Award Process Grants Review for Competitive and Non-Competitive Awards All Participants Arlene Simpson Porter Grants Officer NOS/NMFS and Paulette Moss NESDIS/NFA/NWS Team Leader

What is Financial Assistance? Financial Assistance is a legal instrument to 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. A Contract is a legal instrument reflecting between the DOC 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 of the Federal Government, which is handle by our Procurement Office. Grants and Cooperative Agreements

What is the difference… Both are considered Financial Assistance.  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.  The recipient can expect substantial collaboration, participation, or intervention in the management of the project by NOAA. Between a Grant and a Cooperative Agreement?

Examples of Substantial Involvement by NOAA  Able to halt an activity immediately if detailed performance specifications are not met;  Specifies direction or redirection of scope of work due to the inter- relationships with other projects; and  Collaborates with the recipient by working jointly with a recipient scientist or technician in carrying out the scope of work, by training personnel, or detailing Federal personnel to work on the project effort

Financial Assistance Discretionary Funds – NOAA can exercise judgment in selecting the recipient Non-Discretionary Funds – by statute is limited to specifically named recipients or a particular class of recipients Types of Funds

Discretionary Funds  Competitive Awards  DOC Policy is that all discretionary funding decisions be made on a competitive basis.  Non-competitive Awards  Exceptions to competitions are permitted on a case-by-case- basis subject to Grants Officer approval  Institutional Awards  Initially competed under a program establishing long term planning goals and objectives common to the research and programmatic needs of NOAA and the recipient. Types of Financial Assistance Awards

Non-Discretionary Funds Congressionally Mandated or Earmarked Funds Types of Nondiscretionary Awards:  Mandated by Statute: recipient specifically named and for which funds may be set aside in an appropriation act (i.e., “hard earmarks”) **Does not include projects and/or recipients contained in legislative history-(i.e., “soft earmarks”)  Limited by statute: eligibility limited by law to a particular class of recipients (i.e., “Coastal Zone Management Act”, or NMFS Section 404 applicants (15 USC 1539) Types of Financial Assistance Awards cont.

Applying for Funding Opportunities Grants.gov is the centralized location to search for available funds. The following are some examples:  Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA)  Federal Register Notices (FRN)

Required Review and/or Approvals Applicant – Applications compiled and submitted through Grants.gov, Once applications are approved the applicant becomes a recipient and must comply with all DOC and NOAA’s requirements Federal Program Officer (FPO) – Receives applications electronically and conducts negotiations, provide NEPA Documentation, FPO Checklist, Procurement request and commitment of funds (CD-435). Ensures that the applicant submits an accurate application package Grants Management Specialist (GMS) – Completes a Grants Management Division Checklist, CD-450, performs cost analysis, reviews project description and making sure the application is in compliance with NOAA’s Cost Principles, Grants Administration requirements, DOC Financial Assistance Standard Terms and Conditions, and NOAA Administrative Standard and Special Award Conditions Office of Inspector General (OIG) – Performs Name Check and Provides Results Office of General Counsel (OGC) – Determines if, the award is legally sufficient or legally insufficient Office of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs (OLIA) – Obtain OLIA Clearance for congressional notification Grants Officer (GO) – Approves and obligates the Grant Award Commerce Business System (CBS) ASAP Specialist – Responsible for obligating and authorizing federal funds

Application Documents Required by the Applicant via Grants.gov SF-424 Application for Federal Assistance SF-424A Budget Information for Non-Construction SF-424B Assurances for Non-Construction Programs SF-424C Budget Information for Construction, If Applicable SF-424 D Assurances for Construction Programs, If Applicable Indirect Cost Rate Agreement, If Applicable ** The NOAA forms are posted and uploaded in Grants.gov by the FPO, as necessary CD-346 Name Check Form, If Applicable CD -511 Certifications Regarding Debarment, Suspension, and Other Responsibility Matters: Drug- Free Workplace Requirements and Lobbing - requires an electronic signature and date CD-512 Certifications Regarding Debarment, Ineligibility and Voluntary Exclusion-Lower Tier Covered Transactions and Lobbying for subcontracts, If Applicable – Complete and Keep on File SF-LLL Disclosure of Lobbying Activities, If Applicable - Complete and submit ONLY if engaged in Lobbying activities

Documents Required to be completed By Federal Program Officer (FPO) FPO Review Checklist and certification National Environment Policy Act (NEPA) check list Procurement Request and commitment of funds; Financial Assistance Information Sheet (FAIS); Please remember to include the project description. This is very important for this particular documentation. Please attach any additional documents generated by the FPO under the P.O. Checklist (i.e., non-competitive justification memos, rankings, Congressionally directed award matrix table, Federal Register Notice, and the Proper Statutory Authority, etc.) Note: Please attach any additional documents submitted from the applicant under the Application Section.

Award Review Process by GMS  Application Packages are submitted electronically to the Grants Office by the Federal Program Officer  Applications are assigned to GMS by the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number (CFDA No.)  GMS goal is for recipient to receive awards 30 days before start date  GMS is responsible for reviewing the entire application package, this includes the documents provided by the FPO  GMS is responsible for conducting a cost analysis of the budget to ensure the following: 1. Allowability of cost 2. Allocability of cost 3. Reasonableness of cost

Award Review Process by GMS  All grants applications are reviewed to assess the applicants management and financial capabilities.  The following items are also additional requirements that the GMS will obtain during their review of the Application:  Credit Check  Name Check  Delinquent Federal Debts  List of Parties Excluded from Procurement and Non- Procurement Programs  Past Performance  Pre-Award Accounting System Survey  Audit Issues

Obtaining Required Clearances DOC Office of Inspector General (OIG) clearance  Process streamlined (only awards for new grantees with less then three years)  valid for six months  GMS send to OIG  OIG returns clearance or stipulations for clearance to GMS DOC Office of General Counsel (OGC) clearance  Review electronic application package and draft award documents to provide legal comments/advice  Required for only certain types of awards:  All non-competitive awards regardless of dollar amount (i.e., sole source, congressionally directed, formula based, etc.)  Competitive awards over $100K  NMFS Section 404’s for State/Commissions over $500k

Obtaining Required Clearances cont. DOC Office of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs (OLIA) Clearance  Congressional notification – not a review process  Required for all awards over $500,000 Dollars  All required clearances (OIG and OGC) must be obtained and award review issues must be resolved prior to submitting an award to “OLIA”  Requested by sending to an OLIA electronic mailbox  Return clearance is ed to the appropriate GMS Specialist  Congressional notification is completed after 48 hours

Award Review Process by Grants Officer Grants Officer review includes the following in Grants Online:  Reviews application package and clearances to determine if all issues have been addressed during GMS review process  Verifies that award documents are accurate and complete  If necessary – provides comments back to GMS to address issues, guidance, or make corrections  Approve Grant Award Electronically – which Obligates Funds

Accessing Federal Funds Once funds have been obligated in the Commerce Business System (CBS), and then authorized in the Automated Standard Application for Payments (ASAP) System, which are both NOAA Financial Systems. The question is… How do I draw down funds for ASAP and NON-ASAP recipients?  ASAP Recipients – Will be able to draw down funds using ASAP.Gov one week after funds have been authorized and certified in ASAP.  Recipient/Requestor ID#- call Department Treasury to get this number  Agency Location Code: 13—  Award number  -Non-ASAP Recipients – Will have to submit a Request for Advance or Reimbursement (SF-270) form, which will take 30 days to process Note: A hand out is provided in your workbook for new and Non-ASAP recipients for additional information regarding this information.

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