GRANTS
MANAGEMENT
i
2003 - 2008
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FOREWORD
I am pleased to present the Environmental Protection Agency's Plan for Grants Manage-
ment. This Plan charts the course the Agency will follow in the coming years to deliver an
effective system for grants administration — one in which federal funds are used responsibly
to deliver meaningful environmental results.
Through this Plan, EPA will streamline grants management, increase competition in the
award of grants, leverage information technology, strengthen oversight of grants and sup-
port the realization of measurable environmental outcomes.
This Plan provides the framework for ensuring that EPA's Grants Program meets the
highest management and fiduciary standards and furthers our efforts to leave America's air
cleaner, its water purer, and its land better protected than we found it. Implementing and
improving this Plan is a continuous process, and we look forward to working with our state,
local, and tribal partners to address the challenges before us.
Christine Todd Whitman
Administrator
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Dear Reader:
I am pleased to release EPA's Plan for Grants Management — a road map to help manage
our Agency's grant resources in a fiscally responsible and productive manner.
I continue to be committed to cultivating and fostering an effective system for grants admin-
istration — one in which federal funds are used responsibly and produce measurable environ-
mental results. Through the activities established in the Plan, the Agency has created a more
accountable system of managing grants and has enhanced systems for administering the
information and resources that make grants programs work.
The Plan highlights five grants management goals: enhance the skills of EPA personnel
involved in grants management, promote competition in the award of grants, leverage
technology to improve program performance, strengthen EPA oversight of grants, and
support identifying and realizing environmental outcomes. I believe these goals provide the
necessary framework to support our vision of ensuring that EPA's grants programs meet the
highest management and fiduciary standards and further the Agency's mission of protecting
human health and the environment.
Implementing and improving our Grants Management Plan is a continuous process, and
through the help of our Senior Resource Officials in Headquarters and the Regions, we will
succeed in addressing challenges as they arise and developing comprehensive strategies for
managing assistance agreements.
Morris X. Winn
Assistant Administrator
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ES-1
INTRODUCTION 1
BACKGROUND AND CHALLENGES 1
PURPOSE OF THE PLAN 3
VISION STATEMENT 4
PARTNERSHIPS 5
GOALS 7
GRANTS MANAGEMENT PLAN MAP 8
OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES 9
GOAL 1: ENHANCE THE SKILLS OF EPA PERSONNEL INVOLVED IN GRANTS MANAGEMENT. .9
GOAL 2: PROMOTE COMPETITION IN THE AWARD OF GRANTS 11
GOAL 3: LEVERAGE TECHNOLOGY TO IMPROVE PROGRAM PERFORMANCE 13
GOAL 4: STRENGTHEN EPA OVERSIGHT OF GRANTS 15
GOAL 5: SUPPORT IDENTIFYING AND ACHIEVING ENVIRONMENTAL OUTCOMES 18
TABLE 1: PERFORMANCE MEASURES FOR GRANTS MANAGEMENT PLAN 20
TABLE 2: ACTION ITEMS BY GOAL AND TARGET COMPLETION DATE 23
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency awards over one-half of
its budget annually in grants to its state, local, tribal, educational and
non-profit partners. The management of EPA's Grants Program is a
cooperative effort involving the Office of Administration and Re-
sources Management's Office of Grants and Debarment (OGD),
National Program Managers, Regional Program Offices, and Grants
Management Offices (GMOs).
In recent years, questions have been raised about the effectiveness
and efficiency of the grants program. For example, EPA's Office of
the Inspector General (OIG) issued a number of audit reports
faulting the Agency's management in the areas of grant competition,
oversight of grantee procurements, planning of grants for environ-
mental results, and EPA's oversight controls for assistance agree-
ments. Similar criticisms have been voiced by the General Accounting
Office (GAO) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). In
response, EPA has taken a number of steps to strengthen the man-
agement and oversight of its assistance agreements, focusing on
improving competition in the awarding of grants and enhancing
compliance review and monitoring of grants. To build upon these
efforts, OGD has developed this Grants Management Plan (the
Plan), which brings ongoing OGD planning efforts into one compre-
hensive document, establishing a clear and strong direction for the
Agency.
The Plan is designed to help EPA achieve its vision for grants man-
agement, that is, to ensure that its grants programs meet the highest
management and fiduciary standards and further the Agency's mis-
sion of protecting human health and the environment. OGD recog-
nized early in the process the importance of involving its partners in
developing the Plan. The Office developed a draft planning frame-
work and shared it with representatives from Regional and Headquar-
ters Program Offices and GMOs. OGD used the comments and
suggestions received on this framework in developing a draft Plan
that it presented at meetings with the Agency's Deputy Assistant
Administrators and Assistant Regional Administrators. The Agency
then shared the draft Plan with the states and tribes and incorporated
several of their suggestions before circulating the Plan to the OIG,
GAO, and OMB for final comments.
The Plan contains five goals (described in more detail below), sup-
ported by a number of objectives. In addition, the Plan contains a
series of specific activities that OGD and other partners will take to
achieve the objectives, and performance measures to track progress
against them. In conjunction with this Plan, OGD has developed a
Tactical Action Plan that sets priorities on an annual basis for
planned activities.
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GOAL 1: ENHANCE THE SKILLS OF EPA PERSONNEL INVOLVED IN GRANTS
MANAGEMENT
Given the renewed emphasis on grants oversight, the Agency must
supplement the traditional skill set for grant specialists and project
officers with a new competency centered on the business aspects of
grants management. EPA will enhance its basic grants management
courses to make them more comprehensive and to focus on training
grant specialists and project officers in core competencies. The
courses will expand training on application, budget and procurement
review, conducting grants competitions, and linking grant workplans
to environmental results. The efforts under this goal complement,
and are linked to, the Agency's human resources plan and the
President's Management Agenda initiative on the strategic manage-
ment of human capital.
GOAL 2: PROMOTE COMPETITION IN THE AWARD OF GRANTS
Congress, OMB, and OIG have expressed concerns with respect to
EPA's policies and procedures regarding competition in the award of
assistance agreements. In response, the Agency developed a new
Order on grant competition that went into effect on October 1, 2002.
The Order identifies grant programs that are appropriate for compe-
tition, requires detailed justifications for noncompetitive awards,
establishes standard procedures for the solicitation, review and
evaluation of applications, and creates a new, senior-level Grants
Competition Advocate position in OGD to oversee compliance. To
ensure proper implementation, OGD will provide competition
training to project officers on an ongoing basis. It will also upgrade
the Agency's process for preparing Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance (CFDA) program descriptions to increase public aware-
ness of EPA funding opportunities, and will post all grant solicita-
tions on a federal-wide Internet site, Fed Biz Opps.
GOAL 3: LEVERAGE TECHNOLOGY TO IMPROVE PROGRAM PERFORMANCE
The President's Management Agenda initiative calls on all federal
agencies to focus their application of information technology on
improving agency mission performance, enhancing information
security, maintaining information privacy, reducing duplication and
coordinating efforts with other agencies in an integrated manner.
With respect to grants programs, OGD is working to streamline
grant application and reporting requirements and to develop a central
electronic portal for grant application and reporting. In addition,
OGD continues to deploy the Integrated Grant Management System
(IGMS), designed to move EPA from a paper-based grants culture to
an electronic culture by fully automating the grants process within the
Agency.
GOAL 4: STRENGTHEN EPA OVERSIGHT OF GRANTS
In response to questions raised about grant oversight, the Agency
developed a new, comprehensive, post-award management policy.
This policy establishes requirements for post-award monitoring plans,
including requirements for pre-award technical assistance to grantees,
performing baseline monitoring and advanced monitoring, and a plan
ES-2
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to address the timely closeout of all grants. EPA will increase the
level of advanced monitoring of grantees, including onsite monitor-
ing, and keep track of its activities through a new Grantee Compli-
ance Database. In addition, the Agency will improve accountability
for grants oversight through such actions as requiring that the Perfor-
mance Standards established for grant specialists and project officers
adequately address their grant management responsibilities.
GOAL 5: SUPPORT IDENTIFYING AND ACHIEVING ENVIRONMENTAL
OUTCOMES
EPA's 2003 Strategic Plan reflects a new perspective on the Agency's
work, with a sharpened focus on achieving measurable environmental
results. This Grants Management Plan reflects this new focus on
environmental results, and the activities described in the Plan will play
a critical role in the accomplishment of the Agency's five goals. By
linking grants performance to the achievement of the Agency's
performance goals, the activities proposed in this Plan will further
enhance the Agency's efforts to manage for results. EPA will
strengthen its project officer training program to highlight the impor-
tance of environmental results and work with the Program Offices to
include consideration of environmental outcomes in grant workplans
and to link activities to measurable outcomes.
Together, these five goals and the accompanying objectives will direct
our efforts to increase accountability, competition, and the realization
of environmental benefits through the grants program. Through
continued communication with grant customers and other stakehold-
ers, OGD will track progress towards its vision for grants manage-
ment and improve how the Agency protects human health and the
environment.
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BACKGROUND AND CHALLENGES
INTRODUCTION
Each fiscal year, EPA awards approximately $4 billion in grants, which
constitutes over one-half of the Agency's budget. This funding
represents a key mechanism with which EPA, in concert with states,
local governments, tribes, educational institutions, and non-profit
organizations, protects the environment. EPA must manage these
funds effectively and ensure that they achieve the best possible envi-
ronmental results.
The management of EPA's Grants Program is a cooperative effort
involving the Office of Administration and Resources Management's
Office of Grants and Debarment (OGD), the Headquarters National
Program Managers (NPMs) and Regional Program Offices, and
Grants Management Offices (GMOs). All of these offices work to
ensure that EPA's financial and other resources are protected against
threats of waste, fraud, abuse, mismanagement or poor performance.
• OGD is responsible for all assistance regulations, policy and
guidance; cradle-to-grave grant, loan, and cooperative agree-
ments; and administrative management of interagency agree-
ments for all EPA Headquarters grants programs.
• The NPMs are responsible for establishing and implementing
national policies with respect to the grant programs under
their area of responsibility and for setting funding priorities.
They are also responsible for technical and programmatic
oversight of Headquarters grants.
• The Regional GMOs provide administrative management for
EPA's regional assistance programs. The Program Offices in
the regions work closely with the GMOs to provide technical
and programmatic oversight for regional grants programs.
In response to a material weakness (i.e., a significant weakness that must
be reported to the President and Congress) designation in 1996, the
Agency closed out a backlog of thousands of grants, provided exten-
sive project officer training, and issued formal post-award manage-
ment policies. As a result of this aggressive post-award strategy, and
with the concurrence of the Office of Inspector General (OIG), EPA
reduced the weakness designation to an Agency level weakness (i.e., a
weakness that must be reported to the Administrator of EPA only) in
FY 1999 and eliminated it entirely in FY 2000. However, due to
continuing concerns by the OIG that EPA had not completely vali-
dated the effectiveness of its grants strategy, EPA designated a new
Agency-level weakness for FY 2001 entitled "Improved Management
of Assistance Agreements."
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During 2001 and 2002, the OIG, the General Accounting Office
(GAO), and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) expressed
concerns over EPA's management of its grants programs. The OIG
issued a number of audit reports faulting the Agency's management
in the areas of grant competition, oversight of grantee procurements,
planning of grants for environmental results, and EPA's oversight
controls for assistance agreements. GAO also criticized EPA's over-
sight of non-profit grant recipients and the failure to link grant
outputs to environmental outcomes. OMB voiced concerns about the
Agency's lack of a competition policy for grants and asked EPA to
include grant competition and oversight as part of the President's
Management Agenda for Financial Management. Both the OIG and
OMB proposed that the Agency declare grants management as a
material weakness.
Recently, EPA has taken major steps to strengthen the management
and oversight of its assistance agreements, including EPA Orders on
Grants Competition (EPA Order 5700.5) and on Compliance, Review
and Monitoring (EPA Order 5700.6), and the establishment of a
Senior Executive Service Grants Competition Advocate position in
the Office of Grants and Debarment. Although EPA has made
measurable progress in the management of grants, further action is
necessary. While the Agency decided not to elevate grants manage-
ment to a material weakness, the decision to keep it as an Agency level
weakness was based on a commitment by EPA's program and man-
agement offices to quickly and effectively address grants management
issues. This Grants Management Plan (the Plan) specifies the action
steps that are needed to address these issues.
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PURPOSE OF THE PLAN
The purpose of the Plan is to help EPA achieve its vision for grants
management; that is, to ensure that EPA's grants programs meet the
highest management and fiduciary standards and further the Agency's
mission of protecting human health and the environment. Since 1996,
when grants management was first identified as a material weakness,
the Agency has implemented management controls and strengthened
post-award oversight. To maintain these improvements and respond
to new challenges, the Agency has developed this long-term Plan for
grants management.
The actions outlined in this Plan will support not only the objectives
of those involved in the grants program, but also the environmental
and human health goals supported by the entire Agency. The grants
program is a key mechanism by which the Agency engages the inno-
vation and expertise of state, local and tribal partners. Strengthening
the management of the program will ensure that this partnership
continues to benefit all stakeholders.
As detailed in Goal 5 of this Plan, EPA recognizes the importance of
tying its grant activities to measurable environmental results. Table 1,
found at the end of the Plan, shows major performance measures that
will enable EPA to assess its progress towards the goals for grants
management. Table 2 shows the actions committed to under each
goal for the upcoming years. A more detailed Tactical Action Plan for
2003, available under separate cover, identifies action items, scheduled
completion dates, and parties responsible for completing action items.
This Tactical Action Plan will be updated on an annual basis.
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VISION STATEMENT
EPA is committed to ensure that its grants programs
meet the highest management and fiduciary standards
and further the Agency's mission of protecting human
health and the environment.
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PARTNERSHIPS
It is clear that all stakeholders must work together to implement the
grants program's vision. EPA's partners in this task include Congress,
its oversight agencies (i.e., OIG, GAO, OMB), state and local govern-
ments, tribes, and non-profit organizations. EPA recognizes the
importance of involving its partners in the design of the Grants
Management Plan. After reviewing several strategic plans from other
agencies as well as concerns expressed by Congress and EPA's over-
sight agencies, OGD developed a draft planning framework including
goals and objectives. OGD shared this draft framework with repre-
sentatives from Regional and Headquarters Program Offices and
GMOs. OGD used the comments and suggestions received on this
framework to develop a draft Plan that was presented at meetings
with the Agency's Deputy Assistant Administrators and Assistant
Regional Administrators. The Agency then shared the draft Plan with
the states and tribes and incorporated several of their suggestions into
the Plan. The Agency also sought comments from the OIG, GAO,
and OMB in making final changes to the Plan.
EPA's partners will benefit from the initiatives in this Plan in a num-
ber of ways. Grant specialists and project officers who are well-
trained can better assist grant recipients with all stages of the grants
process, from writing the workplan to closeout. Integrating informa-
tion technology with each stage of the grants process will improve the
accessibility and accuracy of information available to state, local and
tribal grant recipients, and standardized electronic reporting will
reduce the paperwork burden for recipients and improve the feedback
time for project officers. Information management technologies that
facilitate the work of project officers and grant specialists will free up
more time for those personnel to directly assist grant recipients.
Enhanced grant recipient assistance will strengthen the abilities of
grantees to manage grant funds efficiently, meet the conditions of
their workplans, and develop tools to assess and report on the envi-
ronmental and health benefits of their programs.
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Finally, grantees will also benefit from more frequent and coordinated
oversight by EPA's project officers and GMOs. Improved administra-
tion of the entire grants program will enable grants personnel to
quickly identify key issues and implement the appropriate technical
assistance or policy guidance to address management challenges. In
addition, the focus on developing enhanced environmental reporting
measures in the Plan will help grant recipients to improve the linkage
between the outcomes of their grants and EPA's environmental goals.
With the support of Agency grants personnel, grant recipients will be
able to develop environmental reporting measures and thereby pro-
mote the accountability of their programs, both within their commu-
nities and for future EPA awards. The Agency is committed to ensur-
ing that the emphasis on environmental outcomes and reporting will
not increase the paperwork burden of grantees.
The Agency believes that the Plan presented below addresses the
concerns of its partners and will help ensure effective and efficient
grants management. The Grants Management Plan Map presents the
five strategic goals and objectives that will guide efforts to achieve
each goal. In the Plan that follows, focused action items and target
dates are specified for each objective. Performance measures, includ-
ing baselines and performance goals, are also presented in order to
demonstrate how EPA will track its progress on each of the five goals.
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GOAL 1: ENHANCE THE SKILLS OF EPA PERSONNEL INVOLVED IN GRANTS MANAGEMENT
GOAL 2: PROMOTE COMPETITION IN THE AWARD OF GRANTS
GOAL 3: LEVERAGE TECHNOLOGY TO IMPROVE PROGRAM PERFORMANCE
GOAL 4: STRENGTHEN EPA OVERSIGHT OF GRANTS
GOAL 5: SUPPORT IDENTIFYING AND ACHIEVING ENVIRONMENTAL OUTCOMES
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GRANTS MANAGEMENT
PLAN MAP
VISION STATEMENT
EPA is committed to ensure that its grants programs meet the highest management and fiduciary
standards and further the Agency's mission of protecting human health and the environment.
J_
Goal 1: Enhance the Skills
of EPA Personnel Involved
in Grants Management
Objective 1.1: Update and Enhance
Training Materials and Course Curricula to
Emphasize High Priority Areas
Objective 1.2: Improve Delivery and
Availability of Training Programs
Objective 1.3: Provide Training to
Managers and Supervisors
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Goal 2: Promote Competition
in the Award of Grants
Objective 2.1: Improve the Agency's
process for Identifying Annual Funding
Priorities and Planning for Competition
Objective 2.2 Encourage a Large and
Diverse Group of Grant Applicants
Objective 2.3: Promote Agency-wide
Understanding of the Importance of
Competition
Objective 2.4 Provide Adequate Support
to the Grants Competition Advocate
Goal 3: Leverage Technology to Improve
Program Performance
Objective3.1: Continue Deployment
of IGMS within EPA
Objective 3.2: Integrate IGMS with
Federal-Wide E-grant Initiatives
Objective 3.3 Enhance and Expand
Information Systems that Support
Grants Oversight
Goal 4: Strengthen EPA
Oversight of Grants
Objective 4.1: Improve Grants
Management Reviews of EPA Offices
Objective 4.2: Improve and Expand
External Reviews of Grant Recipients
Goal 5: Support Identifying
and Achieving Environmental Outcomes
Objective 5.1: Include Expected Environ
mental Outcomes and Performance
Measures in Grant Workplans
Objective 5.2: Improve Reporting
on Progress made in Achieving
Environmental Outcomes
Objective 4.3: Develop
Approaches to Prevent or Limit
Grants Management Weaknesses
Objective 4.4: Establish Clear Lines of
Accountability for Grants Oversight
Objective 4.5: Provide High-level
Coordination, Planning, and Priority
Setting for Grants Management
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OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES
GOAL 1:
ENHANCE THE SKILLS OF EPA PERSONNEL
INVOLVED IN GRANTS MANAGEMENT
EPA must have a skilled workforce of grant specialists and project
officers to manage its grants. Both grant specialists and project offic-
ers are responsible for the review, negotiation, and administration
(including pre-award review of grant applications, post-award moni-
toring and close-out) of grant agreements. Project officers are prima-
rily responsible for these functions as they relate to the programmatic
and technical requirements of the grant agreements, while grant
specialists are principally responsible for the administration and
financial aspects.
Given the renewed emphasis on grants oversight, the Agency must
supplement the traditional skill set for grant specialists (i.e., grants
processing) with a new competency centered on the business aspects
of grants management. The Agency will develop a standardized
training program, including continuing education requirements and a
body of core knowledge, focusing on pre-award review of applica-
tions and post-award monitoring. When fully implemented, the
program will enable specialists to evaluate justifications for noncom-
petitive awards, verify grantee compliance with procurement and
other administrative requirements, and identify unallowable costs.
EPA offers basic and one-day refresher courses to educate project
officers about their grants management responsibilities. Project
officers must complete the basic course to establish that they are
certified to manage grants and take the refresher course every three
years to maintain their certification. Although the Agency has used
these courses to train more than 4,500 project officers, customer
service surveys and OIG audits have identified areas for improve-
ment. EPA will upgrade the basic and refresher course to make it
more comprehensive and to focus on training grant specialists and
project officers on core competencies. The course will include ex-
panded training on application, budget and procurement review,
conducting grants competitions, and planning for environmental
results.
This investment in "human capital" in the grants management area is
linked to and complements the Agency's human resources plan and
the President's Management Agenda initiative on the strategic man-
agement of human capital. The comprehensive approach described
below to enhance the skills of EPA staff involved in grants manage-
ment will ensure successful accomplishment of the goals and objec-
tives in the Plan.
Objective 1.1: Update and Enhance Training Materials and Course
Curricula to Emphasize High Priority Areas
• Issue 5th Edition of Project Officer Training Manual that
will focus on core competencies needed to manage grants.
The manual will be enhanced to include additional materials
on pre-award review and application procedures, budget,
cost and procurement review, grants competition,
environmental results in workplans, and use of the Federal
Audit Clearinghouse (2003)
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• Conduct project officer training with special emphasis on the
core competency areas that were enhanced in the 5th edition
of the training manual (2003)
• Issue initial edition of the Grant Specialist Training Manual.
The manual will focus on core competency areas and include
discussions on indirect costs, budget and application review,
competition, post-award monitoring, and the Federal Audit
Clearinghouse (2003)
• Conduct Grant Specialist training focusing on core
competency areas (2003)
• Develop Long Term Grants Management Training Plan
(2003)
• Issue guidance on the proper use of amendments (2003)
• Enhance and update on-line reference materials for grant
specialists in core knowledge areas (2004)
Objective 1.2: Improve Delivery and Availability of Training
Programs
• Implement on-line training for grant specialists in core
competency areas (2004)
• Enhance on-line training for the refresher project officers
course to include additional materials on pre-application
review, competition, post-award monitoring, environmental
outcomes and other new areas covered in the Project Officer
Training Manual, as well as verification of completion at
each step (2004)
• Implement on-line training for the basic project officers
course, including verification of completion at each step
(2005)
• Ensure that Regional Offices, Headquarters NPMs and
OGD provide basic and refresher grants management
training to project officers on a timely basis (ongoing)
• Establish certification program for grant specialists based on
an examination of skills and core competencies required to
manage grants (2006)
Objective 1.3: Provide Training to Managers and Supervisors
• Develop a pilot grants management training program for
managers and supervisors in 2003, with scheduled classroom
training in 2004 and online training in 2005
PERFORMANCE MEASURES
The following performance measures will help EPA track its progress
in enhancing the grants management skill base of EPA personnel.
• Percentage of grants managed by certified project officers
Baseline: 85% Target 2003: 100%
• Percentage of grants managed by project officers who have
taken enhanced project officer refresher course
Baseline: 0% Target 2004: 30%
2005: 60%
2006: 100%
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Congress, OMB, and OIG have expressed concerns with respect to
EPA's policies and procedures regarding competition in the award of
assistance agreements. In response, the Agency developed a new
Order on grants competition that went into effect on October 1, 2002.
The Order identifies grants programs that are appropriate for
competition; creates a competition threshold of $75,000; requires
detailed justifications for noncompetitive awards; establishes standard
procedures for the solicitation, review and evaluation of applications;
and creates a new senior-level Grants Competition Advocate position
in OGD to oversee compliance. The Order will strengthen EPA's
processes for grant competition, particularly for grants to nonprofit
organizations.
The Order applies to a broad range of Agency grants. For FY 2003
and FY 2004, all covered grants for $75,000 or greater are subject to
the Order's requirements, with the competition threshold for FY 2005
and beyond to be based on the results of a study and further analysis.
The Order does not apply to grants that support ongoing functions
of our state, tribal, or local government partners.
To ensure proper implementation, OGD will provide competition
training to project officers on an ongoing basis. It will also upgrade
the Agency's process for preparing Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance (CFDA) program descriptions to increase public awareness
of EPA funding opportunities.
GOAL 2:
PROMOTE COMPETITION IN
THE AV\ARD OF GRANTS
Objective 2.1: Improve the Agency's process for Identifying Annual
Funding Priorities and Planning for Competition
• Provide guidance to NPMs on CFDA descriptions that
publicize funding priorities and opportunities (2003)
• Include NPM funding priorities in the CFDA on an annual
basis to ensure they are well advertised and linked to
Government Performance Results Act (GPRA) goals (2003)
• Develop and implement a structured annual planning
process for grant competitions (Develop: 2004, Implement:
2005)
Objective 2.2 Encourage a Large and Diverse Group of Grant
Applicants
• Expand public awareness of EPA funding opportunities by
improving the accuracy and specificity of program
descriptions in the CFDA (2004)
• Develop guidelines and make post-competition award
information available to the public through the EPA Internet
(e.g., number and name of successful applicants, award
amounts) (2003)
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• Develop a central Grants Competition Web page linked to
Program Office Web sites to make EPA grant solicitations
easily available to the public (2003)
• Post all EPA grant solicitations on the Fed Biz Opps Web
site (2003)
• Research innovative grants competition strategies performed
by federal, state or local governments and determine
suitability for adapting them for EPA use (2004)
Objective 2.3: Promote Agency-wide Understanding of the
Importance of Competition
• Develop standard Agency-wide grants competition training
materials and incorporate into project officer and grant
specialist training (2003)
Objective 2.4 Provide Adequate Support to the Grants Competition
Advocate
• Provide full staffing for Grants Competition Advocate
(2003)
PERFORMANCE MEASURES
The following performance measures will help EPA track its progress
in promoting competition in the award of grants.
Percentage of new grants subject to the competition order
that are competed
Baseline: 27% Target 2003: 30%
2004: 60%
2005: 85%
Percentage of new grants to non-profit recipients subject to
the competition order that are competed
Baseline: 24% Target 2003: 30%
2004: 55%
2005: 75%
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The President's Management Agenda calls on all federal agencies to
focus their application of information technology on improving
agency mission performance, enhancing information security,
maintaining information privacy, reducing duplication, and
coordinating efforts with other agencies in an integrated manner.
With respect to grants programs, the Federal Financial Assistance
Management Improvement Act of 1999, Public Law 106-107,
mandates that federal agencies work together to streamline grant
application and reporting requirements for all grants and to develop a
central electronic portal for grant application and reporting.
During 2002, OGD participated in a series of workgroups with other
federal agencies to identify opportunities for streamlining. The
activities described in this Plan are designed to build on these efforts
that will eventually lead to a government-wide electronic portal,
known as E-Grants.
In addition, in 2002, OGD continued to deploy the Integrated Grant
Management System (IGMS). IGMS is moving EPA from a paper-
based grants culture to an electronic culture by fully automating the
grants process within the Agency. The system will also be capable of
exchanging data with the E-Grants electronic storefront for recipient
application and reporting, creating an all electronic grant process.
IGMS makes grant information available on-line to every grant
manager and project officer in the Agency for better decision-making.
The system supports tracking of grant milestones, products, and post-
award management activities for project officers and grant specialists.
GOALS:
LEVERAGE TECHNOLOGY TO IMPROVE
PROGRAM PERFORMANCE
Specialists can generate closeout letters to recipients and project
officers and track the progress of grant closeouts. The system saves
time and resources by eliminating duplicate data entry, mailing and
photocopy costs, as well as the time it takes to track grants or build
and maintain stovepipe grant tracking systems.
Objective 3.1: Continue Deployment of IGMS within EPA
• Complete deployment of IGMS in Regions 2, 4, 5, and 8
and of pilot Headquarters component (2003)
• Develop an interface between IGMS and the Integrated
Financial Management System (IFMS) so that commitment
notice information need be entered only once (2003)
• Enable electronic transmission of award data from IGMS to
IFMS (2004)
• Complete deployment of IGMS in Headquarters (2006)
Objective 3.2: Integrate IGMS with Federal-Wide E-Grant Initiatives
• Complete analysis of changes required to IGMS and Grants
Information Control System (GICS) to enable these systems
to interface with federal E-Grants portal (2003)
• Develop an interface to federal E-Grants portal to enable
IGMS to accept applications in 2004, and expand to include
reporting by 2005
• Modify IGMS data elements to E-Grants standards for
reporting (2005)
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Objective 3.3 Enhance and Expand Information Systems that
Support Grants Oversight
• Develop and implement an IGMS post-award module (2003)
• Correct inconsistencies and inaccuracies in the naming of
grantees, grant specialists and project officers so that
accurate reports of workload and recipient counts are
available (2003)
• Enhance the IGMS Electronic Grant File reporting views
for the reports needed to monitor grant specialist and
project officer workloads (2003)
• Expand the Project Officer Database to track certification
and re-certification activities (2003)
• Establish a tracking system to identify competition status
(competed or not competed) of grants (2003)
• Develop a project officer interface to simplify use of IGMS
(2004)
• Ensure that Agency IT systems (e.g., Financial Data
Warehouse) make grants information readily available to
EPA personnel (2004)
• Create an Agency Web site to allow grant specialists and
project officers to access best practices and other tools for
post-award management (2004)
• Develop an administrative review checklist in IGMS to
ensure that grant packages are complete, comprehensive and
in compliance with EPA orders and policies (2005)
PERFORMANCE MEASURES
The following performance measures will help EPA track its progress
in utilizing technology to improve grants management.
• Percentage of grants funding packages that are submitted
electronically
Baseline (Regions): 53% Target (Regions): 2003: 65%
2004: 85%
(HQ): 0% (HQ): 2006: 25%
• Average number of days to process a grant
Baseline: 60 days Target (Regions): 2003: 57 days
(5% reduction from baseline)
2004: 51 days
(15% reduction from baseline)
(HQ): To be established once
IGMS installed
• Percentage of award transactions transmitted electronically
into the finance system (IFMS)
Baseline (Regions): 0% Target (Regions): 2004: 100%
(HQ): 100%
• Number of electronic applications received in IGMS from
E-Grants Portal (Target to be established once we have
experience with volume)
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Recent Agency grants management reviews of EPA offices and OIG
audits have found that oversight policies were not always followed,
and that on-site evaluations and baseline monitoring of assistance
agreements by grant specialists were insufficient to assure recipient
compliance with administrative and programmatic requirements. In
response to these issues, the Agency developed a new, comprehensive
post-award management policy. It establishes requirements for post-
award monitoring plans (these plans must be submitted by all Agency
offices that manage grants), including requirements for pre-award
technical assistance to grantees, performance of baseline monitoring
on an ongoing basis for all awards, advanced monitoring on a
minimum of 10 percent of the Agency's active grantees annually, and
a plan to address the timely closeout of all grants. The new policy
went into effect in January 2003.
To complement the new policy, in this Plan the Agency is taking a
series of important steps. These activities will enhance EPA's internal
reviews of grants operations, develop early warning systems to quickly
identify problem areas, help project officers and grant specialists
improve their monitoring of grantee performance, strengthen
technical assistance to recipients to prevent problems from occurring,
and resolve significant policy issues and establish strategic directions
through a coordinated and integrated approach to planning.
GOAL 4:
STRENGTHEN EPA OVERSIGHT
OF GRANTS
Objective 4.1: Improve Grants Management Reviews of EPA Offices
• Combine the Management Oversight and Post-Award
Validation Grants Management Review protocols of EPA
offices by redesigning and consolidating into one cradle-to-
grave review, and develop and begin implementation of
internal early warning systems (e.g., a review of performance
measures) for identifying grants management weaknesses
(2003)
• Conduct cradle-to-grave grants management reviews of
EPA Headquarters and Regional Offices starting in 2003
• Issue revised guidance on grants management self
assessments (Management Effectiveness Reviews or MERs)
that are conducted by EPA's offices (2003)
Objective 4.2: Improve and Expand External Reviews of Grant
Recipients
• Require all EPA offices to conduct baseline monitoring of
all active grantees (ongoing)
• Increase the level of advanced monitoring of grantees by
EPA offices, including desk reviews and on-site reviews, to a
minimum of 10 percent annually of active recipients (2003)
• Ensure that all EPA offices record their activities in the
Agency's Compliance Database including documentation of
the results of compliance reviews (2003)
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Objective 4.3; Develop Approaches to Prevent or Limit Grants
Management Weaknesses
• Ensure that all offices submit timely annual post-award
monitoring plans (2003)
• Ensure that all EPA offices will, on an annual basis, define
and identify categories of at-risk grantees requiring technical
and/or compliance assistance (2003)
• Complete development, in partnership with OIG, of an
instructional video for nonprofit recipients on how to
manage their grants (2003)
• Provide training courses for nonprofit recipients (2003)
• Develop grants management tribal training manual and
provide training to tribes (2003)
• Develop guidance on required procurement processes under
grants, including competition, cost and price analyses, and
avoidance of conflicts of interest, and make available to
grantees (2003)
• Establish a pre-award financial systems review program for
at-risk grantees (2004)
• Establish Grants Clearinghouse/Hotline for grant recipients
(2004)
• Review and update EPA's indirect cost rate policies (2004)
• Develop grants management resource tool to replace
Assistance Administration Manual (2006)
Objective 4.4: Establish Clear Lines of Accountability for Grants
Oversight
• Clarify roles and responsibilities of Senior Resource Officials
(2003)
• Issue grants policy document defining roles and
responsibilities of EPA Grants Management Officers,
Program Office officials, and project officers (2003)
• Ensure that Performance Standards established for grant
specialists and project officers adequately address grants
management responsibilities (2004)
• Develop workload analysis of project officers and grant
specialists (2004)
• Establish Standard Operation Procedures and Best Practices
for EPA Grants Management Offices (2004)
• Based on analysis of workload, roles and responsibilities, and
best practices, provide guidance to EPA Grants Management
Offices and Program Offices on how resources should be
allocated to ensure effective and efficient grants
management oversight (2005)
Objective 4.5: Provide High-level Coordination, Planning, and Priority
Setting for Grants Management
• Update GMO business plans in 2003 and annually thereafter
• Establish senior-level Grants Management Council (2003)
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PERFORMANCE MEASURES
The following performance measures will help EPA track its progress in
strengthening the oversight of grants.
• Percentage of grants awarded in the fourth quarter of the Agency's fiscal
year
Baseline: 67% Target 2004: 57%
• Number of comprehensive internal reviews of EPA grants management
operations
Baseline: 0 Target: 2003 (Regions): 3
(HQ):4
• Percentage of active recipients who receive advanced monitoring (onsite and
offsite evaluative reviews)
Baseline: 5% Target 2003: 10%
• Percentage of active recipients who have onsite reviews conducted by
Program Office and/or GMOs
Baseline: establish in 2003 Target 2004: 5% increase over baseline
• Percentage of offices that submit post-award monitoring plans on time
Baseline: 60% Target 2003: 100%
• Percentage of eligible grants closed out
Baseline FY 2001: 89% Target FY 2001: 99%
FY 2002: 51% FY 2002: 90%
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GOALS:
SUPPORT IDENTIFYING AND ACHIEVING
ENVIRONMENTAL OUTCOMES
EPA's 2003 Strategic Plan reflects a new perspective on the Agency's
work, with a sharpened focus on achieving measurable environmental
results. EPA has constructed its 2003 Strategic Plan around five new
goals that describe the results we are striving to achieve: Clear Air;
Clean and Safe Water, Preserve and Restore the Land, Healthy Com-
munities and Ecosystems, and Compliance and Environmental
Stewardship. Under its new Plan, the Agency treats key functions such
as sound science, quality environmental information, and effective
management (including grants management) not as goals in them-
selves, but as important means to an environmental end. This Grants
Management Plan reflects this new focus on environmental results
and the activities described in the Plan will play a critical role in the
accomplishment of the Agency's five goals.
By linking grants performance to the achievement of the Agency's
performance goals, the activities proposed in this Plan will further
enhance the Agency's efforts to manage for results. EPA will
strengthen its project officer training program to highlight the
importance of environmental results and work with the Program
Offices to include consideration of environmental outcomes in grant
workplans and to link activities to measurable outcomes.
Objective 5.1: Include Expected Environmental Outcomes and
Performance Measures in Grant Workplans
• Develop a tutorial for grantees on how to develop
performance measures for workplans (2003)
• Issue grants policy guidance to ensure that all grant
workplans, decision memoranda, and/or terms of condition
include environmental outcomes and how to measure them
(2003)
• Require a discussion of expected environmental outcomes
and performance measures in grant solicitations (2004)
Objective 5.2: Improve Reporting on Progress Made in Achieving
Environmental Outcomes
• Establish reporting on environmental outcomes as a
criterion for approval of interim and final reports (2005)
• Incorporate success in reporting on outcomes into the
criteria for awarding new grants (2005)
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Address Paperwork Reduction Act requirements to enable
cooperative agreement recipients to easily collect
information on environmental results and outcomes (2004)
PERFORMANCE MEASURES
The following performance measure will help EPA track its progress
in supporting grantee identification and realization of environmental
outcomes.
• Percentage of grant workplans, decision memoranda, and
terms of condition that include a discussion of how grantees
plan to measure and report on environmental progress
Baseline: establish in FY 2003 Target 2004: 70%
2005: 80%
2006: 100%
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TABLE 1
PERFORMANCE MEASURES FOR GRANTS MANAGEMENT PLAN
PERFORMANCE MEASURES BASELINE TARGET OURCE OF ATA. CALCULATION/FIELDS
DATABASE(S)
GOAL 1 : ENHANCE THE SKILLS OF EPA PERSONNEL INVOLVED IN GRANTS MANAGEMENT
Percentage of grants managed by
certified project officers
Percentage of grants managed by
project officers who have taken
enhanced project officer refresher
course
85%
December 2002
0%
100%
April 2003
30% 2004
60% 2005
100% 2006
Certified Project
Officers & Active
Grants
Certified Project
Officers & Active
Grants
Number of active grants
managed by certified
project officers /total
number of active grants
Number of active grants
managed by project officers
who have taken enhanced
refresher course/total
number of active grants
GOAL 2: PROMOTE COMPETITION IN THE AWARD OF GRANTS
Percentage of new grants subject to
the competition order that are
competed
Percentage of new grants to non-
profit recipients subject to the
competition order that are competed
27% new grants
September 2002
24% new grants
September 2002
30% September 2003
60% September 2004
85% September 2005
30% September 2003
55% September 2004
75% September 2005
Active Grants
Active Grants
Number of grants
competed/total number
of grants subject to
competition
Number of grants to non-
profits competed/total
number of grants to
non profits subject to
competition
GOAL 3: LEVERAGETECHNOLOGY TO IMPROVE PROGRAM PERFORMANCE
Percentage of grants funding
packages that are submitted
electronically
Regions: 53% in 8 regions
HQ: 0%
August 2002
Regans: 65% by 2003
85% by 2004
HQ: 25% by December
2006
IGMS
Number of grants packages
(funding recommendation
or commitment notice)
transmitted electronically/
total number of grants and
amendments awarded in
fiscal year
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TABLE 1 (CONTINUED)
PERFORMANCE MEASURES FOR GRANTS MANAGEMENT PLAN
PERFORMANCE MEASURES
Average number of days to process
a grant
BASELINE
60 Days
September 2002
TARGET
Regions: 57 days by 2003
(5% reduction from
baseline)
51 days by 2004 (15%
reduction from baseline)
HQ: Target to be
established once IGMS
installed
SOURCE OF DATA:
DATABASE(S)
IGMS
CALCULATION/FIELDS
v average number
of days from "received
date" to "award date"
H.Q: average number of
days from "Funding
Package Date" to "award
date"
Percentage of award transactions
transmitted electronically into the
finance system (IFMS)
Regions: 0%
Hg:100% (FY2002)
100% Regions and HQ
by December 2004
IGMS, IFMS
Number of award
transactions or award
amount transmitted
electronically during the
year/total number of
award transactions
Agency-wide for entire
year
Number of electronic applications
received in IGMS from E-Grants
Portal
December 2004
(Target to be established
once we have experi-
ence with volume)
IGMS
Number of applications
transmitted to IGMS
from E-Grants Portal
GOAL 4: STRENGTHEN EPA OVERSIGHT OF GRANTS
Percentage of grants awarded in 4th
quarter
67%
4th quarter FY 2002
57%
4th quarter FY 2004
Active Grants
Number of grants with
award date in fourth
quarter/total number of
grants awarded in FY
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TABLE 1 (CONTINUED)
PERFORMANCE MEASURES FOR GRANTS MANAGEMENT PLAN
PERFORMANCE MEASURES BASELINE TARGET OURCE OF ATA. CALCULATION/FIELDS
DATABASE(S)
Number of comprehensive internal
reviews of EPA grants management
operations
Percentage of active recipients who
receive advanced monitoring (onsite
and offsite evaluative reviews)
Percentage of active recipients who
have onsite reviews conducted by
Program Office and/or GMOs
Percentage of offices that submit
post-award monitoring plans on time
Percentage of eligible grants closed
out
0 in 2002
(However, 15 reviews of
EPA operations were
conducted in 2002 that
examined various aspects of
grants management.)
5%
(2002 Goal, 3.2% recorded in
database)
Establish Baseline in
2003
60% (2002)
End of FY2001: 89%
End of FY 2002: 51%
7 in 2003
Regions: 3
H<2:4
10% 2003
5% increase over 2003
baseline in 2004
100% (2003)
99% 2001
90% 2002
Compliance
Database
Compliance
Database
—
IGMS and
Closeout Report
Number of advanced
monitoring activities/
total number of
recipients
Number of onsite
evaluative reviews by
GMO and Program
Office/total number of
recipients
—
Number of grants closed
out/number of grants
scheduled for close out
GOAL 5: SUPPORT IDENTIFYING AND ACHIEVING ENVIRONMENTAL OUTCOMES
Percentage of grant workplans
decision memoranda, and terms of
condition that include discussion of
how grantees plan to measure and
report on environmental progress
Establish Baseline in FY
2003
70% 2004
80% 2005
100% 2006
Random Sample of
Grant Files from
Internal Reviews
Number of grants in
sample that include
discussion of environ-
mental outcomes/ total
number of grants
sampled
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TABLE 2
GRANTS MANAGEMENT PLAN ACTION ITEMS BY GOAL AND TARGET COMPLETION DATE
GOAL 1: ENHANCE THE SKILLS OF EPA PERSONNEL INVOLVED IN GRANTS MANAGEMENT
2003
' Issue 5th Edition of Project Officer
Training Manual that will focus on core
competencies needed to manage grants.
The manual will be enhanced to include
additional materials on pre-award review
and application procedures, budget, cost
and procurement review, grants competi-
tion, environmental results in workplans,
and use of the Federal Audit Clearing-
house
1 Conduct project officer training with
special emphasis on the core competency
areas that were enhanced in the 5th
edition of the training manual
1 Issue initial edition of the Grant Specialist
Training Manual. The manual will focus
on core competency areas and include
discussions on indirect costs, budget and
application review, competition, post-
award monitoring, and the Federal Audit
Clearinghouse
1 Conduct Grant Specialist training focusing
on core competency areas
1 Develop Long-Term Grants Management
Training Plan
2004
1 Enhance and update on-line reference
materials for grant specialists in core
knowledge areas
1 Implement on-line training for grant
specialists in core competency areas
1 Implement classroom grants management
training for managers and supervisors
1 Enhance on-line training for the refresher
project officers course to include addi-
tional materials on pre-application review,
competition, post-award monitoring,
environmental outcomes and other new
areas covered in the Project Officer
Training Manual, as well as verification of
completion at each step
2005 AND BEYOND
1 Implement on-line training for the basic
project officers course, including verifica-
tion of completion at each step
1 Implement on-line grants management
training program for managers and super-
visors
1 Establish a certification program for grant
specialists based on an examination of
skills and core competencies required to
manage grants (2006)
^^m
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TABLE 2 (CONTINUED)
GRANTS MANAGEMENT PLAN ACTION ITEMS BY GOAL AND TARGET COMPLETION DATE
GOAL 1: ENHANCE THE SKILLS OF EPA PERSONNEL INVOLVED IN GRANTS MANAGEMENT (CONTINUED)
2003
• Issue guidance on the proper use of
amendments
• Develop a pilot grants management train-
ing program for managers and supervisors
• Ensure that Regional Offices, Headquar-
ters NPMs and OGD provide basic and
refresher grants management training to
project officers on a timely basis (ongoing)
2004
2005 AND BEYOND
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TABLE 2 (CONTINUED)
GRANTS MANAGEMENT PLAN ACTION ITEMS BY GOAL AND TARGET COMPLETION DATE
GOAL 2: PROMOTE COMPETITION IN THE AWARD OF GRANTS
2003
1 Provide guidance to National Program
Managers on CFDA descriptions that
publicize funding priorities and opportu-
nities
1 Include NPM funding priorities in the
CFDA on an annual basis to ensure they
are well advertised and linked to GPRA
goals
1 Develop guidelines and make post-
competition award information available
to the public through the EPA Internet
(e.g., number and name of successful
applicants, award amounts)
1 Develop a central Grants Competition
Web page linked to Program Office Web
sites to make EPA grant solicitations easily
available to the public
1 Develop standard Agency-wide grant
competition training materials and incor-
porate into project officer and grant
specialist training
1 Post all EPA grant solicitations on the Fed
Biz Opps Web site
1 Provide full staffing for Grants Competi-
tion Advocate
2004
1 Develop a structured annual planning
process for grants competition
1 Expand public awareness of EPA funding
opportunities by improving the accuracy
and specificity of program descriptions in
the CFDA
• Research innovative grants competition
strategies performed by federal, state or
local governments and determine suitabil-
ity for adapting them for EPA use
2005 AND BEYOND
Implement a structured annual planning
process for grants competition
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TABLE 2 (CONTINUED)
GRANTS MANAGEMENT PLAN ACTION ITEMS BY GOAL AND TARGET COMPLETION DATE
GOAL 3: LEVERAGE TECHNOLOGY TO IMPROVE PROGRAM PERFORMANCE
2003
1 Complete deployment of IGMS in Regions 2,
4, 5, and 8 and of pilot Headquarters compo-
nent
1 Develop an interface between IGMS and IFMS
so that commitment notice information need
be entered only once
1 Complete analysis of changes required to
IGMS and Grants Information Control System
(GICS) to enable these systems to interface
with federal E-Grants portal
1 Develop and implement IGMS post-award
module
1 Correct inconsistencies and inaccuracies in the
naming of grantees, grant specialists and
project officers so that accurate reports of
workload and recipient counts are available
1 Enhance the Electronic Grant File reporting
views for the reports needed to monitor grant
specialists and project officer workloads
1 Expand Project Officer Database to track
certification and re-certification activities
1 Establish a tracking system to identify competi-
tion status (competed or not competed) of
grants
2004
1 Enable electronic transmission of
award data from IGMS to IFMS
1 Develop an interface to federal E-
Grants portal to enable IGMS to
accept applications
1 Develop a project officer interface to
simplify use of IGMS
1 Ensure that Agency information
technology systems (e.g. Financial
Data Warehouse) make grants infor-
mation readily available to EPA
personnel
1 Create an Agency Web site to allow
grant specialists and project officers to
access best practices and other tools
for post-award management
2005 AND BEYOND
1 Complete deployment of IGMS in Head-
quarters
1 Expand interface to federal E-Grants
Portal to include reporting
1 Modify IGMS data elements to E-Grants
standards for reporting
1 Develop an administrative review checklist
in IGMS to ensure that grant packages are
complete, comprehensive, and in compli-
ance with EPA orders and policies
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TABLE 2 (CONTINUED)
GRANTS MANAGEMENT PLAN ACTION ITEMS BY GOAL ANDTARGET COMPLETION DATE
GOAL 4: STRENGTHEN EPA OVERSIGHT OF GRANTS
2003
1 Combine the Management Oversight and
Post-Award Validation Grants Manage-
ment Review protocols of EPA offices by
redesigning and consolidating into one
cradle-to-grave review; and develop and
begin implementation of internal early
warning systems (e.g., a review of perfor-
mance measures) for identifying grant
management weaknesses
1 Conduct cradle-to-grave grants manage-
ment reviews of EPA Headquarters and
Regional Offices
1 Issue revised guidance on grants manage-
ment self assessments (MERs) that are
conducted by EPA's offices
1 Require all EPA offices to conduct
baseline monitoring of all active grantees
(ongoing)
1 Increase the level of advanced monitoring
of grantees by EPA offices, including desk
reviews and on-site reviews, to a minimum
of 10 percent annually of active recipients
1 Ensure that all EPA offices record their
activities in the Agency's Compliance
Database, including documentation of the
results of compliance reviews
2004
Establish a pre-award financial systems
review program for at-risk grantees
Establish Grants Clearinghouse/Hotline
for grant recipients
Review and update EPA's indirect cost
rate policies
Ensure that Performance Standards
established for grant specialists and
project officers adequately address grants
management responsibilities
Develop workload analysis of project
officers and grant specialists
Establish Standard Operating Procedures
and Best Practices for EPA Grants Man-
agement Offices
2005 AND BEYOND
1 Develop grants management resource tool
to replace Assistance Administration
Manual (2006)
1 Based on analysis of workload, roles and
responsibilities, and best practices, provide
guidance to EPA Grants Management
Offices and Program Offices on how
resources should be allocated to ensure
effective and efficient grants management
oversight
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TABLE 2 (CONTINUED)
GRANTS MANAGEMENT PLAN ACTION ITEMS BY GOAL AND TARGET COMPLETION DATE
GOAL 4: STRENGTHEN EPA OVERSIGHT OF GRANTS (CONTINUED)
2003
Ensure that all offices submit timely annual
post-award monitoring plans
1 Ensure that all EPA offices will on an annual
basis define and identify categories of at-risk
grantees requiring technical and/or compliance
assistance
1 Complete development, in partnership with
OIG, of an instructional video for nonprofit
recipients on how to manage their grants
1 Provide training courses for nonprofit recipients
1 Develop grants management tribal training
manual and provide training to tribes
1 Develop guidance on required procurement
processes under grants, including competition,
cost and price analyses and avoidance of con-
flicts of interest, and make available to grantees
1 Clarify roles and responsibilities of Senior
Resource Officials
1 Issue grants policy document defining roles and
responsibilities of EPA Grants Management
Officers, Program Office Officials, and project
officers
1 Update GMO business plan annually
1 Establish senior-level Grants Management
Council
2004
2005 AND BEYOND
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TABLE 2 (CONTINUED)
GRANTS MANAGEMENT PLAN ACTION ITEMS BY GOAL AND TARGET COMPLETION DATE
GOAL 5: SUPPORT IDENTIFYING AND REALIZING ENVIRONMENTAL OUTCOMES
2003
1 Develop a tutorial for grantees on how to
develop performance measures for
workplans
1 Issue grants policy guidance to ensure that
all grant workplans, decision memoranda,
and/or terms of condition include envi-
ronmental outcomes and how to measure
them
2004
Require a discussion of expected environ-
mental outcomes and performance mea-
sures in grant solicitations
Address Paperwork Reduction Act require-
ments to enable cooperative agreement
recipients to easily collect information on
environmental results and outcomes
2005 AND BEYOND
1 Establish reporting on environmental
outcomes as a criterion for approval of
interim and final reports
1 Incorporate success in reporting on out-
comes into the criteria for awarding new
grants
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WE WELCOME YOUR COMMENTS!
Thank you for your interest in the Environmental Protection
Agency's 2003-2008 Grants Management Plan. We welcome your
comments on how we can make this plan a more informative
document for our audience and stakeholders. Please send your
comments to http://www.epa.gov/ogd/grants/comments.htm or
write to:
Office of Grants and Debarment (3901R)
Environmental Protection Agency
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20460
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