We are collecting feedback for comments on these announcements. You can provide us with input through our online forum The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) published several Federal Register notices on August 12 seeking comments on proposed steps toward simplification of the federal grant process. The effort is part of implementation of the Federal Financial Assistance Management Improvement Act (FFAMIA) (Public Law 106-107), the 1999 law requiring federal agencies to develop uniform grant application and reporting standards. Comments are being accepted through October 11, 2002. The notices address the following proposals and issues:

• A summary and explanation of the five notices, including the history of FFAMIA implementation to date. The full text is at Vol. 67 Fed. Reg. No. 155, Pages 52543-52545.
• A proposed policy directive to federal agencies requiring a standard format for announcing grant or cooperative agreement opportunities. It incorporates public comments from a 2001 Federal Register notice. The purpose of the directive is "to give potential applicants the information they need, such as the types of activity the agency will support, who is eligible to apply, and when/how to apply.” It applies to all announcements, whether posted on the web, published in the Federal Register or issued directly by an agency. The full text is at Vol. 67 Fed. Reg. No. 155, Pages 52548-52554.
• Proposed standard data elements for all agencies to use when posting grant and cooperative agreement opportunities on the web. A pilot site is piggybacked on to the FedBizOpps website, which lists procurement opportunities, and has useful features not previously available to nonprofits. These include the ability to sign up for email notification of grants in particular areas, such as health or housing. The full text is in PDF format at Vol. 67 Fed. Reg. No. 155, Pages 52554-52556. The pilot website is at fedgrants.gov.
• Increasing the threshold for a comprehensive, single-entity audit of grantees from $300,000 to $500,000. This would "relieve almost 6,000 entities from the audit requirements of A-133 while only exempting from audit less than one half of one percent of Federal awards expended (in dollars) by entities currently filing Circular A-133 audits." Currently grantees that receive less than $300,000 are only required to have program specific audits, but those that receive more than $300,000 must have an audit of the entire organization, often called a single-entity audit. The full text can be found at Vol. 67 Fed. Reg. No. 155, Pages 52545-52547.
• Part of the simplification process is an effort to make definitions of similar terms consistent. As a result, OMB is proposed technical changes to Circulars A-122, A-78 and A-12, which contain cost principles for different types of grantees. The changes are not intended to change policy or substance of the definitions. The full text of the announcement is at Vol 67 Fed. Reg. No. 155, Pages 52558-52560. A chart detailing the changes is available in PDF format.
• The final notice is an explanation of OMB’s decision not to offer cash advances on a pooled basis, based on comments received on a previous Federal Register notice. The full text is at Vol. 67 Fed. Reg. No. 155, Page 52547.

What OMB Wants to Know About Its Grant Streamlining Proposals In addition to general comments OMB has listed some specific areas where it would like public input on information to be included in grant announcements. They are:

1. Proposed policy directive to federal agencies requiring a standard format for announcing grant or cooperative agreement opportunities> (including summaries):
   • Is the information to be required in the summary enough to make a decision about whether or not you should read the entire grant announcement?
   • Should any categories or subcategories of information in the full announcement be added or deleted? If information should be added, please explain why it is needed.
2. Proposed standard data elements for all agencies to use when posting grant and cooperative agreement opportunities on the web.
   • Is the information to be posted enough to make a decision about whether or not you should read the entire grant announcement? If information should be added, please explain why it is needed.

For background information on FFAMIA see OMB Watch’s grant streamlining web page.