched a new-look web site! It's a thing of beauty and wonder. Alicia, Torryn, and crew should be very proud. Check out their slick new digs, here.

FDP releases slide decks from May meeting

The FDP has made available all of the presentations from its meeting earlier in May. You can grab the whole lot here: http://sites.nationalacademies.org/PGA/fdp/PGA_057092. They include updates from NIH, NSF, Research.gov, ARO, AFOSR, among many others.

GAO's Recovery Act report released

Some pretty amazing numbers are included here. LIke this:

"Across the United States, as of May 7, 2010, the Department of the Treasury has paid out $114.8 billion in Recovery Act funds for use in states and localities. Of that amount, $61.9 billion has been paid out since the start of fiscal year 2010 on October 1, 2009. The latest GAO report looking at how states and localities are spending Recovery Act funds was released May 26, 2010."

Get the whole report here: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d10604.pdf

Grants.gov - back to normal

I just returned from a little vacation to find this announcement [M-10-16] from OMB regarding Grants.gov, confirming what many already understood: agencies are instructed to resume using Grants.gov's "Apply" functionality for all grant programs that are eligible.

This is not a surprise announcement. Agencies were given permission to use alternative systems for Recovery Act grant applications but now that there is less urgency in play, Grants.gov should again be the one Federal government grant application portal.

According to the memo, Grants.gov can now process "at least 8,400 applications per day, with no noticeable degradation of performance" which, given the situation prior to the Recovery Act, is indeed a significant improvement.

Grants.gov's future is still unclear, however. GSA has been working on a pilot project to develop an alternative means of accepting grant proposals, modeled on the technology behind FedBizOpps. There have also been repeated complaints about the time it takes to design, develop, test, and deploy new grant applications forms on Grants.gov, a process that recurs year after year as Congress and agencies adjust grant application criteria.

Regardless, we have always supported the idea of a single portal for all grant applications, so a "return to normal", with Grants.gov fulfilling this role, is positive news for grantees. Agencies will need to figure out how to achieve their grant objectives using this system, by one means or another.

Next NGP Meeting and Webcast: May 11th

I neglected to post earlier that the National Grants Partnership's next meeting is on May 11th, 1.30pm-3.00pm, on the usual BatChannel (http://acrobat.tcg.com/thengp). Registration is free but required for those attending in person at the Department of Education in Washington, DC, and free and not required for those joining via the wonders of the interweb's pipes and pulleys.

I shall now go and beat myself with a wet kipper for my earlier oversight.

NGMA wants some Hemingways

Maybe not so much with the drunkenness and philandering, but if you've got a way with words and a grants management topic that you just have to talk about! then the NGMA Journal folks want to hear from you. To whit:

The Editorial Review Committee is seeking articles for the next issue of the bi-annual Journal.

Prior to preparing or submitting an article, prospective authors are asked to contact Judy Hoanshelt, Journal Editor, at 305.807.8647 or at ngmaeditor@aol.com. Style, stipend information and submission guidelines are located on the NGMA Website at www.ngma.org. Articles should be received by June 15, 2010.

The NGMA Journal is a one-of-a-kind publication edited specifically for grants management professionals, peer reviewed and mailed to members twice annually. Articles deal in great length with specific grants management matters.

Good luck!

FDP May 2010 registration now open

Get your hotel room while you can! Click on this link -- http://guest.cvent.com/EVENTS/Info/Agenda.aspx?i=8f9fcf86-4805-4f7a-bab1-2dae2ae4d35c -- to register.

OMB Releases Updated Guidance on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

Via our friends at the NGMA...

On March 22, 2010, the Office of Management and Budget released a memorandum outlining updated guidance on the Recovery Act.
This Memorandum:

• Highlights the steps Federal agencies must take to review data quality of recipient reports during the new “Continuous Corrections” period initiated by the RATB in January 2010.
• Introduces a new category of data quality issues to be identified and tracked by Federal Agencies, “Administrative/Technical,” and provides specific instructions on preventing such issues from occurring.
• Clarifies the process by which Federal agencies obtain OMB approval of proposed program-specific guidance related to recipient reporting.
• Memorializes and extends the current process in place for Federal agencies to provide a master, detailed list of Recovery Act awards to the RATB and OMB.
• Clarifies miscellaneous issues for recipients, such as when a recipient should categorize a Section 1512 report as “final.”
• Instructs Federal agencies to take immediate action, as appropriate, to review and act on Single Audit findings.
• Reminds Federal agencies of applicable requirements and flexibilities for States to recover administrative costs and establishes a requirement to update OMB on efforts taken in this area.

The Memorandum can be accessed using the following link: http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/assets/memoranda_2010/m10-14.pdf.