OMB Uniform Guidance Implementation-- State Agencies

Introduction

The National Council of Nonprofits has hosted a National Taskforce of nonprofits and government officials for the past several years to encourage and support efforts for mutually beneficial improvements in government-nonprofit contracting/grant systems. Recently, the proper implementation of the OMB Uniform Guidance at the pass-through level has been a priority in this larger reform effort.

To assist us in our work, we are collecting information through this survey to gain a better understanding of how the implementation of identified key elements in the Uniform Guidance is proceeding in each state. Both state agencies and nonprofits with government grants/contracts are being asked to complete questionnaires to determine where perceptions are the same and where they differ between the sectors.

This survey is designed to be completed in less than 10 minutes and is not scientific. We will share the aggregate results with state agencies that complete the survey as well as the state association of nonprofits in order to facilitate any beneficial discussions that the information gathered may suggest.

Because of inconsistencies in terminology used by different levels of government, across different states, and even perhaps agencies, we ask that you use the following definitions when completing the survey:

Agreement a legal document summarizing agreement between parties. In some cases, this is referred to as a contract.

Application a response to a solicitation for proposals.

Grant/Contract for the purposes of this survey the terms grant and contract are used interchangeably to an agreement between a government entity and a nonprofit organization to carry out a program or service for the public.

RFP Request for Proposal also sometimes called RFA, Request for Applications both of which refer to a public solicitation for competitive responses to provide services.

Proposal means the same as application

Thank you for your assistance.

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* 1. State

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* 2. State Agency (Please spell out, do not use acronym)

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* 3. How many unduplicated services providers do you have grants/contracts with annually?

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* 4. How many total grants/contracts do you have with nonprofit service providers annually?

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* 5. How much in dollars does this represent?

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* 6. What percentage of the grants/contracts your agency makes with nonprofits include federal money?

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* 7. How are grant/contract agreements managed?

In house through a central unit

In house by department/unit

Through a centralized state procurement office

Other (please specify)

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* 8. What is the preferred type of agreement used when obtaining services from nonprofit for the benefit of others?

Grant

Contract

Other (please specify)

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* 9. Do you use a standardized agreement (except for program specific details) for competitive solicitations?

Yes

Other (please specify)

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* 10. Do you use standardized formats for the following ? (Check all that apply)

RFP/RFA

Proposals/Applications

Data collection

Financial reporting

Program reporting

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* 11. Which of the following have standardized formats AND are used consistently across units/departments of the agency? (Check all that apply)

RFP/RFA

Agreements

Proposals/Applications

Data collection

Financial reporting

Program reporting

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* 12. How does the state agency determine the amount of indirect costs they will reimburse?

The agency uses a standard rate (please provide the percentage rate is below)

We honor a nonprofit's federally approved indirect cost rates

We do not use a nonprofit's federally approved indirect costs rate

We negotiate a rate with the nonprofit based on the federal cost principles

The agency only pays the de minimis rate of 10 percent of Modified Total Direct Costs (MTDC) regardless of whether the nonprofit has a federally approved indirect cost rate

For nonprofits without a federally approved indirect cost rate, we only pay the de minimis rate of 10 percent of MTDC and will not negotiate a different rate based on the federal cost principles.

Please provide details of your response

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* 13. Assuming no federally imposed caps, do your state grants and contracts that include federal funds typically provide reimbursement for a nonprofit's indirect costs?

Yes

Please specify under what conditions they do not include reimbursement for indirect costs.

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* 14. Does your agency reimburse nonprofit indirect costs regardless of the funding source?

Yes

Please provide any information to further explain your agencies policies concerning indirect costs.

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* 15. If your agency typically develops a unit cost for reimbursing nonprofits for services provided, are indirect costs included in determining the rate?

Yes, it is included in the development of the rate

No, nonprofits must bill indirect costs separately

No, indirect costs are not included

Other (please specify)

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* 16. Does the state agency consider and treat indirect and administrative costs differently?

Yes

I don't know

If yes, please explain how.

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* 17. Has the state agency been able to provide additional funds grants or contracts to pay for indirect costs?

Yes

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* 18. Has the agency reduced the amount of services expected from nonprofits to cover the payment required for indirect costs?

Yes

Other (please specify)

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* 19. What changes has your agency implemented to comply with the OMB Uniform Guidance? (Check all that apply)

Risk assessments

Additional monitoring procedures

Reimbursement for indirect costs

Different data collection requirements

Other (please specify)

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* 20. Is there some sort of electronic depository for nonprofits to upload any required documents and information that then allows appropriate state personnel access?

Yes

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* 21. Please share any additional information that you think is helpful in assessing the status of the implementation of the OMB Uniform Guidance in your agency.

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* 22. A number of states have worked closely with the nonprofit providers through their state associations of nonprofits to identify and eliminate duplicative and outdated policies and procedures in government-nonprofit contracting/grant system resulting in considerable savings of time and money for both. Is your agency interested in learning more about this?

Yes

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* 23. If yes, who is the appropriate person to contact to discuss this further?

Name

Title/Position

Phone

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* 24. This information is for our follow up purposes only if we have additional questions or need clarification on one of your answers.

Name of person completing survey

Position/Job Title

Organization

Phone number