	Background

There are no specific government-wide training standards or training  requirements for the federal grant workforce; however, the administration  has taken some steps toward developing such standards. Establish certification standards by September 2015. Identifying the Federal Grant Workforce Presents Challenges

Despite the existence of a “grants management specialist” job series,  identifying the federal grant workforce presents challenges due to  differences in how agencies manage grants and the range of employees  involved in grants management. OPM recognized the need for a classification that would more accurately  capture the work of federal employees who manage grants, and in  November 2010 the agency established a “grants management specialist”  (series 1109). More than half of these employees  worked at HHS. Agencies Assign Employees in a Wide Variety of Job Series to Manage Grants Other than the Grants Management Specialist Job Series

In addition to the 1109 grants management specialist series, the federal  grant workforce includes a wide range of employees in other job series,  many of whom function as program specialists. They identified over 5,100 employees,  spanning more than 50 different occupational job series. To date, COFAR has not made public specific  plans on how it will define the grant workforce, nor which members of the  grant workforce—such as grants management specialists and program  specialists—it intends to include when developing government-wide  training standards. Agency Practices in Support of the Grant Workforce Included Identifying Competencies, Providing Agency- Specific Training, and Using Certification Programs

		Government-wide Grants Management Competencies Do Not Include Competencies for Program Specialists That Some Agencies Incorporated in Their Own Models

We previously reported on the value of identifying competencies that are  critical to successfully achieving agency missions and goals, such as  those related to grant making, and assessing gaps in those competencies  among the workforce. At HHS, several grant-making operating divisions told us that while they  found OPM’s competency model useful for grants management  specialists, they also needed a separate competency model for staff who  function as program specialists working with their grants management  specialists to manage grants. A recent effort to develop government-wide grants management  competencies provides further confirmation of the importance of  developing competencies based on how agencies manage grants. Agencies Have Adapted Grants Training Courses and Developed Other Training Mechanisms to Address Agency-Specific Policies and Procedures

We have previously reported that agencies need to provide their  workforce with training and development that is aligned with their  missions, goals, and cultures. Agencies also reported difficulties finding grants training that met all of the  needs of their grant workforce. For example,  Education worked with a commercial vendor to tailor the vendor’s grants  training courses to reflect Education’s policies and procedures and  include examples and exercises specific to the agency. Agency Experiences with Establishing Grants Management Certification Programs Illustrate the Usefulness of Tailoring Certification to Fit Roles and Responsibilities and the Value of Leadership Commitment

Certification programs are designed to ensure that individuals attain the  knowledge and skills required to perform in a particular occupation or role  by establishing consistent standards. For example, State identified two key roles  in its grants management process—grants officers and grants officer  representatives—and tailored separate certifications for these roles. A robust understanding of the diverse types of  employees that make up the grant workforce and the key roles they carry  out provides a foundation for the development of an effective  government-wide grants training strategy. Include the program specialist role as COFAR develops a  government-wide grants management competency model. 2. Agency Comments

We provided a draft of this report to the Secretaries of the Departments of  Education, Health and Human Services, State, and Transportation; and to  the Directors of the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of  Personnel Management. GAO staff who made  major contributions to this report are listed in appendix V.

Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

In order to better understand how the federal workforce responsible for  managing grants is trained, and what challenges and good practices  exist, we (1) described the federal grant workforce at selected agencies  and analyzed the challenge of identifying the workforce government-wide;  and (2) examined selected good practices agencies used and challenges,  if any, they faced in training the grant workforce, as well as potential  implications of these practices and challenges for government-wide  efforts to develop grants training standards. To understand the efforts of the Council on Financial  Assistance Reform we reviewed documents produced by the Council and  interviewed staff at OMB. Selected Grants Management Training Practices

			Grants Management Competencies and Assessing Training Needs

According to an Education official and agency documentation, the agency  incorporates grants management competencies in the competency  models for at least five of six job series which comprise the grant  workforce. Agency-provided grants training is developed by subject- matter experts within the operating administrations or by agency-affiliated  training institutes.
Why GAO Did This Study

Grants are a key tool used by the federal government to achieve a wide variety of national objectives. However, there are no government-wide training standards or requirements for the federal grant workforce. COFAR has reported it plans to develop such standards. GAO was asked to describe how the grant workforce is trained and what challenges and good practices exist. This report (1) describes the federal grant workforce at selected agencies and analyzes the challenge of identifying the workforce government-wide and (2) examines selected good practices agencies use and challenges, if any, in grants training and the potential implications for developing government-wide grants training standards. GAO obtained government-wide information on grants training through a questionnaire to chief learning officers at 22 federal agencies. For in-depth illustrative examples of grants training practices and challenges, GAO selected four agencies--Education, HHS, State, and DOT--based on factors such as total grant obligations and the number and type of grant programs administered. GAO also reviewed documentation and interviewed officials at OMB and OPM.

What GAO Found

Identifying the federal grant workforce presents challenges due to differences in how agencies manage grants and the wide range of job series that make up the grant workforce. Some agencies manage grants by using a combination of program specialists (subject-matter experts) and grants management specialists, while other agencies use program specialists to manage the entire grant process. In the four agencies that GAO focused on for this review--the Departments of Education (Education), Health and Human Services (HHS), State (State), and Transportation (DOT)--agency officials identified over 5,100 employees who were significantly involved in managing grants, spanning more than 50 different occupational job series. Recognizing the need for a classification that would more accurately capture the work of federal employees who manage grants, in 2010 the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) created the "Grants Management Specialist" job series. However, due to the different ways that agencies manage grants, the extent to which agencies have adopted this series varies widely. More than half of the 22 federal grant-making agencies GAO surveyed make limited or no use of the job series. The Council on Financial Assistance Reform (COFAR), established by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in October 2011 to provide recommendations on grants policy and management reforms, has announced plans to develop government-wide grants training standards, but it has not released information on how it plans to define the grant workforce. Defining the grant workforce is an important step in developing an effective government-wide grants training strategy.
Agency officials identified three key practices to develop the grant workforce: (1) competencies, (2) agency-specific training, and (3) certification programs. First, some agencies developed their own competency models in order to better reflect the way they assigned grants management responsibilities. Officials at these agencies told GAO that OPM's grants management competency model was not directly applicable to employees carrying out the program specialist role in their organizations. For example, rather than apply OPM's competency model, a component of HHS developed a separate competency model tailored to program specialist employees responsible for managing grants. Second, agencies addressed their grants training needs through courses and other training mechanisms designed to provide knowledge of agency-specific policies and procedures. Officials reported challenges finding grants training that met all the needs of the grant workforce, and responded to this by customizing grants training courses. For example, Education customized commercial courses to include agency-specific policies and procedures and a component of HHS developed its own grants management courses to achieve the same goal. Third, to ensure a minimum level of proficiency in grants management, some agencies established grants management certification programs and tailored the certifications to fit the different roles within the grant workforce. For example, State tailored separate certification programs after recognizing two distinct roles played by its employees who manage grants. These agencies' experiences have implications for COFAR's plans to develop government-wide training standards, including creating grants management competencies, delivering training for those competencies, and establishing certification standards.

What GAO Recommends

GAO is making recommendations to the Director of OMB regarding the importance of including both types of grants management roles--grants management specialists and program specialists--when developing government-wide grants management competencies and certification standards.
OMB staff concurred with the recommendations.