The end of the fiscal year is an especially busy time for grant staff working across all Federal grantmaking agencies. GrantSolutions experts have compiled some useful tips and tricks to help expedite your processes and analysis.
Use Business Intelligence (BI) Dashboards to quickly check award status and catch any actions that may be falling behind.
One of the most significant challenges facing grant awarding agencies at the end of the fiscal year is getting all awards out the door on time. Fortunately, there are nearly one hundred Business Intelligence (BI) dashboards that consolidate real-time data in graphs, charts, and maps.
Here are several dashboards that are useful for end-of-fiscal year analysis:
- The Grants.gov Application Tracker (Folder 1) allows you to see which Grants.gov applications are pending. It’s helpful for application clean-up and ensuring all active applications are accounted for and appropriately dispositioned.
- The New and NCC Award Tracking Dashboard (Folder 2) can track awards from start to finish. Quickly see which applications still need decisions.
- The Awards Processing Duration Dashboard (Folder 3) shows every pending award in one place, sorted by type and workflow, regardless of status, so none are missed in the rush of business.
- The System for Award Management (SAM.gov) Dashboard (Folder 6) allows you to view recipients whose SAM.gov registrations are expired or are expiring soon. Note that if a recipient already has an expired UEI, they should reactivate it instead of applying for a brand-new one.
- The Pending Amendment Report by Fiscal Year and Grant Program Workbook Dashboard (Folder 8) shows all post-award amendments started or received during the fiscal year that are not yet awarded.
BI dashboards can identify bottlenecks, backlogs, and other factors that can push work into the last quarter. To get a jump start next year, leverage BI Dashboards to ensure as much of the workload as possible is processed earlier in the year.
For more information on BI Dashboards, refer to Insight Support Materials. (You must be logged in to GrantSolutions to view this guide).
Save time by quickly gathering the information you need to complete pre-award risk assessments with Recipient Data Insights.
Enter the recipient’s name or identifier number and click “search.” The information you need to assess risk will be immediately available (i.e., information on compliance, audit findings, payment history, non-profit staffing and salaries, and more). This information is presented in an easy-to-read format, highlighting crucial details affecting risk for your attention.
Access the updated Grantor Training site for resources and assistance.
Earlier this year, GrantSolutions launched a new and improved Grantor training site. Improvements include the ability to search and filter to easily locate training materials.
The new site can be accessed by clicking on “Help/Support” and “Documentation” from within GMM.
There you will find training resources on a variety of topics related to end-of-fiscal-year procedures, including:
Changing a Posted Funding Opportunity Announcement Quick Sheet
Returning a Directed Supplement or Competitive Application Quick Sheet
Returning Non-Competing Continuation Applications Quick Sheet
(You must be logged in to GrantSolutions to view these Quick Sheets)
Check with your policy office for any exceptions for award processing.
For example, the Congressional Liaison Office (CLO) delay, usually seven days, is often waived during the end of the fiscal year.
Be aware of scheduled system downtimes.
As a reminder, GrantSolutions standard downtimes are every Tuesday and Thursday, from 9:00 pm – 1:00 am ET on the following day.
GrantSolutions hopes these tips and resources help set you up for a successful end of the fiscal year. If you have any additional questions, contact the GrantSolutions Help Desk at help@grantsolutions.gov.
