Grants Compliance from a College’s 360 Degree Perspective Maryland Governor’s Grants Office

1. Grants Compliance from a College’s 360 Degree Perspective Maryland Governor’s Grants Office Higher Education Conference May 22, 2012 Bowie State University Nancy Smith, Dir. of Grants Development The Community College of Baltimore County The Community College of Baltimore County

2. Grants Compliance • What is grants compliance? Adopting and consistently applying systematic procedures to assure that grant funded programs are effectively implemented and that provisions imposed by the funding agency are being met. • Why is compliance important and necessary? Assuring compliance with funding agency requirements is critical as federal regulations are becoming more stringent and competition for limited grant funds is increasing. The Community College of Baltimore County

3. CCBC’s Grants Compliance Goals Program begun in 2011 with following goals: • Development of policies and procedures that facilitate, not impede successful program implementation; • Provide a continuous communication loop among stakeholders • Support a proactive approach to grant management and early detection of issues and challenges; • Steward funder relationships; positioning CCBC to continue its success in securing external funding support;and • Provide accurate and accessible information to support CCBC leadership’s strategic decision-making. The Community College of Baltimore County

4. Areas of Initial Focus • Sub-awards to CCBC and by CCBC • Recruitment and hiring of grant-funded positions • Project evaluation and data collection • Time and effort certification • Preparation and submission of reports • Preparation and submission of requests for modifications or extensions • Grant closeout and record retention practices • Design of grant proposals to be ultimately manageable and successful The Community College of Baltimore County

5. Focus areas • Sub-awards: developed a template for acting as a subgrantee to another organization or to use as prime with a subawardee organization. • Recruitment and hiring of grant-funded positions: working with Human Resources to define matrix of pre-approved positions in interest of expedient hiring and project initiation. The Community College of Baltimore County

6. Focus areas • Project evaluation and data collection: work closely with project directors to determine effectiveness of their review process. Also work closely with Planning, Research, and Evaluation office staff to ensure high quality evaluation. • Time and effort certification: work closely with Finance staff to determine their practice and to help clarify faculty and staff ability to participate on projects. The Community College of Baltimore County

7. Focus Areas • Work with project directors on submission of reports. Currently do not review reports prior to their being submitted, but will work toward this in the next year. Electronic process of reminders will be put in to place, too. • Working with project directors and Finance staff to determine best way to identify need for project modification and to approach agencies successfully. The Community College of Baltimore County

8. Focus areas • Worked with Finance staff to determine appropriate retention of records and codifying an appropriate length of time for records to be maintained and for documentation to occur. • Proposal development staff working with Grants Compliance Officer for successful project design. Review of reports, effective or challenged project development processes added a new dimension to already efficient proposal development process. The Community College of Baltimore County

9. Tools • Grants Compliance Manual • Bamboo Solutions grants management system • Work through grants SharePoint site The Community College of Baltimore County

10. Tools (Continued) • Adoption of a standard sub-award process • On-going communication and support to project directors (Award Kick-off briefings; monthly and quarterly compliance reviews; reporting process) • Replication of best practices and lessons learned (workshops; learning communities; mentoring) • Facilitation of grant close-out and record retention process The Community College of Baltimore County

11. GRANTS COMPLIANCE MANUAL • Serves as a “how-to” document for project directors • Contains info about effective project implementation; internal processes (budget monitoring, procurement, etc.) • Establishes policy previously not in place The Community College of Baltimore County

12. GRANTS COMPLIANCE MANUAL • Sample provided • Content addresses many areas of the college’s grants implementation process, with the intent of helping to demystify the grant project process. • Clarification of such processes as budget monitoring, project implementation, project evaluation, procurement, and hiring practices. The Community College of Baltimore County

13. Grants Management System • Operates on SharePoint • Allows for access by project directors, grants office staff, and senior management • Serves as tool to efficiently generate reports and inform stakeholders of grant status The Community College of Baltimore County

14. Technological tools • Also working with improving promotion of information about project successes. These are being undertaken through in-house email announcements, through college publications, and through our Grants Office SharePoint site. The Community College of Baltimore County

15. Success Indicators • Percent change in proportion of extensions requested as a result of untimely completion of activities or expenditures • Percent change in proportion of grants with funds remaining at the end of performance period • Percent change in proportion of reports submitted late and/or with inaccuracies • Additional Indicators to be determined The Community College of Baltimore County

16. Newer success indicators • Work on establishing a grading system for notification of Senior Staff on project successes and projects needing attention and help • Work to promote successes • Work to get project managers to use Bamboo Grants Management Accelerator software • Establish training workshops for proper project management The Community College of Baltimore County

17. Next steps • Assist with preparation of periodic and nonrecurring reports • Establishment of schedules for renewed/continuing grants based on project need….addressing sustainability. The Community College of Baltimore County

18. Ultimate goal • Assist CCBC’s project directors to implement effective projects that meet college strategic directions and funder requirements. The Community College of Baltimore County

19. Advice for compliance • Find ways to consistently and easily track compliance needs. • Train those involved to effectively implement project goals and objectives. • Share best practices among those involved in projects. • Be true to project intent. The Community College of Baltimore County

20. Questions? THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO TALK WITH YOU ABOUT GRANTS COMPLIANCE!! The Community College of Baltimore County

21. CCBC office of grants development Nancy Smith, Director, (443) 840-3561, nsmith4@ccbcmd.edu Joe Coffey, Grants Development Coordinator, (443) 840-3132, jcoffey@ccbcmd.edu Julie Brown, Grants Compliance Officer, (443) 840-3217, jbrown18@ccbcmd.edu Deborah Raspi-Weldon, Administrative Assistant, (443) 840-3249, draspi-weldon@ccbcmd.edu The Community College of Baltimore County