Grants.gov: Additional Action Needed to Address Persistent Governance and Funding Challenges
GAO-11-478
Published: May 06, 2011. Publicly Released: May 06, 2011.
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Highlights
In response to the Federal Financial Assistance Management Improvement Act of 1999, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), among other things, deployed Grants.gov as the central grant identification and application portal for federal grant programs in 2003 and named the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) its managing partner. As a result of funding and governance challenges-- such as untimely contributions, a lack of performance metrics, unclear lines of authority, and confusion over roles and responsibilities among Grants.gov's governance bodies-- that have adversely affected operations, GAO is required to examine (1) key factors HHS should consider when proposing a funding model for Grants.gov, and (2) how the Grants.gov governance bodies could address Grants.gov's previously identified governance challenges. To do this, GAO analyzed agency documents and interviewed officials at HHS, OMB, the Grants Executive Board (GEB), three case study agencies that manage similar E-Gov initiatives and three Grants.gov partner agencies.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Health and Human Services | To improve economic efficiency and support effective management of the Grants.gov system, the Secretary of Health and Human Services should work with the Grants Executive Board--or similar organization should the governance structure change--to improve the allocation of costs among users by developing and implementing a calculation that more clearly links agency contributions to their system use. |
In June 2015, HHS officials reported that during the Fiscal Year 2016 (FY 2016) funding contribution review, several partner agencies expressed concerns on the funding algorithm. In response, a working group, consisting of participants from 13 agencies, was established to discuss and review potential options for revising the FY 2017 funding algorithm. The working group met several times and identified options for revising the algorithm, all of which were intended to more closely link agency contributions to system use. Options were then presented to the Grants.gov governing body, the Financial Assistance Committee for eGov (FACE), for a vote on June 17, 2015. An option was selected by a majority vote from the partner agencies. The new algorithm will be in place from FY 2017 through FY 2021.
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| Department of Health and Human Services | To improve economic efficiency and support effective management of the Grants.gov system, the Secretary of Health and Human Services should build on and use its existing cost-tracking capabilities to expand its cost information and communicate that information to partner agencies in greater detail. This includes capturing, charging for, and reporting on all Grants.gov services provided to partner agencies. |
In June 2015, HHS officials reported that Grants.gov has developed an Intra-Government Payment and (IPAC) Tracking Report, which reflects all billings of Grants.gov funding from each partner. The IPAC Tracking Report is available for agencies to review at any time. Billings are implemented on a monthly basis, tied to disbursements against Grants.gov obligations. Also, the Grants.gov Program Management Office also regularly reports budget and cost information in regular meetings with the Council on Financial Assistance Reform (COFAR) and the Financial Assistance Committee for eGov (FACE).
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| Department of Health and Human Services | To improve economic efficiency and support effective management of the Grants.gov system, the Secretary of Health and Human Services should link its strategic plan to an annual operating plan that links costs and spending to performance goals and milestones, and includes progress against goals and system initiatives. |
In response to our recommendation, in April 2013 the Grants.gov PMO released a strategic planning document that identifies specific goals and objectives, stakeholder benefits for each goal, and lead individuals who are responsible. The document also lays out a high-level implementation plan, mapping goal "focus areas" by fiscal year and identifying areas of accomplishment. The plan also identifies the status of a number of recommended system improvements and links those improvements to related costs.
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| Department of Health and Human Services | To improve economic efficiency and support effective management of the Grants.gov system, the Secretary of Health and Human Services should build on its recent outreach efforts and engage in knowledge sharing with the managing partners of other E-Gov initiatives. |
Grants.gov PMO officials report that they reach out to and share knowledge with managing partners (MPs) of other E-Gov initiatives in a variety of ways. First, MP agencies for E-Gov initiatives are members of Grants.gov's User Group. This group was recently reinvigorated, and met quarterly in FY 2013. PMO officials reported that these agencies often share information during these meetings from their perspective as e-Gov MPs. In addition, the Grants.gov PMO participates in the recently-formed Grants and Loans Committee for e-Government (GLCE). These meetings include information sharing from other federal grant- and loan-making agencies who are also managers of other e-Gov initiatives. Finally, PMO officials stated that they also interact less formally with E-Gov MPs on an on-going basis.
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Topics
AccountabilityAgency missionsAppropriation accountsCollection proceduresCost analysisE-governmentFederal agenciesFederal grantsFunds managementIT investment managementMonitoringPerformance measuresStrategic planningUse of fundsWebsites