Improving Federal Grant Management Processes

Federal grants management has always been a complicated process. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) found in a newly-released report that “[w]hile there are certain standard requirements, each grant program has different authorizing legislation and may also be subject to agency-specific regulations and guidance. For some aspects of grant design and administration, agencies also have more discretion to make decisions.”

As a result, the design and administration of grant programs across federal agencies vary substantially, creating friction at every step and making compliance by grantees an intense, often unmanageable process. Many participating organizations designate a CFO to manage them; many mid-sized and smaller companies, without the financial resources or manpower to manage them, don’t attempt to apply because of the burden.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify the points of friction in your agency’s grants administration processes
• Evaluate the grantee applicant pool from which your agency makes awards to determine how to make it broader and deeper
• Delineate where in the grant application process and the administration process technology can be used to mitigate or eliminate chokepoints