Preparing For The Final Grant Report and closeout

1. Preparing For The Final Grant Report and closeout U.S. Department of Education Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services

2. Presenter Thomas E. Finch, PhD Director, Training and Service Programs Division U.S. Department of Education Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services

3. Agenda • Overview of the Grant Closeout Process • Prior to Grant Closeout • Grantee responsibilities • Format for preparing the final performance report • ED 524B Cover Sheet • Executive Summary • Section A • Section B • Section C • Financial Status Report • Closing A Grant with Zero Balance • Closing A Grant with Fund Balance • Notification of Closeout Letter

4. Prior to Grant Closeout • Pre-Expiration Letter • Grantees will receive a Pre-Expiration Reminder Letter approximately 60 days prior to period of performance end date • Required Reports • Grantees should ensure they have submitted all required annual performance and financial reports. • About No-Cost Extensions (NCEs) • NCEs are not a vehicle to spend down grant funds and not all requests may be granted. • Requests must be submitted to your respective Project Officer. • First time requests must be submitted at least 10 days before the end of the budget period. • Second time requests must be submitted 45 before the end of the budget period. • Contact your respective Project Officer for more information about submitting an NCE request. You may also consult EDGAR 75.261 & 74.25.

5. Grantee Responsibilities • Final Performance Report • All recipients, in accordance with EDGAR § 75.590, are required to submit a final performance report 90 days after the grant end date. • The program staff will review the final performance report to ensure that the grantee has achieved the grant’s objectives, and must sign the report to certify that the report was read and is acceptable as submitted. • Financial Status Report • Grantees are required to submit the ED 524B

6. In-Service Grants • In order to measure the success of the State VR Unit In-Service Training program grantees in meeting this objective, State VR agencies are required to submit performance data through the in-service annual performance report and their State plans. • At a minimum, the annual performance report must includedata on the percentage of currently employed State VR agency counselors who meet their States' CSPD standards (From NIA July 14, 2005).

7. Overview of the Grant Closeout Process • What is the purpose of a final report? • Evaluates the success of individual projects and the grant program as a whole; • Determines whether the goals of the project were accomplished; • Contributes to the design of future grant programs; and • Demonstrates the program’s impact to Congress and the public.

8. Format for preparing the final performance report • Final Report website: http://e-Grants.ed.gov, then select e-Reports. • Final Performance Report includes: • ED 524B Coversheet • Executive Summary • Section A -- Project Objectives Information and Related Performance Measures Data • Section B – Budget Information • Section C – Additional Information

9. ED 524B Coversheet • Provide general grant information including PR/Award number, grantee name, address, and reporting period. • Please note that items 8-9 must be completed by your Business Office. This covers budget expenditures and indirect cost information. • The grantee’s authorized representative must sign the certification for the ED 524B form. • Instructions for completing this form can be found here: http://www2.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/appforms/ed524b_instructions.doc.

10. Executive Summary • Provide a two to three page Executive Summary • Highlight project goals • Describe the extent to which the expected outcomes and performance measures were achieved • Share contributions the project made to research, knowledge, practice, policy, and overall impact to the state and or local area and populations served, as appropriate Note: The Executive Summary for final performance reports covers the entire project period.

11. Executive Summary (continued) • Common errors to avoid • Lengthy summaries that restate the project proposal. • Lists of meetings, events, and individuals involved with the project during the period of performance. • If you choose to include information about meetings and events be sure to discuss the goals and outcomes for each and how these activities supported the overall outcomes of the grant. • Too much focus on achievements and successes instead of a balance among challenges, solutions, successes, and impact. • Your challenges are just as important as your successes

12. Section A -- Project Objectives Information and Related Performance Measures Data • In the approved grant application, grantees established project objectives stating what theyplannedto achieve during the period of performance. • Generally, one or more performance measures were also established for each project objective to demonstrate whether or not grantees have met or are making progress towards meeting each project objective. • In addition to project-specific performance measures that may have established in the approved grant application, performance measures may have been established by ED for the grant program [included in the “Dear Colleague Letter”] . Grantees are required to report on these additional measures, if applicable.

13. Section A -- Project Objectives Information and Related Performance Measures Data (continued) • In the project Status Chart, report the results to date of your respective project evaluation as required under EDGAR, 34 CFR 75.590. • For each project objective included in the approved grant application, provide: • Quantitative and/or qualitative data for each associated performance measure. • Explanation of how preliminary outcome data demonstrates you have met or are making progress towards meeting each project objective.

14. Section A -- Project Objectives Information and Related Performance Measures Data (continued) Section A should include the following: • Project Objectives - Enter each project objective that is included in your approved grant application. Only one project objective should be entered per row. Project objectives should be numbered sequentially, i.e., 1., 2., 3., etc. • Performance Measures - For each project objective, enter each associated performance measure. There may be multiple performance measures associated with each project objective. • Measure Type - For each performance measure you are reporting on, enter the type of performance measure. Enter one (1) of the following measure types: GPRA; PROGRAM; or PROJECT.

15. Section A: Example 1

16. Section A -- Project Objectives Information and Related Performance Measures Data (continued) • Quantitative Data • Provide the target established for meeting each performance measure and Actual Performance Data demonstrating progress towards meeting or exceeding this target. • Only quantitative (numeric) data should be entered in the Target and Actual Performance Data boxes. • Explanation of Progress (Includes Qualitative Data and Data Collection Information) • For each project objective and associated performance measures, indicate what data (quantitative and/or qualitative) were collected and when they were collected, the evaluation methods that were used, and how the data were analyzed. • Based on the data, provide a description of preliminary findings or outcomes, including information to show whether you are making progress towards meeting each performance measure.

17. Section A: Example 2 • Explanation of Progress • Currently, Smith DVR has two vacancies and 41 fully qualified Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors (VRCs).This is an increase of 3 (2%) from this period in FFY 2008. • Smith DVR has 9 VRCs in matriculated Master’s degree educational programs, while 2 VCRs with closely related counseling degrees will need to complete 2 courses to meet the federal standard for fully qualified status. • As such, 66% of current Smith DVR VRC staff is fully qualified and should personnel remain stable, could achieve a rate in excess of 80% fully qualified VRC staff by FFY 2011.

18. Section A -- Project Objectives Information and Related Performance Measures Data (continued) • Explanation of Progress (Includes Qualitative Data and Data Collection Information) • If expected data were not attained, expected progress was not made toward meeting a performance measure or project objective, or a planned activity was not conducted as scheduled, provide an explanation. The explanation should include a description of the challenge (s), and actions steps and schedules that were taken to address the problem(s) or issue(s). • Indicate how data and information was used from the evaluation to monitor the progress of your respective grant, and if needed, to make improvements to your original project plan.

19. Section B – Budget Information Annual and Final Performance Reports: • Report budget expenditure data in items 8a. – 8c. of the ED 524B Cover Sheet, as applicable. • For budget expenditures made with Federal grant funds, you must provide an explanation if funds have not been drawn down from GAPS to pay for the budget expenditure amounts reported in items 8a. – 8c of the ED 524B Cover Sheet. • Provide an explanation if you did notexpend funds at the expected rate during the reporting period. • Describe any significant changes to your budget resulting from modification of project activities. • Describe any changes to your budget that affected your ability to achieve your approved project activities and/or project objectives.

20. Section C – Additional Information • For Final Performance Reports respond to the following: • Utilizing your evaluation results, draw conclusions about the success of the project and its impact. Describe any unanticipated outcomes or benefits from your project and any barriers that you may have encountered. • What would you recommend as advice to other educators that are interested in your project? How did your original ideas change or shift as a result of conducting the project? • If applicable, describe your plans for continuing the project (sustainability; capacity building) and/or disseminating the project results. • Report on any statutory reporting requirements for this grant program. (This information covers the entire project period.)

21. Financial Status Report

22. Financial Status Report Overview • Remaining Funds • Less than 10 percent:  When the funds remaining on the grant represent less than 10 percent of the total Federal award, the program staff will determine, based on their knowledge of the project, if any follow-up with the grantee is necessary.   • If the program staff determine that follow-up with the grantee is unnecessary, the program staff person must ask an authorized license holder to de-obligate the remaining funds and approve the closeout in GAPS.

23. Closing a grant with zero balance of funds remaining • The Notification of Closeout letter informs the grantee of the status of their award and serves to remind them of the three-year record retention requirements found in EDGAR §§ 74.53 and 80.42. • Grantees will receive a Notification of Closeout Letter when the following criteria are met: • The final performance report has been received, reviewed, and accepted; • All other terms of the grant were met; and • A review of the financial status in G5/GAPS indicates that no funds remain in the grant account.

24. Closing a grant with fund balances • If more than 10 percent of the Federal funds awarded remain on the grant, the program staff must contact the grantee before de-obligating the funds and ask for a letter verifying that the funds are not needed and that all of the financial obligations of the grant were met. The grantee’s certifying official should sign the letter.

25. Notification of Closeout Letter • Informs the grantee of the status of their award and serves to remind them of the three-year record retention requirements found in EDGAR §§ 74.53 and 80.42. • Grantees will receive a Notification of Closeout Letter after the following criteria have been met: • The final performance report has been received, reviewed, and accepted; • All other terms of the grant were met; and • A review of the financial status in G5/GAPS indicates that no funds remain in the grant account.

26. Questions and Answers