In fiscal year  2016, FWS awarded $1.5 billion in grants, which was about 50 percent of  the agency’s total $2.9 billion budget authority. Within FWS, WSFR is  responsible for awarding most of the grant funding available from FWS,  and in fiscal year 2016, WSFR awarded $1.2 billion in grants. In general, WSFR awards two types of grants: formula and competitive  grants. Across the five competitive grant programs, the number of grants and the  funding awarded varied by program. Based on our review of competitive grant award documentation for fiscal  years 2012 through 2016, the percentage of projects selected from the  applications received ranged from 63 percent for the Competitive State  Wildlife Grant Program to 100 percent for the Clean Vessel Act Grant  Program. Grant Award Process Involves Announcing Grant Opportunity, Reviewing Applications, and Making Award Decisions and Is Generally Consistent with Regulations

The award process WSFR uses for the five competitive grant programs  generally involves announcing the grant opportunity and reviewing  applications to make award decisions, and in some cases federal  agencies or third parties are involved in these activities. The NOFO contains information for applicants to consider when  deciding whether to apply, including the amount of funding available, the  types of applicants that are eligible, the process to apply, and the criteria  that will be used to score applications. A review panel comprised of  WSFR staff, and in some cases other FWS staff or a third party  organization, reviews and scores the applications based on criteria in the  NOFO and develops a list of recommended projects and funding amounts  for these projects. This list is forwarded to the Director of FWS for review  and approval and if approved, FWS then awards the grant. WSFR Monitors Grants in a Manner Consistent with Federal Grant Regulations, but Performance Reports Were Sometimes Missing Required Information WSFR Monitors Grants through Review of Financial and Performance Reports

WSFR monitors its competitive grants primarily by reviewing annual  financial and performance reports submitted by grant recipients, which is  consistent with federal regulations. We found in our review of these  reports for a sample of grant projects awarded funds in fiscal year 2015  that grant recipients generally submitted them on time, but that some  performance reports were missing required information. According to Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government,  management should design control activities to achieve objectives and  respond to risks. This includes designing mechanisms to help monitor  performance to ensure the objectives of the program are being  achieved. However, there were instances in which the  performance reports submitted by grant recipients did not include a  comparison of actual accomplishments to the goals of the project, as  required by the Uniform Guidance. WSFR does not have a template for  performance reporting for four of the five competitive grant programs we  reviewed, and the template used by one region does not clearly ask for all  required information. Without a template or standardized method that  facilitates the collection of performance information, WSFR grant  recipients may continue to submit performance reports to WSFR that do  not contain the information required by the Uniform Guidance and do not  convey all the needed information for FWS to oversee its competitive  grant programs. Fish and Wildlife Service should direct WSFR to  develop a template or other standardized method to facilitate collection of  all required information for grant performance reports. Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

Our objectives were to (1) identify and describe the competitive grant  programs that the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration (WSFR) program  awards and monitors; (2) examine how WSFR awards grants under these  programs and the extent to which this is consistent with relevant federal  regulations; and (3) examine how WSFR monitors grants under these  programs and the extent to which this is consistent with relevant federal  regulations. The U.S. In practice,  all eligible applications have been awarded funds from fiscal year  2012 through fiscal year 2016.
Why GAO Did This Study

FWS awarded $1.5 billion in grants in fiscal year 2016, which represented about half of the agency's budget. In general, FWS awards two types of grants: (1) formula grants, which are distributed to recipients based on a required formula, and (2) competitive grants, where potential recipients submit an application for funding that is reviewed and scored against criteria. Within FWS, WSFR manages several grant programs.
GAO was asked to review WSFR's management of its competitive grant programs. This report (1) identifies and describes competitive grant programs that WSFR awards and monitors; (2) examines how WSFR awards grants under these programs and the extent to which this is consistent with relevant regulations; and (3) examines how WSFR monitors grants under these programs and the extent to which this is consistent with relevant regulations. GAO reviewed relevant federal laws, regulations, and FWS guidance; analyzed agency data for fiscal years 2012-2016; reviewed award documents for fiscal year 2016 and a sample of monitoring documents for grants awarded in fiscal year 2015 (selected to ensure sufficient time for required reports to be submitted) and compared these with requirements from relevant regulations; interviewed WSFR headquarters and regional officials and grant recipients.

What GAO Found

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (FWS) Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration (WSFR) program, within the Department of the Interior, awards and monitors five competitive grant programs. These grant programs fund different types of projects ranging from building docks to acquiring wetlands. GAO found that the number of grants and funding awarded varied by grant program from fiscal years 2012 through 2016.
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The award process WSFR uses for the five competitive grant programs generally involves publicly announcing the grant opportunity through a Notice of Funding Opportunity, which contains information applicants need to consider when applying, such as available funding and criteria that will be used to score applications. A panel comprised of WSFR staff, and in some cases other FWS staff or a third party organization, reviews and scores the applications based on the criteria in the Notice of Funding Opportunity and develops a list of recommended projects and funding amounts. The list is forwarded to the Director of FWS for review and approval. GAO found that WSFR's grant award process is consistent with federal regulations for awarding federal grants.
WSFR monitors its competitive grants by reviewing financial and performance reports submitted by grant recipients. In general, this process is consistent with relevant regulations, but some of the performance reports were missing required information. Specifically, for fiscal year 2015 grants GAO reviewed, financial and performance reports were generally submitted on time by grant recipients, but several performance reports (9 of 51) did not include a comparison of actual accomplishments to the goals of the grant, as required by regulations. WSFR does not have a template for grant recipients to follow in preparing these reports for most of the grant programs, and the template used by one region does not clearly ask for all required information. WSFR officials have said the agency plans to develop a more standardized reporting process but no timeline has been established. According to Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government , management should design control activities to achieve objectives and respond to risks, including designing mechanisms to help monitor performance. Without a template or standardized method that facilitates the collection of performance information, WSFR grant recipients may continue to submit performance reports that are missing information needed by FWS to monitor its competitive grant programs.

What GAO Recommends

GAO recommends that FWS develop a template or other standardized method to facilitate collection of all required information for grant performance reports. The Department of the Interior concurred with this recommendation.