Grant Progress Assessment Program: Looking Back on Success and Moving Forward

• NCJ Number: 240698
• Journal: NIJ Journal Issue: 271 Dated: February 2013 Pages: 18-20
• Author(s): Patricia Kashtan; Jolene Hernon; Beth Pearsall
• Date Published: February 2013
• Length: 3 pages
• Agencies: NIJ
• Publication Type: Program/Project Description

Annotation

This article discusses the National Institute of Justice's Grant Progress Assessment program designed to educate grantees on how to properly administer their grants.

Abstract

The Grant Progress Assessment program was established by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) in 2005 with the purpose of ensuring that grantees were properly documenting their efforts and spending the funds they received according to congressional and NIJ guidelines. The program provided free assessments to grant recipients during the period from mid-2005 through 2011. The program was suspended in September 2011 due to budget constraints. The goals of the program were to 1) assist NIJ in its administrative oversight of forensic science awards; and 2) educate grantees on proper grant administration. Through the program, a trained assessor visited each grant site on a 2-year cycle. During the visit, the assessors reviewed the status of the laboratory's grant and assessed the grantee's use of Federal funds to increase the lab's capabilities and capacities. The article discusses not only the findings from the early years of the program, but the lessons learned as well. Two sidebars in the article provide information on resources for managing laboratory grants, and a list of typical assessment findings.