Federal Grants – Resource Library

In the middle of last week, I was scrolling through my LinkedIn feed for the latest and greatest. And then I had one of those stop everything moments to read the posted article. One of our grants instructors was offering to volunteer her services to save Claude Moore Colonial Farm.

Who’s Claude and why does he have a farm?

Regardless of political views or debate about the merits of a Federal shutdown, there are a few things to keep in mind with regard to grants and cooperative agreements during a shutdown. Both pre-award and post-award processes are impacted (or not).

One thing I’m constantly asked is, “what’s new with grants?” For those who follow Federal grants constantly, the turn of the past year has seemed slow. But part of the reason it seems slow is that we’re still recovering from the implementation of 2 CFR 200.

Three years of planning the implementation of the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act (DATA Act) came to fruition on May 9, 2017 as Federal agencies were required to begin reporting spending by using governmentwide, standardized data elements.

Prior to the DATA Act, agencies used differing data elements and definitions to report spending. Use of the Act’s open and uniform standards is meant to improve reliability and access to the government’s financial data.

And grants professionals should read them.

If you’ve followed me and Shane via this blog and eClips, you’ve already read, “grants are policy tools,” in some form or the other. The Federal government uses grants to drive policy goals, objectives, and outcomes. Policies change with Administrations.

Why performance measures are more important than ever.

On March 16, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released the Trump administration’s budget blueprint for Fiscal Year 2018. The purpose of the Presidential budget is to identify and explain the administration’s priorities and policy proposals.

Have you ever had a run of unexpected events that seems to leave you knocked down?

But you get up again. And again. And again.

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.

Tag: Federal Grants