Grants Management

capabilities

LMI supports federal grants and program managers by doing the following:

• Researching and developing policies and procedures and delivering results in tailored formats (handbooks, manuals, policy letters, and regulations)
• Reviewing grants process efficiency, effectiveness, and compliance with government-wide and agency requirements
• Supporting training and organizational planning needs with tailored and responsive support.

LMI works in all areas of federal grants, and we have particular expertise in the policy and operational aspects of the grants process, including pre-award review processes, post-award monitoring, and audit.

Clients and Solutions

HHS—Supporting Grants Process Improvement

The Department of Health and Human Services is responsible for more than 300 grants programs with annual obligations exceeding $400 billion. LMI helped HHS develop its Grants Policy Statement and Awarding Agency Grants Policy Administration Manual and update its grants policy directives. We worked with HHS grants professionals to establish appropriate internal controls and responsibilities, make business processes consistent across HHS operating divisions, and set policies in areas not covered by current regulations. This support has resulted in up-to-date, practical, and implementable grants policy guidance for the federal government's largest granting agency.

EPA—Developing Grants Workload Models

The Environmental Protection Agency wanted to know whether it had adequate resources to implement an efficient, effective grants process. LMI developed workload models for grants management specialists, project officers, and program officials. These models capture factors such as number of grants or cooperative agreements, type of grant and size of award, and status of available personnel. They reflect information gathered using an electronic survey and can be used to calculate requirements for full-time equivalent personnel to work and manage grants for EPA as a whole, for an individual office, or for an individual. EPA can use these models to project resource requirements for new programs and to reallocate grants workload among offices and individuals. Our work allowed EPA to update its grants processes and move toward meeting new, enhanced compliance requirements.