Grantor User Story: Retrieving Submissions & Assigning Agency Tracking Numbers

The application deadline for Trish’s grant program has come and gone, so now she is ready to get those applications into the application review process. Trish would also like to add agency tracking numbers to give her applicants the opportunity to see the status of their application. (If you missed previous installments of Trish’s story, click here and here)

Retrieving the Submissions

User Story: Checking the Application and Submitting in Grants.gov

That sense of relief is almost here for Susan, Leo, and April. From their different circumstances and team sizes, they have all reached a similar point—the grant application is done and they are ready to submit. Before sending it in to the agency, though, they would also like to review the application to make sure it is ready. This review involves their team internally reviewing the accuracy and quality of the application, but it also includes validating it in Grants.gov.

Prepare for Reporting Requirements – Grant Writing Basics

When you receive a federal grant, you are receiving taxpayer dollars with the expectation you will successfully implement a public-serving project. Such projects can range from publishing scientific research results to creating apprenticeship opportunities for underrepresented populations to providing foreign aid and democratic development.

To ensure you (i.e., the award recipient) are using the funds ethically and efficiently, the federal government establishes grant reporting requirements. After you submit these reports, the grant-making agency then has staff who carefully review them to maintain transparency and to prevent fraud and abuse.

User Story: Federal Program Manager Prepares for the Closing Date

The clock is ticking down for Trish, a program manager at the Department of Health and Human Services, and for the organizations who are preparing to submit grant applications.

You may recall, in Part 1, we explained the process that Trish took to publish a new grant opportunity on Grants.gov. Since then, she has been focused on preparing for the peer review panels and other responsibilities. But now it is time to begin preparing for the posted grant’s closing date.

User Story: Applying for Federal Grants When Internet Connectivity Is Limited

Grants.gov has long been attentive to the needs of applicants like Leo. One of the key benefits of the Grants.gov Workspace platform is that it can serve a range of applicant needs, including those applicants who must work on forms offline due to slow or intermittent access to internet.

User Story: Designing a Strategy for Finding Federal Grants

Over the last few weeks, we have begun featuring user scenarios from across the Grants.gov user experience. Click the User Story tag for all the posts in the series.

Now that Susan is up to speed on the phases of the federal grant lifecycle, she feels better equipped to begin scouring Grants.gov for grant opportunities that hold promise for her organization. To complicate things a bit, Susan’s university is looking for grants across a range of different categories.

So for each grouping of opportunities, she will need to use a different combination of keywords and search parameters. Of course, it would be great to be able to save these different search queries and receive emails when a grant comes up in them.

Let’s look at a three-part strategy Susan has designed for finding opportunities that may help you find the grants you are looking for.

Federal Program Manager – The Beginning of Trish’s Grantor Story

Before anyone can apply for this HHS grant, Trish needs to coordinate the design and posting of the FOA. To allow prospective applicants more time to plan, Trish would also like to publish a grant forecast.

New Hire to a University – The Beginning of Susan’s Applicant Story

You’ve probably been in Susan’s circumstance at some point in your career. You’re starting a new job, and it has something to do with grants but don’t know exactly what that means. Now you need to quickly learn about federals grants so that you can get one and manage it.

How Can Susan Learn about Grants?

4 (More) Key Competencies for Grant Professionals

In October we shared 5 Key Competencies for Aspiring Federal Grants Management Pros based on the U.S. Chief Financial Officers (CFO) Council’s Financial Assistance Management Career Roadmap. Today, we are continuing with 4 more important elements to your career progression.

For all grant pros, these competencies represent important concepts and responsibilities to know and practice along your career path.

Register for the HHS Grants Management Conference on January 9, 2018

If you are a grant professional with the federal government, or if you are involved in the grant-making process, then this conference is for you. With the focus of “Pathways to Grant Success,” this training conference by HHS’ Office of Grants and Acquisition Policy and Accountability (OGAPA) will cover the following areas: