Grants Blog

Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

The General Services Administration (GSA) will hold a free webinar to assist individuals in using SAM.gov.  The webinar will assist individuals in creating SAM.gov accounts, migrating permissions from the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) database, and updating existing registration.

A recording of the webinar will be available for individuals who cannot attend at the assigned time.

The information for the webinar is below:

Date: Wednesday, May 15^th

Time: 2:00pm-3:00pm  EST

Registration webpage: http://gsa.gov/portal/event/form/170683

Link for webinar: http://gsafas.adobeconnect.com/sam_webinar/

SAM.gov is the centralized federal procurement system. Grant recipients are required to register with SAM.gov before submitting grant applications through grants.gov.  Users must renew their SAM registration annually.

The GAO recently released the annual update to the Principles of Federal Appropriations Law, more commonly referred to as the Redbook. Two GAO opinions referenced in the update are important for the grants community.

The first important GAO opinion concerned the authority of the Social Security Administration to carry out two grant programs after the authorization for appropriations had expired. The GAO determined that as long as the underlying program authority is still valid, appropriations in the authorizing statute do not have to be current.

The second opinion, GAO opinion B-322628, involved the Department of Labor’s authority to make replacement grants. The GAO determined that the department could use funds de-obligated from a defective award to make new awards after the period of obligation of the funds had expired.

The entire annual update can be downloaded by clicking here.

Both GAO opinions are discussed and explained in Management Concept’s one-day Federal Grants Update 2013 seminar. The seminar provides students with the latest information affecting grants management and administration. An outline of the course can be found at the Federal Grants Update 2013 seminar’s webpage located here.

We need your help to plan our upcoming class schedule and training. Where would you like us to schedule classes? Are there additional courses you’d like to see offered online? What new courses or products could we offer to meet your training and professional development needs?

Your answers to these and other questions will help us improve our grants management training curricula. Please take a few minutes to complete our online survey. We ask that you complete the survey by February 25th. To access it, click here.

Your feedback is greatly appreciated and is for informational purposes only.

Thanks!

The General Services Administration (GSA) will hold a free webinar to assist individuals in using SAM.gov.  The webinar will assist individuals in creating SAM.gov accounts, migrating permissions from the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) database, and updating existing registration.

A recording of the webinar will be available for individuals who cannot attend at the assigned time.

The information for the webinar is below:

Date: Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Time: 1:00pm EST

Registration webpage: http://www.gsa.gov/portal/event/form/160683

SAM.gov is the centralized federal procurement system. Grant recipients are required to register with SAM.gov before submitting grant applications through grants.gov.  Users must renew their SAM registration annually.

Information about Management Concepts’ annual Federal Grants Update seminar is now available. This one-day course is a great way to keep track of the latest developments in grants management and to learn about pending changes that may impact your day-to-day grants work.

This year’s course will focus on the increased emphasis on program assessments and performance measurements in grant applications, improved oversight of  the closeout process, recent legislative and regulatory changes to grants management, and COSO’s updated internal controls framework. Additionally, the course will bring up-to-the-minute information about developments relating to OMB’s “Supercircular.”

Classes start the first week in April and run throughout the summer in cities around the country. We can also bring the course to your location. Click here to see dates, locations, topics, and registration options.

In recent weeks, the media has been in a near non-stop reporting frenzy analyzing the daily offers and counteroffers by the major players in the “fiscal cliff.” One local channel in the Washington area has even begun to broadcast a clock counting down the days until the nation plunges off the fiscal cliff. While national polling suggestions a majority of the American public is “very closely” or “fairly closely” following the negotiations between President Obama and Speaker Boehner, many remain confused about the details of the fiscal cliff and what might occur if an agreement is not reached.

The term “fiscal cliff” refers to numerous events affecting the federal budget occurring simultaneously at the end of this calendar year. These factors include sequestration, the expiration of the 2001 and 2003 tax breaks, and the expansion of the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT). Sequestration – spending cuts to defense and discretionary spending – may have the most significant impact on federal grant recipients and subrecipients. If the president and Congress fail to reach a compromise by January 2, 2013 then current discretionary spending will be automatically reduced by $500 billion.

Sequestration would result in drastic cuts to federal grant funding. It is estimated that budgets for three of every four grant programs would be reduced. The formula Congress developed to impose sequestration does not impact all programs equally. The most significant cuts would be to agriculture, employment, community development, justice, energy, and education grant programs. State and local grant recipients would see reduced funding in many popular and widely utilized programs, including the Community Development Block Grant, community policing, Rural Development, energy and weatherization assistance, and transportation grants. School officials are particularly concerned about the potential $3.5 billion in cuts to U.S. Department of Education programs.

While negotiations between President Obama and Speaker Boehner have primarily focused on tax rates, there is a developing consensus among agency officials that there will be an agreement on sequestration at some point. Should sequestration take effect, grant recipients should be prepared for a period of confusion as agencies attempt to implement the mandatory cuts.

Management Concepts will continue to provide updates in the coming weeks. Stay tuned!

Only a few weeks remain of 2012 and OMB still has not indicated when the draft super circular will be released. While rumors seemed to indicate OMB was on the verge of releasing the draft regulations a month ago, there have not been any new developments. Management Concepts is hearing that individuals who have seen the portions of the draft regulations have called them “vague” and “ambiguous” and that OMB is continuing to revise them.

Management Concepts continues to monitor developments and will update this blog when we hear of anything.

On Election Day, voters in Colorado and Washington approved ballot measures that decriminalized the use and possession of small amounts of marijuana. In direct conflict with these state laws is the federal Controlled Substance Act, which classifies marijuana as a Schedule I Controlled Substance. Many employers in these two states face uncertainty on how to implement drug-free workplace policies. These laws also present potential legal questions to grant recipients.

Currently, all grantees are required to implement and adhere to the requirements in the Drug-Free Workplace Act.  Since marijuana remains illegal on the federal level, grant recipients in these two states should continue to follow the terms and conditions of their awards and ensure employees do not use illegal drugs in the workplace.

The picture gets more complicated in Colorado and Washington, where grant recipient organizations could potentially be facing increased wrongful termination lawsuits from employees. To comply with the Drug-Free Workplace Act, many grantees conduct drug screening of employees. As state marijuana laws change, individuals who lose jobs or are denied employment after testing positive for marijuana might file lawsuits challenging their dismissal. However, in states that allow marijuana use of medicinal purposes, state courts have generally upheld an employer’s right to terminate an employee who has tested positive for medical marijuana use by citing the Controlled Substance Act’s recognition of marijuana as an illegal substance. Will that continue to be the case for states that decriminalize marijuana?

With the number of states legalizing medicinal and recreational marijuana increasing, grant recipients may be facing many additional legal questions on how to implement the terms and conditions of their awards while complying with both federal and state law. This poses a great question, what other issues might grant recipients be concerned with in states that have legalized, to any extent, marijuana? What are the appropriate proactive and reactive measures grant recipients in these states should be taking?

Last week, the Senate agreed to an amendment to the Defense Authorization Act designed to strengthen whistleblower protections for employees of contractors, subcontractors and grantees. The amendment prohibits employers from firing or punishing employees who report abuse, waste, or fraud relating to Federal grants or contracts. Individuals believing that they have been punished by an employer would be able to file a complaint with the Inspector General’s office of the awarding agency.

The amendment also prohibits employers from waiving the provisions of the amendment as a condition of employment. Additionally, employers will be required to notify employees of their rights and remedies provided by the amendment. The amendment’s provisions would impact all future contracts and grants, and would only impact previously awarded contracts if the contract was modified to specifically include the provisions.

In June, the House passed a version of the bill that included language that would provide extended whistleblower protection only to Defense Department contracts or grant awards. The Senate amendment would extend this protection to all contractor and grantee employees.

Management Concepts offers a Federal Grants Update course each year that reviews, examines, and analyzes legislative and regulatory changes in Federal grants management.  The 2013 Update Course will cover this issue as well as many other important changes. Additional information about this course will be posted on our website in January. A list of current course offerings is found in the course catalog.

Rumors abound that OMB is on the verge of releasing the draft “super circular” of changes to federal grant policy. In February, OMB issued an Advanced Notice of Proposed Guidance recommending changes to the administration of federal grants, costs principles, and A-133 audit requirements. Over 300 comments were submitted to OMB by the April 30th deadline. Since then, OMB has been consulting with agency officials in developing a draft of the proposed changes. Once released in the Federal Register, the public will have a sixty day window to submit further comments. OMB will review those comments and incorporate appropriate changes before releasing a final version.

Management Concepts is watching the developments at OMB very closely, as any proposed changes will significantly change the landscape of grants management. Please note that the next action OMB takes will only be a draft, and will not have an immediate impact. The Grants Blog will be updated as soon as OMB does release the draft super circular.

To view the February Advanced Notice and all submitted comments, click here.