Grants Blog

SAM Is Going Live Soon — And It Will Impact Grantees

Lisa — Mon, 14 May 2012 19:22:30 +0000

The General Services Administration (GSA) is undertaking a federal acquisition streamlining effort that while targeted to contracting, will nevertheless have an impact on the grants community. On May 29 GSA plans to move the functions currently hosted by the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) and the Excluded Parties List System (EPLS) into a new System for [...]

330 Comments — Now What?

Lisa — Fri, 04 May 2012 15:11:40 +0000

Now that the comment deadline on OMB’s grant reform proposal has passed, it’s time for the agency to move on to the next phase of the massive initiative: reading, analyzing, and acting on those comments. In February, OMB released a set of draft “ideas” for reforming governmentwide grants management policies, affecting everything from how agencies announce [...]

New Recipient, Fed Reporting Bill Clears House

Lisa — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 13:36:36 +0000

With the buzzwords “accountability” and “transparency” cited over and over, the House yesterday approved the DATA Act, a measure that would impose strict new reporting requirements on federal agencies and grant recipients. Recipients would have to report at least quarterly on receipt and use of federal funds. Similarly, federal agencies would have to report at least [...]

Agencies To Begin Using Do Not Pay Web Site

Lisa — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 19:42:08 +0000

Federal awarding officials now have a new tool to help them confirm individual and entity eligibility before making any grant, loan, contract, or benefit payment. Launched today, the new Do Not Pay List web site is a single point of entry for accessing relevant data. The portal allows federal agencies to to access data sources including [...]

NIH Begins Testing RPPR

Lisa — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 13:03:56 +0000

This month the National Institutes of Health will begin pilot testing the new governmentwide Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR). Seven institutions will pilot the RPPR for NIH beginning in April 2012. During the initial pilot the RPPR will be used only for progress reports under awards that do not require submission of an annual detailed [...]

OMB Extends Grant Reform Comment Deadline

Lisa — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 13:32:02 +0000

Just a quick note: OMB is extending the deadline for submitting comments on its “Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking” relating to the grants management requirements overhaul. The new comment deadline is April 30. To read the original February 29 Federal Register notice describing OMB’s ideas for reforming grants management, click here.

Keeping Tabs on the DATA Act

Lisa — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 20:27:59 +0000

I picked up some very interesting information about the DATA Act at last week’s NGP webcast. According to Cornelia Chebinou (NGP co-chair and the director of NASACT’s Washington, DC office) The legislation that will eventually be debated on the full House floor will be significantly different than the measure that came out of the House committee. [...]

It’s Your Training; Tell Us What You Want

Lisa — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 17:40:26 +0000

We need your help to plan our upcoming class schedule and training. What classes would you like to see offered in various locations? Are there other cities where you think we should offer training? What new courses or products could we offer to meet your training and professional development needs? Your answers to these and other [...]

Lawmakers Introduce Bill To Amend Hatch Act

Lisa — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 20:25:59 +0000

Legislation has been introduced in both the House and Senate to update the nearly 75-year-old Hatch Act, a law that governs the political activities of federal, state, and local government employees. The Hatch Act Modernization Act of 2012 would make three major changes: • State and local government employees covered by the Hatch Act would be allowed [...]

OMB Wants Your Input on Grants Management Reform

Lisa — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 19:38:49 +0000

As promised, OMB has set out a list of recommendations about ways to improve grants management — and now is your chance to comment. The notice appeared on OMB’s website earlier today, but the official version will not be published in the Federal Register until next Tuesday. This “Advanced Notice of Proposed Guidance” briefly outlines the [...]