[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 208 (Thursday, October 27, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66721-66723]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-27878]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Administration for Children and Families
New Policies and Procedural Requirements for the Electronic
Submission of Discretionary Grant Applications
AGENCY: Division of Grants Policy, Office of Administration, ACF, HHS.
ACTION: Notice of new policies and procedural requirements for the
electronic submission of discretionary grant applications.
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Overview Information: The Deputy Assistant Secretary for
Administration, Administration for Children and Families (ACF),
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), announces new policies
and procedural requirements for the electronic submission of
discretionary grant applications through the government-wide grants
application site, http://www.Grants.gov and through http://www.GrantSolutions.gov; effective January 1, 2012.
DATES: Submit written or electronic comments on or before December 27,
2011.
ADDRESSES: Submit written or electronic comments concerning this notice
to Karen Shields, Grants Policy Specialist, Department of Health and
Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Division of
Grants Policy, 370 L'Enfant Promenade, SW., Aerospace Building, 6th
Floor East, Washington, DC 20447. E-mail address:
karen.shields@acf.hhs.gov. Delays may occur in mail delivery to Federal
offices; therefore, a copy of comments should be faxed to (202) 205-
6400. Comments will be available for inspection by members of the
public at the Office of Administration, Division of Grants Policy, 901
D Street, SW., Washington, DC 20447.
SUMMARY: The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), an
Operating Division of HHS, announces the opportunity for public comment
on its initial transition plan to implement required electronic
submission of Federal discretionary grant applications and official
grant file documents. In accordance with e-Government initiatives
mandated by the Federal Financial Assistance Management Improvement Act
of 1999, Public Law 106-107, ACF officially acknowledges that
electronically generated and/or stored documents are recognized
equivalents of an official paper grant file. Recognizing the
equivalency of such documents eliminates duplicative effort and
administrative burden for Federal grant applicants, recipients, and the
awarding agency, by facilitating the submission and storage of official
grant files. The ACF transition plan will begin with the required
electronic submission of discretionary grant applications.
ACF has previously afforded applicants and recipients the option of
submitting Federal discretionary grant applications in both electronic
and paper formats. This notice announces that during the initial
transition phase and thereafter, discretionary grant applicants and
recipients are now required to submit competing, and non-competing
continuation, grant applications electronically. The electronic portals
used to support this effort are http://www.Grants.gov and http://www.GrantSolutions.gov.
Electronic Submission of Discretionary Grant Applications
Competing Grant Applications--ACF will continue to post
synopses of planned discretionary Funding Opportunity Announcements
(FOAs) at the HHS Grants Forecast Web site http://www.hhs.gov/grantsforecast/and synopses of published FOAs on http://www.Grants.gov.
Applicants will continue to use http://www.Grants.gov for their
application submissions for discretionary awards. Full ACF FOAs are
published at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/index.html.
Non-Competing Continuation Grant Applications--Guidance
will be provided by ACF directly to existing
[[Page 66722]]
grantees on the appropriate electronic system that will allow them to
submit non-competing continuation applications to either http://www.Grants.gov or http://www.GrantSolutions.gov.
Universal Identifier (DUNS), CCR Registration, and Registration at
http://www.Grants.gov.
Applicants that have not already done so should prepare for this
transition by first obtaining a Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS)
number at http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform and then registering with the
Central Contractor Registration (CCR) at http://www.ccr.gov, a
requirement that became mandatory for all applicants, grantees, and
first-tier subawardees on October 1, 2010. Submission of electronic
applications to http://www.Grants.gov by applicants not registered with
the CCR will be rejected by that system.
About the Universal Identifier (DUNS Number) and Central Contractor
Registration (CCR)
On September 14, 2010, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
released the final version of a new award term 2 CFR Part 25, Universal
Identifier and Central Contractor Registration (75 FR 55671). It
codified two existing guidance documents relating to registration with
the Central Contractor Registry (CCR) and obtaining a Dun & Bradstreet
Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number.
The DUNS/CCR award term in 2 CFR Part 25 requires recipients to
maintain the currency of their CCR registration, until they submit
their final required financial report under an award, or until they
receive final payment, whichever is later. CCR registration must be
updated annually and is required of all applicants using the Grants.gov
portal.
About www.Grants.gov
Applicants can immediately start searching the FIND section of
http://www.Grants.gov for Federal grant opportunities. Applicants can
also register at http://www.Grants.gov to receive automatic email
notifications of new grant opportunities as they are posted. To prepare
to use the APPLY function at http://www.Grants.gov, ACF strongly
recommends that applicants immediately initiate and complete the ``Get
Started'' steps to register with Grants.gov at http://www.grants.gov/applicants/get_registered.jsp. Although the steps can be completed
within a few days in many cases, we strongly advise against waiting
until a specific funding opportunity is announced before initiating the
Grants.gov registration process to avoid unexpected delays that could
result in the rejection of your application.
Organizations that are already registered at Grants.gov, please
note that accounts that are inactive for one calendar year will be
deactivated.
Please Note: Applicant passwords at Grants.gov now expire every
90 days. Registered applicants will receive two email notifications
before their passwords expire. There is now an option for applicants
to request a system-generated password through an email message.
Accounts will lock for 15 minutes if the user provides the wrong
password three consecutive times within a five-minute period.
Change in Submission Time for Electronically Submitted Discretionary
Grant Applications
With the implementation of electronic submission of discretionary
grant applications via Grants.gov, ACF will extend the timeframe for
application receipt from 4:30 p.m., E.T., to 11:59 p.m., E.T.
Applications received at or after 12 a.m., E.T., of the day following
the application due date will be designated as late and will be
disqualified from competition. Proof of receipt (date and time stamp)
is provided by the Grants.gov system.
The cutoff for receipt of hard copy/paper applications by those
applicants that have obtained a waiver (see the Exceptions to the
Electronic Submission Requirement and Waivers section of this notice)
will remain at 4:30 p.m., E.T.
Exceptions to the Electronic Submission Requirement and Waivers
ACF recognizes that segments of the applicant community may have
limited or no Internet access, and/or limited computer capacity, which
may prohibit them from uploading large files to the Internet at http://www.Grants.gov and/or http://www.GrantSolutions.gov. To accommodate
such applicants, ACF is instituting a waiver procedure, on a case-by-
case basis, that will allow such applicants to submit hard copy, paper
grant applications by hand-delivery, applicant courier, overnight/
express mail couriers, or other representatives of the applicant.
Applicants will be required to submit a written statement to ACF
that the applicant qualifies for a waiver under one of these grounds:
Lack of Internet access; or limited computer capacity that prevents the
uploading of large files to the Internet. The written statement must be
sent to the Grants Management Contact listed in Section VII. in all
published discretionary FOAs, and must include the FOA Title, Funding
Opportunity Number (FON), the listed Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance (CFDA) number and the reason for which the applicant is
requesting a waiver. Waiver requests may be submitted by mail or by
email. The request must be received by ACF no later than two weeks
before the application due date, that is, 14 calendar days prior to the
application due date listed in the FOA, or if the fourteenth calendar
day falls on a weekend or Federal holiday, the next Federal business
day following the Federal holiday. Complete instructions on the waiver
option will appear in all published FOAs announcing the availability of
discretionary grants.
Additionally, on a case-by-case basis, ACF will consider requests
to accept hard copy, paper submissions of grant applications when
circumstances such as natural disasters occur (floods, hurricanes,
etc.); or when there are widespread disruptions of mail service; or in
other rare cases that would prevent electronic submission of the
documents.
In all cases, the decision to allow a waiver to accept submission
of hard copy, paper applications will rest with the Grants Management
Officer listed in Section VII of each discretionary FOA and/or Notice
of Award (NOA).
Hard copy/paper applications for new awards, submitted by
applicants without prior approval of a waiver within the required
timeframe, will be considered non-responsive and will be disqualified
from competition and objective review. The waiver process will not
apply to applications for non-competing continuation grants.
Records Retention
The HHS regulations at 45 CFR 92.42 (State, Local, and Tribal
Governments) and 45 CFR 74.53 (Institutions of Higher Education,
Hospitals, Other Nonprofit Organizations, and Commercial Organizations)
pertaining to the retrieval, retention, disposition and destruction of
official grant files remain in effect for electronically submitted
documents.
Future Implementation
This guidance represents the initial phase of ACF's transition to
required electronic submission of all official grant documents. ACF
will continue to communicate transition plans for other documents as
they evolve and will provide the applicant and recipient communities,
and the general public, with sufficient notice of implementation
details. In general, notices will be published in the Federal Register
at least 60 days before the implementation becomes effective.
[[Page 66723]]
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karen Shields, Grants Policy
Specialist, Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for
Children and Families, OA/Division of Grants Policy, 370 L'Enfant
Promenade, SW., Aerospace Building, 6th Floor East, Washington, DC
20447. Email: karen.shields@acf.hhs.gov. Fax: (202) 205-6400.
Dated: October 21, 2011.
Jason Donaldson,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Administration, Administration for
Children and Families.
[FR Doc. 2011-27878 Filed 10-26-11; 8:45 am]
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