Behind the Curtain at TCG

OMB wants your ideas on how to improve federal programs!

Via the ever-vigilant Cornelia Chebinou of the NGP and NASACT:

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. OMB has asked that we distribute t the link to this website.

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.

And back to Grants.gov we go!

Jason Miller at FederalNewsRadio reports this morning that the agencies who moved away from Grants.gov to service Recovery Act grants must start using it again by March 31. The instruction was included in budget passback language provided to agencies earlier this month.

This news was anticipated but will still come as a disappointment to many who experienced a great deal of success in building their own grant application receipt mechanisms for ARRA grants. OMB told agencies to find alternatives to Grants.gov for Recovery Act grant applications, where possible, due to concerns with Grants.gov's performance. HHS, which runs Grants.gov, has spent $6 million to improve the system's performance, and the system appears to have become more stable as a result.

Over many years, OMB and agencies worked together to develop a single platform for grant opportunity publication and application receipt. OMB appears unwilling to discard that investment of time and resources and allow agencies to continue to develop alternative solutions.

In the meantime, GSA, Energy, and Interior have been developing a pilot system that replicates much of Grants.gov's existing functionality, with the goal of establishing a more robust application and technical architecture for the next version of the system. It is unknown when or if this pilot will ever be used in full production for all agencies, or when that might happen.

GPC webcast set for 12/10/09 at 2pm EST

As we reported earlier, the Grants Policy Committee webcast is set for December 10th at 2pm. Here's the latest agenda:

• Introduction
• American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Reporting Overview, Lessons Learned, and Question and Answer (Q & A)
• Government Accountability Office Findings on ARRA Recipient Reporting and Q & A
• Single Audit Pilot on ARRA Funds and Q & A
• Quick GPC Update
• Final Q & A
• Close

More details on how to see the webcast and register to attend in person are available here.

Upcoming FDP meetings

While we're on a scheduling kick, here are the dates for the next FDP meetings, too:

• January 25-26, 2010, Washington, DC
  
• May 13-14, 2010, Washington, DC
  
• August 30-31, 2010, Washington, DC
  

These are also on the Grants Management Events Calendar, and sign-up information will be posted at the FDP web site when it's available.

Upcoming NGMA meetings

The NGMA has scheduled several training luncheons over the next few months, all at the ever-delicious and yummifying Maggiano's in Washington, DC. All of them will be available as tape-delay webcasts, too. Here are the dates and details:

• November 18, 2009 - Surviving ARRA: A State & Local Government Perspective on Section 1512 Reporting
  
• December 16, 2009 - Recovery Board Update: ARRA 1512 Reporting Status
  
• January 13, 2010 - Recovery Board Update: 2nd Quarter Reports, Issues & Improvements
  
• February 10, 2010 - Internal Controls Training and the Impact of ARRA
  
• March 10, 2010 - Tools & Techniques for Reporting on Grants
  

All of these dates are on the Grants Management Events Calendar, which is free and available right here. And you can sign up for the luncheons at the NGMA web site.

GPC webcast scheduled for December 10

The Grants Policy Committee has rescheduled its November 12 webcast to December 10th. You can check the GPC webcast page for more information. Registration is not required.

Grants.gov tests Adobe Reader 8.1.7 and 9.2

Grants.gov confirms that testing of Adobe's new versions of Reader are now completed:

Adobe has released Adobe Reader versions 8.1.7 and 9.2. Grants.gov has tested both versions. An issue was identified for Mac PowerPC when using version 8.1.7. When using Mac PowerPC with version 8.1.7 the following message will display "Adobe Reader quit unexpectedly" and then Adobe
Reader suddenly closes the application. This error prevents the user from completing the forms.

No other issues were found and these versions are compatible. If you are currently using a Grants.gov compatible software version it is not necessary to update your software, use of the latest compatible software version is recommended but not necessary. Adobe Reader software updates are released when potential security vulnerabilities are identified. There is limited risk in the usage of Adobe Reader for completion of Grants.gov application packages. To ensure your package is free of viruses, do not accept files from unknown sources.

For more information on compatible software and free downloads visit the Download Software page:
http://www.grants.gov/help/download_software.jsp#adobe811.

GPC, GEB to merge?

Tom Cooley, chair of the Grants Policy Committee, spoke at the NGP meeting on Tuesday (webcast available here) and mentioned that there is some discussion of the GPC and Grants Executive Board merging.

I think this would be an excellent development. To date, the grants universe has been split into two worlds: the policy world, and the technology world. The two haven't really talked to each other very well over time, resulting in sub-optimal systems that sometimes create more work than they save. Having the two worlds convene on a third planet (okay, I admit this analogy is stretched thin now) and create some concurrence would be phenomenally helpful.

A good example is the kind of problem identified in GAO's latest report: the funding model of Grants.gov. By merging the GPC and GEB -- the bodies associated with the grants business and the government's main grant application system -- it may be possible to broker a funding mechanism that allows Grants.gov the flexibility it needs to meet agencies' ever-changing requirements.

EPA awards contract to align with GMLOB

In the first piece of GMLOB-oriented news I've heard in a long time, it appears that the EPA has awarded a contract "to transition OGD [Office of Grants and Dabarment] to a new, government-wide grants management system: the Grants Management Line of Business (GMLOB)." I'm not entirely sure that's accurate, as there is no "GMLOB system" per se, so I'm guessing that the idea is to align EPA grants processes with GMLOB standards and consortia.

Grants.gov newsletter, Fall 2009, now available

OK, this is getting silly now. Another grants management announcement today! This time it's Grants.gov's fall newsletter. Some interesting stuff here:

• 54% increase in application submissions during FY 2009.
  
• Recovery Act information on Grants.gov.
  
• Submissions now being validated at Grants.gov in record time.
  
• Details on the "Boost" project to improve Grants.gov performance.
  
• CCR's new look.
  
• A complete run-down of all Adobe Reader versions and their compatibility with Grants.gov.