1. USDA 2016 Financial Management Training Transforming Shared Services
USDA, Financial Management Services
USDA Financial Management Training Transforming Shared Services
ezFedGrants Part I
Presented by Chris Coppenbarger

2. Today’s Discussion
Introduction
Overview of ezFedGrants
USDA ezFedGrants Journey
Benefits
ezFedGrants Field Guide: Five Key Elements
Shared Services

3. Introduction Chris Coppenbarger
Senior Financial Systems Analyst for Grants, USDA, OCFO
11 Years administering and working with Federal grants and agreements
13 Years experience in Federal Government
16 years professional experience
Background in Grants Management, Legal and International Development
Juris Doctor; MA in International Development

4. ezFedGrants Overview Benefits of ezFedGrants
In Process ezFedGrants Agencies
Decreased overall Grant Program costs
Financial Integration with USDA FMS/FMMI
Consistent and efficient procedures
Enforced compliance
Traceable workflow
Automated Progress Reporting
National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA)
Animal Plant and Health Inspection Service (APHIS)
Forest Service (FS)
Research, Education, Economics Agencies (ARS, ERS, NASS)
Current ezFedGrants Agencies
Relevant Agreement Types
Foreign Agriculture Service (FAS)
Food and Nutrition Service (FNS)
Natural Recourses Conservation Service (NRCS)
Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS)
Emergency Grants: APHIS expedites the agreement creation process and payments to recipients during times of animal and plant health emergencies. This includes indemnities (compensation provided to entities for actions taken by APHIS) and compliance (indicate that the entity understands the methods, conditions and procedures necessary for compliance with APHIS regulations) payments.
Entitlement Grants (via State Block Grants): SNAP is the cornerstone of the Federal food assistance programs, and provides crucial support to needy households and to those making the transition from welfare to work.
Planning and Implementation Grants: The grants are targeted to help improve and expand domestic farmers markets, roadside stands, community-supported agriculture programs and other direct producer-to-consumer market opportunities.
Conservation Grants: Conservation programs within USDA assist owners of America's private land with conserving their soil, water, and other natural resources.
Entitlement Grants (via State Block Grants) Discretionary Grants
Other Federal Financial Assistance Transactions

5. ezFedGrants Overview Key Functionality In Progress Enhancements
Application Submission
Comprehensive Financial Management Integration
Agreement Creation Agreement Modifications Report Submission
Reporting Data
Claims
Closeout
Data Act Compliance
Grants.gov Integration Application Review Process
Automated Standard Application for Payments (ezFedGrants) Integration
Future Enhancements
Inter-Agency Agreements
Repayments
Collection Agreements
Application Submission: Applicants search for opportunities, submit applications and track the status of applications through the external portal.
Agreement Creation: The Agreement phase includes the drafting, review and approval of agreements. Agreements define the terms and conditions between the grant-making organization and the recipient.
Agreement Modifications: All changes with a financial impact, and other more formal changes, require an amendment to the agreement, which generates a new document with an auditable change history.
Activity Report Submission: Recipients submit financial and performance reports as required by their agreement through the external portal for review and acceptance by USDA users.
Claims: USDA ezFedGrants integrates with the financial system (FMMI) to manage the payment process. The FNS solution also currently integrates with Treasury AezFedGrants to create accounts and authorize funds for grant-making programs that pay recipients out of AezFedGrants.
Closeout: Internal portal functionality includes validations requiring USDA users to receive, review and approve audit and other reports (e.g., financial, performance) and approve final claims before approving closeout. Upon approved closeout, the financial obligation corresponding to the agreement is closed. USDA ezFedGrants currently provides a notification of closeout 45 days before an agreement is set to expire

6. Grants Management Stakeholder Challenges
Effective grants management requires coordination amongst many stakeholders and process steps
Grant Recipient Selection
Payment &
Budget Management
Application Processing
Reporting & Analytics
Grantee / Partner
Mgmt
Grant
Terms & Condition
Change
Management
Resources Management
SPEAKER SCRIPT: In most cases, the typical grant management lifecycle has many problems, including:
Grant Term & Condition
Single program type limitations: Multiple systems, processes and personnel for different program types causes redundant data capture and heterogeneous process definition. Difficult to implement new program types and adjust to changing program legislation. Difficulty in quickly adding new programs established by Public authorities.
Non unified cross program framework generate complexity, inconsistency, time and resources wasting with no single point of visibility into grants overall record.
Application processing
Complex forms and inconsistent terminology are confusing for recipients, especially if they apply for various programs that all use different forms
Non-standard data cannot be compiled across agencies
The need to wait for receipt of grant documents slows down the process, increases administrative costs, and cancels out some of the potential benefits of an electronic web-portal system
High numbers of complex, unique forms increase enterprise system development and maintenance costs
Different processes, application forms, reporting forms, requirements, and contacts for every agency and program
Difficulty finding information about what funding is available for what purposes and who is eligible to apply
Measurement, audit and monitoring
Inadequate interfaces with financial systems, leading to effort wasted on duplicate entry in non standardized tools (Excel, Access, or agency-specific databases), manual financial and program reconciliation, manual reentry of repayment information, manual report creation, and a manual closeout process
Time-consuming and error-prone paper-based processes
Ineffective coordination of related programs across agencies
Too much reliance on fragile desktop tools/agency silo systems, not integrated to statewide financial systems
Disconnected system, lack of integration, inhibits ability to:
Promote strategic planning and decision-making
Report statewide achievements and statistics, such as total grant dollars received and distributed to whom, where, and for what
Identify service delivery issues and recommend improvements
Manage grant programs proactively
Collaborate and coordinate on relate programs across agencies
No visibility into the grant management process to identify areas needing improvement
Difficult to effectively oversee grantees and measure the results of the grantee’s work throughout the grant
Difficult to demonstrate unmet need since data from eligible but unsuccessful grant applications is not captured
Responding to public disclosure requests is tedious, especially since much of the information is only available in hard copy
Budget: No integration with budget system
Too much reliance on fragile desktop tools, not integrated to statewide financial systems
Inadequate interfaces with state financial systems, leading to effort wasted on duplicate entry in nonstandardized tools (Excel, Access, or agency-specific databases), manual financial and program reconciliation, manual reentry of repayment information, manual report creation, and a manual closeout process
Increased Citizen Expectations:
Citizens demand simple process for applying and communicating with ezFedGrants. Citizens want committed service levels.
Demand for Efficiency and Lowered Complexity:
ezFedGrants face multiple manual and paper based processes. Lack of integration with Financial Management System.
Demands for Accountability and Transparency:
Management needs to improve performance of agency and provide measurable outcomes.
Outcomes
Evaluation
Grant Close
Out
Increased Citizen
Expectations
Demand for Efficiency and Lowered Complexity
Demands for Accountability and Transparency

7. Grant Recipient Selection Application Processing
Inefficient processes and administration hamper a program manager’s ability to effectively manage the grants management lifecycle
Limited Operational Visibility
Lack of integration between financial and grant processes leads to inaccurate payments, misspent budgets, inability to identify potential savings
Low Service Quality
Lack of integrity of eligibility and grant assessments
Inflexible, disconnected , redundant systems and processes cause inefficiencies, increase costs, and lowers service responsiveness
Lack of access to those applying for grants, requesting payments, or seeking information
Grant Recipient Selection
Lack of Transparency
Application Processing
Cannot easily identify trends, create reports and measure organizational performance
Payment &
Budget Management
Reporting & Analytics
Grantee / Partner
Mgmt
Grant
Terms & Condition
Stakeholder
Ineffective, Complex Processes
Grantee
Limited Compliance
Change
Management
SPEAKER SCRIPT: In most cases, the typical grant management lifecycle has many problems, including:
Grant Term & Condition
Single program type limitations: Multiple systems, processes and personnel for different program types causes redundant data capture and heterogeneous process definition. Difficult to implement new program types and adjust to changing program legislation. Difficulty in quickly adding new programs established by Public authorities.
Non unified cross program framework generate complexity, inconsistency, time and resources wasting with no single point of visibility into grants overall record.
Application processing
Complex forms and inconsistent terminology are confusing for recipients, especially if they apply for various programs that all use different forms
Non-standard data cannot be compiled across agencies
High numbers of complex, unique forms increase enterprise system development and maintenance costs
The need to wait for receipt of grant documents slows down the process, increases administrative costs, and cancels out some of the potential benefits of an electronic web-portal system
Difficulty finding information about what funding is available for what purposes and who is eligible to apply
Different processes, application forms, reporting forms, requirements, and contacts for every agency and program
Measurement, audit and monitoring
Inadequate interfaces with financial systems, leading to effort wasted on duplicate entry in non standardized tools (Excel, Access, or agency-specific databases), manual financial and program reconciliation, manual reentry of repayment information, manual report creation, and a manual closeout process
Time-consuming and error-prone paper-based processes
Too much reliance on fragile desktop tools/agency silo systems, not integrated to statewide financial systems
Ineffective coordination of related programs across agencies
Disconnected system, lack of integration, inhibits ability to:
Report statewide achievements and statistics, such as total grant dollars received and distributed to whom, where, and for what
Promote strategic planning and decision-making
Identify service delivery issues and recommend improvements
Collaborate and coordinate on relate programs across agencies
Manage grant programs proactively
Difficult to effectively oversee grantees and measure the results of the grantee’s work throughout the grant
No visibility into the grant management process to identify areas needing improvement
Responding to public disclosure requests is tedious, especially since much of the information is only available in hard copy
Difficult to demonstrate unmet need since data from eligible but unsuccessful grant applications is not captured
Budget: No integration with budget system
Too much reliance on fragile desktop tools, not integrated to statewide financial systems
Inadequate interfaces with state financial systems, leading to effort wasted on duplicate entry in nonstandardized tools (Excel, Access, or agency-specific databases), manual financial and program reconciliation, manual reentry of repayment information, manual report creation, and a manual closeout process
Excessive process diversity among grant programs, unstructured data, scheduling and process definition
Resources Management
Limited ability to oversee and monitor grantees throughout the life of the grant, leading to higher costs, errors & inefficiencies
Outcomes
Evaluation
Grant Close
Out
Redundant and inefficient work to meet overlapping requirements increases costs, impedes services delivery

8. Application Processing Grant Recipient Selection
Holistic grants management process improves efficiency, visibility, and compliance
Integrated data allows for more effective cross agency and consolidated reports
Central repository for grant information maximizes service efficiency and ensures data integrity
Improved Operational Visibility
Improved Service Delivery
Single integrated solution supporting all program types eliminates data redundancy and inefficiencies
Proactive monitoring allows for corrective action to fulfil service policies and goals
Stakeholder
Grantee
Application Processing
Outcomes
Evaluation
Grant Close
Out
Change
Management
Payment &
Budget Management
Grant Recipient Selection
Resources Management
Reporting & Analytics
Grantee / Partner
Mgmt
Grant
Terms & Condition
EMPLOYEE
Internal and external accountability and financial controls reduces fraud.
Integrated accounting & constituent account management gives single view of constituent
Integration between financial and grant processes leads to accurate payments, adherence to budget and identification of potential savings
Improved Accountability
& Transparency
Increase Efficiency,
Lower Complexity
Unified access for grantor and financial transactions improves usability
Fully integrated solution that connects the end-to- end grant lifecycle process
Application pre- commitments ensure adherence to Program budget and prevents budget overruns
Each of these green boxes represents a capability and benefit that SAP delivers to the Grant Manager, associated with a discrete pain from the previous slide.
Provide multiple applicant & Grantee access points: Speed up, simplify and reduce barriers to grantee interaction by integrating communication channels and providing „one-stop“ registration and account maintenance capabilities. Examples: Portal, telephone, , face-to-face, fax. Online application form and application process ensures complete and up to date information automating follow-up processes such as validation and including back office processes such as encumbrances creation (FM funds pre commitment).
Keeps the grant process transparent: Flexible definition of grantor programs and their characteristics based on the unique attributes needed to deliver a variety of types of payments to its constituency. Unique assignment of forms, rules and processes per program to insure the integrity of the grant lifecycle.
Support all program and sub program types One consolidated solution and system to support all programs and program types and the entire grant management lifecycle (not just discrete steps). One, unified, integrated solution that can flexibly adapt to changing rules and laws and can easily add new program types and program schemes.
Establish a common face for grant assistance programs : Common sets of business practices, thereby reducing redundancy and costs, , regardless of communication channel or program type and improving the quality of information reported through.
Leverage partners to reduce workload….: Workflow, Roles, cross programs business partner, to optimize processes by proactively bringing the right information and tasks at the right time to the right people. Meetings and site visits can be arranged, recorded, and integrated into workflows to track grantee activities
Monitor, measure and take corrective action when necessary: Stores and quickly retrieves project status reports, financial statements, and performance status reports that detail the efficiency and effectiveness of programs.
Central repository for case …: Provides a central location for all documents, data, and transactions related to a particular grant application and its follow-on processes. ezFedGrants cases can be linked to other cases based on program or grantee, or created on an exception basis for audit purposes.
Finance integration .
Integrated General Ledger reduces TCO and IT complexity
Funds control on grant lifecycle
Agreement -> Funds commitment
Application -> Funds pre commitment
Program -> Funded program budget definition
9) Enhance and accelerate applicant selection …: With program characteristics based on the unique attributes needed to deliver a variety of types of payments to its constituency
Empowers potential grant applicants to find and apply for the funding needed to accomplish projects that deliver real value to and on behalf of citizens
Makes it easier, faster, and less costly to prepare, submit, and review grant applications, monitor projects, and process payments
Provides visibility into the entire grant management process from beginning to end
Faster, better, cheaper grant management business processes
Reduces time spent responding to public disclosure requests to the extent data can be made directly available to the public or can be more easily compiled via enterprise grants system
Better information for better decisions and better results
Grants Management is part of an integrated web-based solution on the SAP CRM/SAP ERP platform to organize and execute grantor programs that provide grants to individuals and organizations.
10)Standardized solution connecting the Grant Management lifecycle process
SAP Grants Management functionality for grantors supports a broad range of business processes including program definition, application, assessment, agreement, claim, change request, grant payment, monitoring, and analysis. The software improves access to grant services by supporting Web-based processing of applications, claims, and change requests as well as automated application workflow for approvals and notification. The software also delivers robust reporting functionality through the SAP NetWeaver® Business Intelligence (SAP NetWeaver BI) component, which helps organizations measure and improve performance. SAP ezFedGrants also deals with the financial and budgeting aspects of this process; commitment of the budget, availability check and accounting integration are also part of this process. SAP Grants Management improves the effectiveness of the following essential business processes:
Keeps the grant process transparent to facilitate internal and external accountability and controls, defines how granting activities are managed and funded, and how the grants are delivered to the grantee.
• Program management
Easily manages application processing, eligibility assessment, and award amounts, helping the potential grantee receive information about the grantor program and apply for a grant either online, by telephone, or by letter.
• Application process
• Change request
Captures the terms and conditions of the awarded grant and triggers the commitment of the budget, billing and payment activities when an agreement is finalized.
• ezFedGrants agreement
Manages changes to a grantor agreement after the agreement has been approved and released, evaluates important changes to the agreement, and generates new versions of the agreement as PDF documents for internal tracking and external processing.
• Claims management
Provides a Web-based claim form for a specific agreement with which a grantee can submit requests for payment or reconciliation of payment. Claim items are verified manually or automatically for eligibility and availability, with checking executed against the agreement. Claims are then approved, released, and paid, as they are fully integrated with the budgeting and accounting system.
Stores and quickly retrieves project status reports, financial statements, and performance status reports that detail the efficiency and effectiveness of programs. Meetings and site visits can be arranged, recorded, and integrated into workflows to track grantee activities.
• Monitoring
Performs standard queries that support application, agreement, claim, and program analysis as well as full life
• Analysis
Capture of the agreement terms and conditions ensures compliance with regulatory requirements
Program level business rules enforce compliance over the entire Grant lifecycle
Program Compliance

9. USDA – Grants Management
USDA is comprised of 100,000 employees in 29 agencies and management staff components. USDA delivers more than $144 billion in public services. Mission focus includes:
USDA Grant Portfolio
USDA supports and manages:
263+ Grant Programs
$100B+ in Federal Financial Assistance
Thousands of Recipients
Serving millions as award beneficiaries
Typical characterization of a USDA Award:
Multi-year awards
Amended 1-2 times/year
Quarterly to yearly reports required
Various recipient types, such as non-profits and universities
4-5 POCs per award
Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services
Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services
Food Safety
Marketing and Regulatory Programs
Natural Resources and Environment
Research, Education and Economics
Rural Development

10. ezFedGrants – Processes
Program Management 1 2
Budgeting
Announcement / Application 3 4
Assessment 11
Close-Out
- Case Management - Reporting/Monitoring 5
Agreement 10
Repayment
Flexible definition of ezFedGrants programs and their characteristics
Planning of all grant related expenditures. The availability control prevents potential budget overruns.
The applications for a Grant may be submitted through a multi-channel access (web, phone,…)
Rules-based assessment of applications triggering a budget encumbrance (pre-commitment in Funds Management)
Approved applications generate a ezFedGrants agreement and a (optionally) case
The approved agreement generates the payments to the grantee.
The activities of the grantee are monitored for compliance with program terms and conditions.
Internal and external stakeholders require reports queries and analysis for various stages of the ezFedGrants lifecycle.
Year end & close-out: Support of fiscal year change and close-out of a program / grant 9
Audit 6
Change Request 8 7
Payment
Claim

11. Why ezFedGrants Was Chosen
Full integration of ezFedGrants solution with ezFedGrants financial system of record (FMMI)
Consolidated 3 General Ledger/financial processes into 1 integrated solution
FMMI, Grants Management, manual records all in ezFedGrants
Enhanced transparency and visibility to payment and reporting, facilitating reconciliation and easing closeouts
Single source solution reduced operation and maintenance costs, development time and costs and licensing fees
Enhanced functionality for future growth and scalability

12. Why Pega was chosen for the External Portal
Supports a reusable framework comprised of common functionalities
Minor enhancements required to support Mobile-enabled application
Development using Pega can be achieved in smaller iterations
Additional strengths include:
Flexible capabilities to build rich applications
Significantly reduces time to build, deploy, and update applications
Designed for business and IT collaboration, allows direct capture of business objectives in the application
Model-driven development utilizes rules and processes instead of code

13. Challenges to Many Agencies’ Grant Practices
Lack of automation, arduous & redundant manual data entry
No Grantee Self-Service options
Inconsistent & inefficient business review & approval processes (peer review, agreement approval, payment approvals, etc.)
Grants & Financial Reporting is arduous and inaccurate
1. Inefficient Processes
2. Financial Integrity
Two or more sources of financial truth
Labor-intensive, error-prone postings across grant & financial systems (agreements/obligations, direct & ASAP payments, etc.)
Inability to quickly view and act upon grants financial data
Financials not consistently aligned to CFDAs
Challenge #
3. Customer Service
Grantees often served by different, non-connected grants systems (e.g. Grants.gov, multiple grants systems) needs (e.g. payments)
Too much time on administration
Slow response time for routing grantees enough time spent on the mission
4. Regulatory and Compliance Issues
Runaway grants (i.e. 1 agreement that should really be 10)
Incorrect use of contract vehicles, missing contractual data, incomplete auditable historical records
Limited, inaccurate labor intensive transparency reporting
Customers receive payments without appropriate progress reporting

14. Initial Objectives
Single Platform to manage the lifecycle of agency Agreements.
Integrated with Budget and Financial Systems (FMMI) and processes (credit card, travel, etc.).
Integrated with External Systems such as GRANTS.GOV, EPLS, CCR, etc.
Enables program reporting requirements (congressional, internal, etc.).
Accessibility to agreement information by stakeholder (internal, external, etc.).
Enable standard operating procedures for each phase of agreement lifecycle and have a solution to enable the process (e.g. Close-out process).
Ability to manage various roles and responsibilities involved in the agreement lifecycle (e.g. separation of duties).
Ability to support management through different types of agreements (e.g. MOU, grants, cooperative, cost-reimbursement, inter-agency, joint ventures, collection groups).
Enable compliance requirements (e.g. OMB A-123).
Support requirements for FOIA and various other regulations.
Built in business rules that are based upon best business practices, CFO directives, circulars, bulletins, etc.
Provide multiple applicant & Grantee access points: Speed up, simplify and reduce barriers to grantee interaction by integrating communication channels and providing „one-stop“ registration and account maintenance capabilities. Examples: Portal, telephone, , face-to-face, fax. Online application form and application process ensures complete and up to date information automating follow-up processes such as validation and including back office processes such as encumbrances creation (FM funds pre commitment).
Keeps the grant process transparent: Flexible definition of ezFedGrants programs and their characteristics based on the unique attributes needed to deliver a variety of types of payments to its constituency. Unique assignment of forms, rules and processes per program to insure the integrity of the grant lifecycle.
Support all program and sub program types, one consolidated solution and system to support all programs and program types and the entire grant management lifecycle (not just discrete steps). One, unified, integrated solution that can flexibly adapt to changing rules and laws and can easily add new program types and program schemes.
Establish a common face for grant assistance programs : Common sets of business practices, thereby reducing redundancy and costs, , regardless of communication channel or program type and improving the quality of information reported through.
Leverage partners to reduce workload….: Workflow, roles, cross programs business partner, to optimize processes by proactively bringing the right information and tasks at the right time to the right people. Meetings and site visits can be arranged, recorded, and integrated into workflows to track grantee activities
Monitor, measure and take corrective action when necessary: Stores and quickly retrieves project status reports, financial statements, and performance status reports that detail the efficiency and effectiveness of programs.
Central repository for case …: Provides a central location for all documents, data, and transactions related to a particular grant application and its follow-on processes. ezFedGrants cases can be linked to other cases based on program or grantee, or created on an exception basis for audit purposes.
Finance integration .
Funds control on grant lifecycle
Integrated General Ledger reduces TCO and IT complexity
Agreement -> Funds commitment
Application -> Funds pre commitment
Program -> Funded program budget definition
9) Enhance and accelerate applicant selection …: With program characteristics based on the unique attributes needed to deliver a variety of types of payments to its constituency
Faster, better, cheaper grant management business processes
Makes it easier, faster, and less costly to prepare, submit, and review grant applications, monitor projects, and process payments
Empowers potential grant applicants to find and apply for the funding needed to accomplish projects that deliver real value to and on behalf of citizens
Reduces time spent responding to public disclosure requests to the extent data can be made directly available to the public or can be more easily compiled via enterprise grants system
Provides visibility into the entire grant management process from beginning to end
Better information for better decisions and better results
10)Standardized solution connecting the Grant Management lifecycle process
Grants Management is part of an integrated web-based solution on the ezFedGrants CRM/ezFedGrants ERP platform to organize and execute ezFedGrants programs that provide grants to individuals and organizations.
ezFedGrants Grants Management functionality for ezFedGrants supports a broad range of business processes including program definition, application, assessment, agreement, claim, change request, grant payment, monitoring, and analysis. The software improves access to grant services by supporting Web-based processing of applications, claims, and change requests as well as automated application workflow for approvals and notification. The software also delivers robust reporting functionality through the ezFedGrants NetWeaver® Business Intelligence (ezFedGrants NetWeaver BI) component, which helps organizations measure and improve performance. ezFedGrants also deals with the financial and budgeting aspects of this process; commitment of the budget, availability check and accounting integration are also part of this process. ezFedGrants Grants Management improves the effectiveness of the following essential business processes:
• Program management
Keeps the grant process transparent to facilitate internal and external accountability and controls, defines how granting activities are managed and funded, and how the grants are delivered to the grantee.
Easily manages application processing, eligibility assessment, and award amounts, helping the potential grantee receive information about the ezFedGrants program and apply for a grant either online, by telephone, or by letter.
• Application process
Captures the terms and conditions of the awarded grant and triggers the commitment of the budget, billing and payment activities when an agreement is finalized.
• ezFedGrants agreement
Manages changes to a ezFedGrants agreement after the agreement has been approved and released, evaluates important changes to the agreement, and generates new versions of the agreement as PDF documents for internal tracking and external processing.
• Change request
Provides a Web-based claim form for a specific agreement with which a grantee can submit requests for payment or reconciliation of payment. Claim items are verified manually or automatically for eligibility and availability, with checking executed against the agreement. Claims are then approved, released, and paid, as they are fully integrated with the budgeting and accounting system.
• Claims management
• Monitoring
Stores and quickly retrieves project status reports, financial statements, and performance status reports that detail the efficiency and effectiveness of programs. Meetings and site visits can be arranged, recorded, and integrated into workflows to track grantee activities.
• Analysis
Performs standard queries that support application, agreement, claim, and program analysis as well as full life.

15. ezFedGrants Management Process Overview
The FMMI Grants Management solution supports the end-to-end grants management closeout and is built upon the FMMI SAP ECC and CRM base with external portal functionality via a Pega portal.

16. FMMI ezFedGrants Solution and Benefits
Challenge #
Unified solution to harness USDA’s Lean Six Sigma Grants Management Process
Reduced average cycle time to receive funds from 2-5 months to 3 days
Reduced payment process steps from 18 steps to 2 steps
Automated wide-range of G&A processes, from program management to close-out
Programs can be closed out in 5 minutes
95% of agreements will be closed out within 120 days of agreement end of performance
Standardized and role-based processes and privileges
 1. Inefficient Process
2. Financial Integrity
Integration with financial system – single story of the truth
Central repository for grant information maximizes service efficiency
Reduced Unliquidated Obligations

17. FMMI ezFedGrants Solution and Benefits
Challenge #
Integrated access to grantor an financial transactions improves usability, including the external portal
Single integrated solution supporting all program types eliminates data redundancy and inefficiencies
Increased User Acceptance
3. Customer Service
Visibility and streamlined agreement management process
Agreement approvals and signatures used to take months to process. With digital signatures and automated workflows that time is now reduced to days
Financial status, Audit trail of transactions, enhanced reporting
Capture of the agreement terms and conditions
Multi-level business rules. Consistent use of business practices and internal controls
Pro-active monitoring allows for corrective action to fulfill service policies and goals
Enhanced compliance with regulatory requirements – OMB and CFR, Department compliance, Agency and Program compliance
4. Regulatory and Compliance Issues

18. ezFedGrants Field Guide: Five Key Elements
2. Experienced Team & Inclusive
Operations
Client
Insight
Solution
On-boarding
3. Proven, Rapid & Flexible
5. Broad & Flexible Grants
Functionality
1. Business-Led
Governance
Structure
Platform
4. Hybrid ezFedGrants & Pega
USDA
1. Business-Led Governance Structure:
Every customer has a seat on the governance board
Collaborative environment (collaborate on similar efforts, know what is coming when
2. Experienced Team & Inclusive Operations:
Ability to incorporate members of your business team to co-staff Tier 0 support using ServiceNow
Pooled Tier 1-3 support teams to handle access issues and system issues
3. Proven, Rapid & Flexible On-boarding:
Assessment approach to define and order business priorities
Rapid implementation & on-boarding approach that tailors ezFedGrants to your organization
4. Hybrid ezFedGrants & Pega Platform:
Pega-powered grantee-portal
ezFedGrants]-powered grants case tool
ezFedGrants-powered financials
ezFedGrants data warehouse & reporting
Virtualized, scalable environments
5. Broad & Flexible Grants Functionality:
Broad, full range of functionality across the grants lifecycle
More capabilities planned and rolling out every 4-6 months

19. USDA as a Shared Service Provider
Current Portfolio Services:
Financial management
Reconciliation of financial data and reporting
Payment processing
Payroll processing
Financial statement preparation
Collections
Grants and Agreements
Additional Services to include:
Interagency Agreements

20. Shared Services: Benefits
Eliminate inefficient spending resulting from duplicative service offerings and systems
Focus more agency resources on core mission requirements rather than administrative support services
Spur adoption of best practices and best-in-class ideas and innovations
Reduce support costs of redundant IT resources
Improve cost efficiencies through shared IT
Labor related savings from economies of scale
Non-labor savings
Clear accountability (e.g. Service Level Agreement)
Simplified audits (e.g. through enabling technology)
Increased control and visibility (e.g. standard reporting)
Faster transactional response time (e.g. shorter cycle-times)
Responsiveness (e.g. tracked and answered)
Fewer errors (e.g. standard processes)
High performance culture (metrics driven)