Grants Blog

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The Office of Management and Budget has just created a new Council on Financial Assistance Reform to ”foster more efficient and effective federal financial management.”

The council will work with the Government Accountability and Transparency Board and federal agencies to:

• coordinate the development and implementation of a standardized business process, data standards, and IT
• work with key stakeholders  to eliminate unnecessary regulatory, reporting, and grant agreement requirements and increase flexibilities for satisfying grant requirements;
• identify emerging issues in grants management and policy; and
• serve as a clearinghouse of information on innovations and best practices in grants management.

The council replaces the Grants Policy Committee which was established in 1999 and the Grants Executive Board which was established 2004.

I’ll keep you posted on any new developments and council actions as they occur.

A federal district court has ruled that Congress’ ban on funding for the controversial ACORN organization is unconstitutional, and OMB has rescinded an October 2009 memo that had directed agencies to stop funding the nonprofit.

Here’s a little background: 

ACORN is a nonprofit social justice organization that conducts voter registration campaigns, offers free tax return preparation for low-income individuals, provides low-income housing counseling and similar community development projects. However, the group and its affiliates came under fire after hidden cameras allegedly captured ACORN employees giving advice on how to operate a prostitution ring, avoid federal taxes, and engage in other illegal activities.

As a result Congress stopped ACORN funding and ACORN sued, claiming Congress unconstitutionally convicted the organization of a crime without a trial, which is a “bill of attainder.”

The court agreed that indeed Congress’ action constituted a bill of attainder and ordered OMB to rescind its October memo and to direct all federal agencies to inform their grantees and contractors of the court’s ruling.

You can read the OMB memo and the court ruling here.

The Justice Department plans to appeal the decision.

A new report confirms what most of you in grants management probably already knew: implementation and administration of Recovery Act programs has put a strain on the federal grants workforce.

The Recovery and Accountability Transparency Board surveyed the 29 agencies charged with handing out Recovery Act funds. Review of Contracts and Grants Workforce Staffing and Qualifications in Agencies Overseeing Recovery Act Funds showed that most agencies felt staffing was inadequate to operate Recovery Act programs, or that if the staffing level was adequate, administration of Recovery Act programs adversely impacted the administration of non-Recovery Act programs. The impact on both Recovery and non-Recovery Act programs included award delays, decreased postaward monitoring, increased staff hours, and use of supplemental staff.

The board also looked at the training and qualifications of grants staff, and noted that there is no governmentwide qualification or training requirements for the grants workforce. Only about 8 percent of the grants officers, 50 percent of grants program managers, and 29 percent of grants specialists work in agencies that will have implemented agency-specific training and continuous learning requirements by June 2010. Without a common certification and continuous learning program, the report said it is difficult to determine whether the qualification requirements and training of the grants workforce are adequate.

You can view the full report here.