2 CFR 200 – Resource Library

I’ve already written about the evaluation section of “Delivering Government Solutions in the 21st Century,” the Trump Administration’s outline for reorganizing the Federal Government. Now, I’d like to focus on the potential movements of grant makers and programs.

For the last year, the grants community has been expecting the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to incorporate a number of grants-related laws into 2 CFR 200. OMB officials have commented that they are working on amendments, but have not provided an estimation on when the changes will be announced.

In anticipation of the changes, it is important for the grants community to be aware of the legislation that may potentially be incorporated into 2 CFR 200.

Over the last few months, I have traveled across the country teaching the full range of Management Concepts’ Grants curriculum to Federal employees and grant recipients. I view my time in the classroom as a mutually beneficial experience: Participants learn our grants curriculum and I learn from participants about their specific grants management challenges and best practices.

While summer is generally the time for taking a long vacation from work, officials at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) have been busy revising grant policies.

This two-part blog post discusses recent actions that you, a faithful member of the Federal grants community, need to be aware of immediately… or as soon as you get back from the beach, of course.

So, without further ado…

Since the inauguration, the Trump administration has taken significant action, through executive orders and memorandums, which may affect Federal grants. The extent to which grants management will be impacted is still unclear; however, it is important for Federal awarding agencies and grant recipients to keep themselves informed.

Here’s our rundown of what’s happened, what’s happening, and what’s on the horizon:

What a year. And I’m not just talking about what you’re reading in your Facebook and Twitter feeds. We managed to launch or revise six grants courses, including Internal Controls for the Federal Grants Community. These were a labor of love, and I’m excited to see how you like what we did in the classroom.

But it’s early January, and it’s time to make my top 5 New Year’s resolutions for work. Feel free to share yours with me – because as we know in the grants world, crowd-sourcing is essential.

The grants community is under increasing scrutiny and pressure to protect Federal funds from waste, fraud, and abuse. 2 CFR 200 (Uniform Guidance) establishes protections at each part of the grants lifecycle to protect Federal funds from risk. The Uniform Guidance also defines the responsibilities for Federal awarding agencies, pass-through entities, grant recipients, and auditors to guarantee grant funding is used for its intended purposes.

One of the most important, and often misunderstood, change under 2 CFR 200 the Uniform Guidance: Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (Uniform Guidance) is the new reporting requirements for employee compensation, found at 2 CFR 200.430.

Federal and non-Federal entities (NFEs) should be well into the process of finalizing internal policies that conform to the new requirements under 2 CFR 200 – Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (Uniform Guidance). The Uniform Guidance allows NFEs to adopt entity-wide changes to internal policies and systems for all awards, both existing and new, without penalty. Therefore, a NFE may apply the new requirements found in 2 CFR 200 to all awards.

Tag: 2 CFR 200