AJEEP Conference Washington State Plaza Hotel February 3, 2012 Quarterly Reporting for Grants and Cooperative Agreements

Today’s Agenda: Why Quarterly and Final Reports are required Roles & Responsibilities associated with Reporting Frequency of Report submissions Reporting formats Performance/Narrative Reports and Financial Reports Required versus Recommended What should be included in your reports Common concerns and errors in reporting Delinquent Reports Review of SF270 Monitoring/Site Visits by Grants Officer Representatives Notification on any substantive changes in Grant

Why Quarterly and Final Reports are Required: Required by US Federal Regulation OMB Circular A-110 “Recipients are responsible for managing and monitoring each project, program, sub-award, function, or activity support by the award…The Federal awarding agency shall prescribe the frequency with which the performance reports shall be submitted.” Reports provide concrete evidence of actual activities for monitoring and comparison against original grant award goals and objectives Provides information to the Grants Officer and Grants Officer Representative on problems to take corrective action

Roles & Responsibilities: Grantee organization Provide regular updates to GOR on status of grant activity Submit quarterly reports on time to the Grants Officer Representative only Provide timely response to inquiries When requested by GOR/GO, provide supporting documentation Request for an amendment as soon as the need is known – discuss with GOR

Roles & Responsibilities: Grants Officer Representative (GOR) Provide timely response to inquiries Monitor program activities on an agreed upon frequency through a monitoring plan Review quarterly reports for accuracy and completeness Review SF-270 requests for accuracy, completeness, and need Review and forward amendment requests to the appropriate DOS contacts (Josh Peffley)

Roles & Responsibilities: Grants Officer (GO) Enter into binding agreement on behalf of the U.S. Government Review and approval of quarterly reports within 30 days of receipt Review and approve or deny amendment requests Conduct final review and issue closeout letter Acts as secondary contact when GOR is out of office

Frequency of Reporting Frequency is included in Section 8 of the US Department of State Award Specifics  Quarterly Reports First Quarter (January 1-March 31): Report due by April 30 Second Quarter (April 1-June 30): Report due by July 30 Third Quarter (July 1-September 30): Report due by October 30 Fourth Quarter (October 1-December 31): Report due by January 30  Final Reports - must be submitted to the Grants Officer Representative within 90 days after the award period end date. All Reports should only be forwarded to the Grants Officer Representative, it should NOT be forwarded to the Grants Officer

Reporting Formats Required Forms Performance / Narrative Report - PPR Financial Report - SF-425 Recommended Templates Supporting Documentation

What should be included in your Quarterly Narrative Report: Should tell a story of what was accomplished during the respective quarter Compare what was accomplished during the period with the goals and objectives listed in the proposal Should include details related to the quarter being reported Should NOT include details from the inception of the grant, but the quarter’s activities and accomplishments should be put in the context of the overall grant Should explain any approved deviations from the original grant/cooperative agreement

What should be included in your Quarterly Narrative Report (Continued): Testimonials from beneficiaries or program participants, if applicable Narrative report should tie activities to expenditures included in the Financial report

Final Narrative Reports Final Narrative Reports are NOT the last quarter’s narrative report They encompass the entire grant period Final Narrative Reports are NOT a collection of all the quarterly narrative reports We expect you to analyze the work performed during the grant period

What should be included in your Final Narrative Report: Should include programmatic details for the entire grant period How the goals of the assistance award were met – what was accomplished during the grant/cooperative agreement What problems were encountered and how they were resolved The likely future impact of the completed activity - Outcomes What new contacts were made, if applicable What new plans or projects were conceived What issues were discussed Narrative report should tie back to how the funds were spend in the Financial report Testimonials from beneficiaries or program participants, if applicable Final reports serve an additional purpose beyond simply verifying the recipient’s adherence to the award agreement; they also can provide a persuasive rationale for the overall continuance of a particular program.

Financial Reports Quarterly/Final Financial Reports are NOT narratives We expect to see a detailed analysis of money spent.

What should be included in your Quarterly Financial Reports: Detailed report should provide breakdown of ACTUAL expenditures by budget category IN SPREADSHEET FORMAT Financial reports should tie expenditures back to activities addressed in Narrative Detailed report should provide breakdown of approved expenditures by budget category

What should be included in your Final Financial Reports: Summary should be in the same format as the budget categories from the Department of State Award Specifics (Section 7) Financial reports should tie expenditures back to activities addressed in Narrative report The Final reports should include all approved expenditures for the entire grant period; this report will be used to determine any remaining funds due to the organization or back to the DOS Financial Report Template can be used for both quarterly and Final Financial reporting.

Financial Review: What the GOR and GO are verifying Cost computations are correct Cost are incurred (not accrued) and reported within the authorized period Costs are in accordance with the authorized items of expenditure Costs are allowable Payments are appropriate with the progress being made on the award activity

Common Concerns & Errors in Reporting: Common Issue/Problem with all reporting: How to avoid it: Unexplained discrepancies between the Financial and Narrative reports Narrative and Financial reports compliment each other- costs claimed should be in line with activities undertaken in the reporting period Submitted late Submit quarterly reports within 30 days of the reporting quarter’s end; submit final report within 90 days of the grant end date Submitted to wrong Embassy contact Submit all reports to the GOR

Common Concerns & Errors in Reporting: Common Issue/Problem with Narrative Reports: How to avoid it: Report does not compare actual activities and progress with the planned activities approved with the award/amendments Activities and progress are not put in context of grant as a whole Provide details on the quarter’s activities within the context of overall project (e.g. this quarter we completed the 4 th and 5 th of the 10 planned shuras) Issues/problems with the grant are not included Indicate any problem and/or specific task that is not proceeding according to plan, reasons for the difficulty, and recommendation for how the issue has been or will be addressed Information on outputs and impact are not included Provide output and impact information (e.g. number of people trained, number of trainees that gained employment, testimonials from grantees)

Common Concerns & Errors in Reporting: Common Issue/Problem with Financial Reports: How to avoid it: Lack sufficient detail, no breakdown of budget categories Provide details for each budget category (e.g. Project Director paid $300/mo. for 3 months) Only include financial information from the reporting quarter and not overall cost information The focus should be on the reporting quarter, but the report should also include information on overall award costs (e.g. approved budget, total spent) Costs claimed do not coincide with the activities discussed in narrative report Ensure that costs claimed, particularly one- time, substantial costs are explained in the narrative report Income Sharing Costs are not included in report Include cost sharing information in the financial report, if applicable Financial reports are not updated to reflect budget changes approved with an amendment signed by the Grants Officer Include the total project budget that reflects the most recent budget approved by the Grants Officer

Impact of Delinquent Reports: Requests for extensions Future proposal considerations Requests for additional funding Suspend processing advance for funding requests Require return of funds advanced Suspension / Termination of grant

SF-270: Request for Reimbursement of Funds Required financial form to request an advance or reimbursement of funds for a grant or a cooperative agreement “New” Bank information form Timeline of payment processing US Banks: 1-2 weeks We do NOT use PMS

Monitoring & Site Visits: Organizations should be able to provide all corresponding receipts when requested by a Grants Officer Representative/Grants Officer Financial records – e.g. receipts for supplies, equipment, contracts for sub-awardees, plane ticket receipts/itineraries Personnel records – e.g. timesheets, pay statements Open dialogue with your Grants Officer Representative on program successes and challenges

Communication Communication is the key to successful grant implementation!

Questions? Thank you!