Institutional Advancement-Grants Development and Management

INSTITUTIONAL ADVANCEMENT –
GRANTS DEVELOPMENT AND MANAGEMENT

Dr. Laurie Miller McNeill, PhD
Director of Institutional Advancement

1. Mission and Scope of the Office of Institutional Advancement.

The Office of Institutional Advancement supports the College’s mission through resource development. The office is staffed by a Director and Assistant Director. Modest consulting support is available to assist in the development of major institutional applications.

Institutional Advancement partners with all offices of the college to facilitate applications for external funding from state, federal, corporate, and foundation sources (grants development) and assists in the process of assuring that the resources received adhere to funder’s guidelines. Institutional Advancement supports both grants development and grants management functions. All project directors seeking outside funding must assume responsibility for both development and implementation of the funding sought and awarded.

A primary function of the office is to assure that all projects align with the college’s strategic plan, accreditation priorities (Middle States), college policies and procedures, and meet funders’ requirements. Additionally, we look to resource development to build the institution’s capacity to fulfill its mission, improve outcomes for students, and support sustainable designs that increase revenue or efficiency of the college in delivering services.

Each division that secures a grant must assign a project director to serve as the administrator for the grant. The project director is responsible for the day-to-day administration of the grant, is responsible for implementing the grant according to institutional and funders’ policies and procedures. Most federal grants require that the project director report directly to a Vice President or President. The Office of Institutional Advancement must have access to the Vice President of the division developing the grant and overseeing its implementation, and the Vice President of the Division in which the grant resides assumes responsibility for the development and implementation of the grant project within that division.

A. Grants Development Process

1. Pre-Development. The Office of Institutional Advancement assists in researching prospective funding sources and works with the Project Director and their Supervisor to develop the proposal concept and budget and identify internal and external partners. A brief project description is circulated along with initial assessments related to hiring, budget, and the institutional areas impacted. Approval from the supervising Dean and Vice President is sought. In the case of a proposal with broad institutional impact, the President, Budget Office and Human Resources are notified that a project is under development and the grant deadline so they can appropriate resources as needed to the project. A decision is made to proceed or suspend the application process. If approved, grant requirements, tasks, and timelines are outlined and responsibilities for grant production identified.
2. Development. The Office of Institutional Advancement meets regularly (usually weekly) with the Project Director to facilitate grant planning and preparation tasks. Internal and external partners are engaged, and support is secured as needed and appropriate for the project to insure timely completion of milestones. The project management plan is determined, identifying the supervision structure/ management plan for the grant should funding be received. Periodic updates (through meetings, emails and drafts) are provided to supervising Deans, VPs, and the President to keep them informed about progress and to guide key decisions that have institutional impact. Human Resources is consulted on personnel matters related to job descriptions, classifications within the college’s personnel system, and scheduling. The Budget Office is consulted on all budget matters, including salaries and the review of expenditures. If information technology or facilities changes are proposed, the IT and Facilities departments are consulted. The grant proposal and budget are drafted and revised multiple times until a final draft and budget are completed.
3. Grant Submission. The final draft and budget are completed and circulated to supervising Deans, Vice Presidents, Human Resources, Budget Office, the President and other relevant staff (as appropriate, such as Information Technology and/or Facilities to the extent they are involved). Feedback and changes are incorporated or otherwise addressed at that time, and written approval is secured. The grant is submitted and file copies are circulated to relevant offices.

B. Grants Management Process

1. Grant Award Notification. The Office of Institutional Advancement and/or Project Director are provided a Grant Notification Award (GAN) and sent a contract along with any modifications required by the funder. The Office of Institutional Advancement facilitates the contract review and circulates the document for signature. The Budget Office is notified that an award has been received and a college budget number is assigned. The Office of Institutional Advancement meets with the Project Director and supervising Dean and Vice President to review: the project proposal, budget and timeline; the grant award and funder’s regulations; and reporting requirements.
2. Project Implementation and Management. The Project Director now assumes primary responsibility for project implementation, management, and reporting, including budget, hiring and carrying out of major grant tasks and meeting all grant and funders requirements and regulations. The supervising Dean and Vice President identified in the grant management plan now assume primary responsibility for providing project oversight from both an institutional and funders’ perspective. The Office of Institutional Advancement continues to meet on a quarterly basis with any new project directors, any grants whose overall direction or stewardship falls under the Office of Institutional Advancement (such as Perkins or Con Edison-funded projects), and any project that requests special support. The Office of Institutional Advancement is copied on budget and program modifications. The Project Director is responsible for working with the Budget Office, Human Resources, Information Technology and Facilities, as appropriate, in support of project implementation.
3. Grant Reporting and Close Out. The Office of Institutional Advancement may provide reminders of key reporting dates, but the primary responsibility rests with the Project Director for all interim and final project reports, working with the Budget Office to ensure Budget Reports are provided on time, and for any program or budget modifications according to grant and agency requirements. The Project Director is responsible for keeping copies of all grant correspondence, data collection, and reporting consistent with grant requirements and for providing copies to the Office for Institutional Advancement and Budget Office.

C. Grantee Responsibilities.

This section summarizes federal requirements for all grantee organizations.

1. Certifications. Certifications are requirements of eligibility to apply for and receive federal financial assistance.
2. Assurances relate to complying with various grant requirements, including those protecting public welfare and prohibiting discrimination. In some grants that distribute grant funds to other entities or individuals (such as project partners or contractors), the college is required to get certain forms signed by those other entities or individuals.
3. Regulations. There are a number of regulations that apply to grants. There are Program Regulations that are listed in the Federal Notice and Grant Application under a particular program, and are reflected in the Congressional statute that authorized the grant. There are Administrative Regulations that apply to all federal programs under Uniform Guidance 2 CFR Part 200 and to all US Department of Education Grants under Title 34 of CFR (EDGAR).
4. Performance Measures. Substantial progress toward approved objectives is measured through performance measures that are submitted regularly. These include: a) grantee project goals and objectives; b) program specific measures required by the Government Performance and Results Act (GEPA); c) program specific measures – established by program officers for particular grant competitions; d) performance targets in an approved application and e) data or evaluations required by programs.
5. Human Subjects Protection in Research. Grantees must provide a) assurance of compliance with human subjects protection and b) Institutional Review Board (IRB) certification of its review and approval of covered research activities.
6. Records, GEPA, EDGAR and 2 CFR part 200 provide specific requirements for record retention. Records are needed to demonstrate to program monitors or auditors that all expenditures and activities conducted with the grant were allowable and accurately reported. Included:

1. Keep records regarding the use of grant funds, compliance with program requirements, and the data used to demonstrate the project’s effectiveness in meeting the project objectives.
2. Keep copy of the approved application.
3. Keep financial records showing the amounts and sources of all funds spent on the grant, including any cost sharing or matching funds that were required or volunteered as part of the approved project. These records must also document how all federal and matching funds were used.
4. Keep records that document other types of information you provided the Department in your annual or final reports, such as records of program participants and the source data used to report on performance measures.
5. Maintain inventory records, if you purchase equipment with grant funds, until you dispose of the equipment or transfer it to another federal project for use.
6. Keep copies of all correspondence with the agency awarding the grant regarding the project.
7. Time and Effort Records. For grantees that must comply with OMB Circular A-87, all charges to payroll for grant-funded personnel must be based on one of the following: 1. Certification; 2. Time and Effort Records, or 3. A Substitute System

1. Certification. Employees who are 100% funded from the grant are not required to maintain time and effort records, but each employee or supervisor having knowledge of the employee’s activities must certify at least semi-annually that he/she worked solely on that program or cost objective for the period covered by the certification, which must be signed by the employee or supervisor having firsthand knowledge of the work performed. Charges to the grant must be supported by these semi-annual certifications.
2. Time and Effort Records. Employees who work under multiple grant programs or multiple cost-objectives must prepare time and effort reports, at least monthly, to coincide with pay periods. Such reports must reflect an after-the-fact distribution of 100 percent of the employee’s actual time and must be signed by the employee and their supervisor.
3. Substitute System. In lieu of time and effort records, grantees may choose to implement a substitute system, such as a random moment sampling that meets acceptable statistical sampling standards.