Transcript MSP Technical Assistance Workshop Overview of Major Grant-related Considerations

MSP Technical Assistance Workshop
Four Points by Sheraton Hotel at BWI Airport
Overview of Major Grant-related
Considerations
- Budgets and Sub-awards
- Post-award Responsibilities
Costello L. Brown
June 11-12, 2009
The Division of Grants and
Agreements (DGA)
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handles approximately 35,000 active awards
in any given year
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reviews, negotiates & obligates funding for
around 11,000 new awards each year
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is responsible for monitoring the business
practices of all of their grantees
With this in mind, DGA
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is focusing on portfolio management and
post-award administration
How to Manage Your Award
The Award and Administration
Guide(AAG) (Part II of the NSF
Proposal & Award Policies &
Procedures Guide) sets forth NSF
policies regarding the award and
administration of grants and cooperative
agreements and implements Office of
Management and Budget (OMB)
Circular A-110,
Grants and Cooperative Agreements
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Primary Responsibility - PI & Institution
(GC-1)
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Annual reporting tied to proposal activities,
grant conditions and/or milestones
Technical Reporting/Monitoring
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Required Technical Reports
– Annual Project Reports
– Final
– Report Contents Include: Participants, Activities &
Findings, Publications & Products, Contributions,
and Special Requirements

Technical Monitoring
– Program Officer Site Visits
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Interim Project Reports
– Significant Events
ANNUAL REPORTS
Answers the following questions:
"How well did we do?" (Qualitative Evaluation)
"How much did we do? (Quantitative Evaluation)
“How do you know your project or program was
successful? What evidence do you have to
demonstrate this success?”.
Project Reporting
Annual Reports
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Due 90-days prior to Expiration Date
Required for ALL Standard & Continuing Grants and
Cooperative Agreements
Final Reports
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Due Within 90-days after the Expiration of an Award
Required for ALL Standard & Continuing Grants and
Cooperative Agreements
Required for Individual Research Fellowships per
Program Solicitation
Project Management’s Most
Common Problems
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Lack of time records to support salary costs
Lack of consulting agreements
Excessive Indirect Costs above those allowed
Unallowable costs and expenditures (food,
alcohol, etc)
Use of “Participant Support” funds for other
categories without prior agency approval.

Cost sharing documentation not provided

Interest on NSF advances were not remitted as
required.
Project Management: Definition*
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Project Management is the discipline of organizing and
managing resources:
Money
People
Materials
Space
Risks
in such a way that the project is completed within defined
scope, quality, time and cost constraints.
* From Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia
Project Management: Objectives
(S.M.A.R.T.)
Need to be formulated as S.M.A.R.T.
 Specific, with
 Measurable (or at least able to evaluate)
 Achievable
 Realistic and
 Time (specific timelines).
Evaluation Processes Need to Begin
Immediately!
•
•
Formative evaluation is a method of
judging the worth of a program while
the program activities are forming or
happening.
Formative evaluation focuses on the
process (Bhola,1990)
Example: Collecting continuous feedback from
participants in a program in order to improve
the program while it is still in progress.
*http://www.sil.org/linguaLinks/literacy/ReferenceMaterial
s/GlossaryOfLiteracyTerms/WhatIsEvaluation.htm
Evaluation Processes Need to Begin
Immediately!
•
•
Summative Evaluation is a method of
judging the worth of a program at the
end of the program activities.
Summative evaluation focuses on the
outcome (Bhola,1990)
Examples: 1) Final grade in a course; 2)
Collecting data on the increase in the
graduation rate at the end of a program that
focused on this issue.
*http://www.sil.org/linguaLinks/literacy/ReferenceMaterial
s/GlossaryOfLiteracyTerms/WhatIsEvaluation.htm
Participant Support Costs
Written prior approval from the NSF Program
Officer is required for reallocation of funds
provided for participant or trainee support
(see GC-1 Article 7).
The prior approval requirements identified
above (as well as other types of award
related notifications stipulated in GPM Exhibit
III-1) must be submitted electronically to NSF
through use of the NSF FastLane system at
https://www.fastlane.nsf.gov.
Participant Support Costs
Participants or Trainees (not employees –
exception school districts – teacher training)
 Stipends, subsistence allowance, travel,
registration fees, copies, tuition
 Funds approved in the budget may not be
re-budgeted to other expense categories
with out prior written approval of the NSF
program officer

Participant Support
If reallocated – did NSF PO provide prior
approval in writing?
 Policies and procedures for determining what
were the participant support costs (copies for
handouts at a workshop?)
 If award still active explain change to PO –
example – 50 people sought for workshop
only 30 were interested – increased stipend?
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Keys to Success
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Know Requirements (award conditions, NSF
requirements, use GPM and Exhibit III, GC-1, OMB
Circulars)
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Good Accounting Practices
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Meeting Research and Education Objectives
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Document Approvals by/communication with NSF
Program and Grant Officials
Consultants
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Professional who possess a special skill.
– Should not be officers or member of the
Board of Directors.
– Allowable when reasonable in relation to the
services rendered.
– The NSF previous limitation on Consultant
Costs has been removed with our 06
Appropriation.
Can be found on the following web site:
http://www.nsf.gov/bfa/dias/caar/start.htm
Equipment
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Budget should list w/ dollar amount for each
item exceeding $5,000 (grantee could have
lower threshold)
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NSF does not pay indirect costs (F&A) on
equipment
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Further guidance: Equipment (GPM 612)
Property Standards (GPM 540), GC-1 Article
6, A-110 Property Standards, A-21
Sub-Awards: The Golden Rule
It is essential that:
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Your MSP budget is perceived by all members of
the Partnership as reflecting a fair and equitable
distribution of resources based on the proposed
activities.
The negotiations, development and preparation of
the MSP budget is transparent to all members of
the Partnership.
All budget line items should be well justified and
reasonable.
Indirect Costs (F&A)
– NSF Guidelines GPM 630:
• Grantee entitled to full reimbursement of
indirect costs
• Basic Exceptions - limited or no Indirect cost:
– Equipment
– Participant support
– Foreign grantees
– Include rate, base and brief explanation in
budget justification
Time and Effort Reporting
Labor Distribution System
Personnel Activity Report must:
 Reflect an after-the-fact distribution
 Account for total (all) activity for which
the employee is compensated
 Must be signed by the employee or
supervisor having first hand knowledge
of work performed by the employee
Accessing Documents on the
NSF Web Site
Web Address: http://www.nsf.gov
 Click Grants & Awards
 Click Proposal Preparation
 Grant Proposal Guide (GPG)
 FastLane info
 Click Award Administration to locate DGA
home page http://www.nsf.gov/bfa/dga/
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CAAR home page:
http://www.nsf.gov/bfa/dias/caar/start.htm
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Accessing Documents on the
NSF Website
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http://www.nsf.gov
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Click: For the Research & Education Community
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Proposal Preparation
– Grant Proposal Guide
– Frequently Asked Questions
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Award Administration
– Grant Policy Manual
– Grant & Agreement Conditions
– Frequently Asked Questions
Audit - Record Retention
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3 Years from submission of Final Project
Reports – including:
– Final Expenditure Reports
– http://www.nsf.gov/home/grants/grants_gac.htm
GC-1 Article 22 and 15
NSF Grant Proposal Guide
Changes
Effective January 5, 2009, the NSF Proposal &
Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) will
undergo several significant changes in the Grant
Proposal Guide (GPG) section, including:
a. New guidance that addresses and implements
the mentoring requirement of the America
COMPETES Act, such that all proposals that
include support for postdoctoral researchers
must include, as a separate section within the
15-page project description, a description of the
mentoring activities that will be provided for
such individuals;
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Several of the slides used in this
presentation were provided to me by
Ms. Pamela Hawkins, Grants and
Agreement Specialist in the Division of
Grants and Agreements at the
National Science Foundation.
THANKS!