# Presentation: 853455

## NOAA 2008 Grants Workshop

**Federal Program Officer Responsibilities**

***NOAA Grants Workshop***
***January 15-16, 2008 (workshop postponed)***
***Silver Spring, Maryland ***

***James Lewis A. Free***
*Program Officer and Grants  Coordinator*
*NOAA Coastal Services Center*

***Hamilton Smillie***
*Physical Scientist / *
*Program Officer*
*NOAA Coastal Services Center*

## Questions Addressed Today

**How do you develop a grant announcement?**
**How do you manage a competition?**
**How do you recommend grant awards for funding?**

## Announcement Considerations

**  ****	****Make sure the announcement calls for ****	****grants and not contracts.**
** ****	****Does the scope favor grants or ****	****	****cooperative agreement grant projects?**
** ****Will the announcement include a Letter ****	****of Intent (LOI) component?**
** ****If LOIs are used, will they be mandatory ****	****or optional?**
**  ****What type of merit review process will ****	****	****be used?**

## What is Financial Assistance?

**Grant/Cooperative Agreement – a transfer of money, property, services or anything of value to a recipient in order to accomplish a public purpose of support or stimulation that is authorized by federal statute.                                    **
**Contract – a legal instrument reflecting a relationship between NOAA and a business, organization, or individual whenever the principal purpose is the acquisition, by purchase, lease or barter, of property or services for the direct benefit or use by the federal government.**

## Grants vs. Contracts

**Is the principal purpose of the award to meet the needs of a **_**nonfederal**_** entity carrying out an activity that Congress has decided to assist as a matter of public policy by statute?**
***Answer Yes:  Grant or Cooperative Agreement***
**Is the principal purpose of the award to acquire goods or services that will be used by NOAA to carry out its public mission?**
***    ******Answer Yes:  Procurement Contract***

## Grants vs. Cooperative Agreements

**A grant has no substantial involvement by the Federal Government.**
**	****The recipient is expected to perform the ****	****project without substantial collaboration or ****	****intervention by NOAA.**
**A cooperative agreement includes substantial involvement of the Federal government during performance of the proposed activity.**
**	****Able to halt activity immediately if detailed ****	****performance specifications are not met.**
**	****Specifies direction or re-direction of scope of ****	****work due to the inter-relationship with other ****	****projects.**

## Standard Sections of the Federal Funding Opportunity Announcement (FFO)

**Funding Opportunity Description**
**	****A.  Program Objective**
**	****B.  Program Priorities**
**	****C.  Program Authority**
**	****D.  Cost Principles**

## Specific things to include in announcement

**  ****Funding Opportunity Description****	****	****	****  **
**	****B.  Program Priorities**
**The grant announcement must identify the NOAA mission most related to the announcement.**
**Example:                                                                                        The program priorities for this opportunity support NOAA’s mission support goal of:  Weather and Water – Serve Society’s Needs for Weather and Water Information.  Other goals are supported, but this is the goal the opportunity most closely addresses. **

## NOAA Mission Goals

## Standard Sections of the Federal Funding Opportunity Announcement (FFO) (cont.)

**Award Information**
**	****A.  Funding Availability**
**	****B.  Project / Award Period**
**	****C.  Type of Funding Instrument**

## Standard Sections of the Federal Funding Opportunity Announcement (FFO) (cont.)

**Eligibility Information**
**	****A.  Eligible Applicants**
**	****B.  Cost Sharing or Matching ****	****       ****	****Requirement**

## Standard Sections of the Federal Funding Opportunity Announcement (FFO) (cont.)

**IV.  Application and Submission Information**
**	****A.  Address to Request Application Package**
**	****B.  Content and Form of Application  ****	****Submission**
**	****C.  Submission Date and Time**
**	****D.  Intergovernmental Review**
**	****E.  Funding Restrictions**
**	****F.  Other Submission Requirements**

## Specific things to include in announcement

**IV.  Application and Submission Information**
**	****F.  Other Submission Requirements**
**Provide an e-mail address for Letter of Intent (LOI) submissions.**
**Use an autoreply to save time confirming receipt of LOIs.**

## Standard Sections of the Federal Funding Opportunity Announcement (FFO) (cont.)

**V. ****	****Application Review Information**
**	****A.  Evaluation Criteria for Letters of ****	****Intent (LOIs)**
**	****B.  Evaluation Criteria for Full ****	****Applications**
**	****C.  Review and Selection Process**
**	****D.  Anticipated Announcement and ****	****Award Dates**

## NOAA Standard Evaluation Criteria

** ****Application Review Information**
**	****	****1. ****	****Importance and/or relevance and ****	****	****	****applicability of proposed project to ****	****	****	****the program goals**
**	****2.****	****Technical/scientific merit**
**	****3.****	****Overall qualifications of applicants**
**	****4.****	****Project costs**
**	****5.****	****Outreach and education**

## Standard Sections of the Federal Funding Opportunity Announcement (FFO) (cont.)

**VI. ****	****Award Administration Information**
**	****A.  Award Notices**
**	****B. Administrative and National Policy****	**** ****	****Requirements**
**	****C. ****	****Reporting**
** ****Agency Contacts**
** ****Other Information**

## NOAA Review Process Performance Metrics

## Review Process Performance Metrics

**                                                          **

**Metrics Vary According to Types of Grants**
**	****1. ****	****Competitive**
**	****2.****	****Congressionally Directed/Mandated**
**	****3.****	****Formula / Allotment**
**	****4.****	****Institutional**
**	****5.****	****Non-Competitive**
**	****6.****	****Broad Area Announcement**

## Types of Requests

**                                                          **

**	****1. ****	****New**
**	****2.****	****Continuation with or without changes**
**	****3.****	****Multi-year with or without changes**
**	**
**	****Review process performance metrics are ****	****based on when competition closes.**

## Grant Announcements Must Clear

**                                                          **

**	****1. ****	****Program Managers / Core Team**
**	****2.****	****NOAA Management and Budget Office**
**	****3.****	****Federal Assistance Law Division**
**	****4.  Grants Management Division****	**
**	**

## Required Grant Forms

**                                                          **

**SFs-424  Application for assistance**
**SF-424A  Non-construction budget**
**SF-424B  Assurances**
**SF-424C  Construction budget**
**SF-424D  Assurances for Construction**

## Required Grant Forms (cont.)

**                                                          **

**6.   SF-LLL (if activities are being reported)**
** ****CD-346 (by non-profits or for-profits   ****	****only)**
** ****CDs-511 Certification regarding   ****	****debarment, suspension, a drug-free ****	****workplace, and lobbying**
** ****CD-512  Certification regarding ****	****debarment, suspension, and lobbying**
**10.  Project and budget narratives**

## Common Package Problems

**                                                          **

**Budget inconsistencies.**
**Need to ensure that the mandatory budget narrative contains detailed budget information consistent with brief budget information contained in the body of the proposal, forms SF-424 and SF-424A, and the indirect cost rate agreement; and if any funds shall be retained by NOAA, this is clearly stated in the detailed budget narrative and identified by funding year.**

## Program Officer Checklist Questions

**                                                       **

**1.****	****What is the statutory authority identified in the announcement?**
**What is the progress report schedule and frequency?**
**3.****	****Are there special programmatic award conditions (yes, if it is a cooperative agreement)?**
**4.****	****Does the project support research?**

## Research Defined by 15 CFR 14

**“****Research and development” means all research activities, both basic and applied, and all development activities that are supported at universities, colleges, other non-profit, and commercial institutions. **
**‘‘****Research’’ is defined as a systematic study directed toward fuller scientific knowledge or understanding of the subject studied. ‘‘Development’’ is the systematic use of knowledge and understanding gained from research directed toward the production of useful materials, devices, systems, or methods, including design and development of prototypes and processes.**

## Recommendation Package

**                                                          **

**Internal program office memo summarizing process, time line, and team findings**
**Funding recommendation memo from selecting official to Grants Management Division Director**
**Funding recommendations and justification attachment (including justification for funding proposals out of rank order)**

## Recommendation Package (cont.)

**                                                          **

**4.****	****List of proposal received, recommended, and not recommended for funding**
**5.****	****List of reviewers and scores**
**6.****	****NEPA memo from the selecting official for the record**
**7.****	****Copy of the “Federal Register” notice**

## Grants On-line Documentation

**                                                          **

**Minimum Requirements Checklist**
**Program Officer Checklist                                                     **
**Merit review comments may be kept on file in the program office**
- 	“Signed merit review evaluations are not being 	   uploaded into GOL.  The evaluations will be kept on file by the program office – NOAA CSC.  They are available upon request by FALD, GMD.  Otherwise, these documents will not be released unless ordered by a court or requested to do so by an appropriate NOAA official and administrative protocol.”

## Grants On-line Budget Documentation

**                                                          **

**The program officer checklist must show total years funding if a multi-year award.**
**When completing the procurement request, enter year one funding only (if a multi-year award); and it is imperative that you generate an award number during this step, unless a part of a cooperative institute.**
**Make sure you answer the yes or no question about whether the award is a multi-year award.**

## Clearance Steps for Recommended Packages

**                                                          **

**Program officer submits recommendation to selecting official**
**Program officer submits procurement request through budget officials and the NOAA Management and Budget Office**
**National Environmental Policy Act Office clearance**
**Federal Assistance Law Division clearance**
**Grants Management Division clearance**

## Final Grant Processing Steps

**Grantee is Registered to use Grants On-line**
**Award acceptance letter is endorsed by grantee’s authorized organization representative **
**Funding draw downs may commence if recipient is registered with the Automated Standard Application for Payments (ASAP) and after account is validated by the Grants Office****                                                        **

## Program Office Teams

**                                                          **

**Federal Program Officers (FPOs)**
**Technical Program Officers**
**Program Office Staff / Contractor FPOs**
**Merit Reviewers**
**Managers / Core Team / Selecting Official**
**Budget Teams**

## Contractor Grant Functions

**                                                          **

**Contractors may:                                                 Serve as the program officer on a request for applications or application.**
**Serve as competition manager and complete negotiations.**
**Must reassign final actions to an FPO who will communicate directly with legal teams, the grants office, applicants, or recipients.**

## What teams are involved?

**                                                          **

**Grants Management Division**
**NOAA Federal Assistance Law Division**
**DOC Office of General Counsel**
**NOAA Management and Budget Office**
**Grants Management Advisory Council**
**Grants On-line**
**Grants.gov**
**National Environmental Policy Act Office**