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programs and projects. I also invite you to read below for the latest GSC news. The internet is a great educational, training and resource tool, and I encourage you to take advantage and explore this site. I welcome any suggestions you may have on how to improve this site and look forward to hearing from you.
Senseramente,
MICHAEL W. CRUZ, M.D. |
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July 24, 2008 GOVERNMENT-WIDE FEDERAL PROGRAM NEEDS ASSESSMENT LAUNCHED Today, the Guam State Clearinghouse (GSC) launched a government-wide assessment of federal grants and projects requesting agencies and other instrumentalities of the government of Guam to identify specific areas in grants management where employees may require additional training and support. With the assistance of local, federal and non-profit facilitators, the GSC anticipates offering additional training opportunities for federal programs personnel, together with its standard schedule of workshops that address ethics in public service, grant writing, budget proposal and direct and indirect cost issues. Acting Governor Michael W. Cruz, M.D. welcomed this assessment, “as an opportunity for our hardworking employees to share their concerns in managing millions of dollars worth of federal assistance every year.” “This assessment will provide a clearer understanding of the different financial and program questions many of our knowledgeable and experienced employees have as they seek to improve their management of existing programs. Governor Camacho and I believe that a new group of employees will have an opportunity to acquire valuable training, anticipating new funding opportunities associated with the unprecedented U.S. military expansion over the next several years,” concluded Acting Governor Cruz. The GSC will complete this assessment next month and will immediately launch the third season of its Training and Outreach Program throughout the months of September through December. For more information, please call Jason Tedtaotao at 475-9380 or send an e-mail to traning@guamclearinghouse.com.
June 17, 2008 GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES PARTICIPATE IN GRANT WRITING WORKSHOPS More than 60 government of Guam employees, representing 16 agencies, completed two corresponding grant writing workshops sponsored by the Guam State Clearinghouse (GSC). “These workshops were very informative. Even though I am not a grant writer, this is knowledge that can help any government office,” said Bertha Guerrero of the Guam Public Library System. “I’m thankful for these training opportunities provided by the government and now I look forward to putting this knowledge to use.” Participants were introduced to developing and writing grant proposals through effective writing techniques. They examined basic grant components including: (1) proposal summary; (2) introduction of organization; (3) problem statement (or needs assessment); and (4) project objectives. Participants also attended a second grant writing workshop, which focused on program budget proposals and standard policies, administrative rules, and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circulars affecting federal programs management. The workshops were held on Friday, June 13 and Monday, June 16, 2008 at the Department of Integrated Services for Individuals with Disabilities’ Conference Room located on the sixth floor of the DNA Building in Hagåtña. For more information, please call Jason Tedtaotao at 475-9380 or send an e-mail to traning@guamclearinghouse.com.
May 29, 2008 GRANT WRITING WORKSHOPS AVAILABLE FOR GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES The Guam State Clearinghouse (GSC) will host grant writing workshops for government of Guam employees. Participants will examine the basic components in developing grant proposals including: proposal summary and objectives, needs assessment, project design, and program budget. The Introduction to Grant Writing workshops are scheduled for June 13 and June 16 from 8 a.m. through 5 p.m. at the Department of Integrated Services for Individuals with Disabilities’ conference room in Hagåtña. Today, the GSC issued letters inviting agency directors to coordinate participation from their respective departments. Seats will be limited. For additional information, please contact Mr. Jason Tedtaotao at 475-9380 or send an e-mail to training@guamclearinghouse.com.
May 19, 2008 NEGOTIATED INDIRECT COST AGREEMENT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2008 AVAILABLE ON GSC WEBSITE Recently, Deborah Moberly, coordinator of the Indirect Cost Services division of the United States Department of Interior’s National Business Center, transmitted to the government of Guam, the approved Fiscal Year 2008 Negotiated Indirect Cost Agreement. The negotiated rate for Fiscal Year 2008 is 26.64% for the 12 month period ending September 30, 2008. The Guam State Clearinghouse advises government of Guam agencies and instrumentalities that the approved indirect cost rate shall be used for all grants, contracts and other agreements with the federal government. Grant applicants must include, in their budget, provisions for indirect costs allowing the local government to recoup indirect expenditures for centralized services. A copy of the agreement can be viewed here and must be transmitted to the grantor when applying the indirect cost.
May 2, 2008 LT. GOVERNOR PROVIDES GOVERNOR WITH FEDERAL PROGRAM AND GRANT OPPORTUNITY CONCORDANCES The Guam State Clearinghouse, under the direction of Lieutenant Governor Michael W. Cruz, M.D., has published a series of federal program and grant opportunity reference guides, organized within indexed concordances, and provided copies to Governor Felix P. Camacho. The concordances are designed to assist government instrumentalities identify federal funding opportunities that meet their specific need or funding objectives. Concordances will be delivered and made available to government of Guam entities at a later date. The combined publications are more than 2,000 pages and are indexed in the following manner: 1) Program/grant opportunities indexed using the Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) identification (Chronological Listing of Grant Opportunities and Program Eligibility - two volumes); 2) Applicant eligibility (Chronological Listing of Program Eligibility - three separate and independent volumes consisting of State, Insular, local government or individual applicant eligibility); 3) Functional classification of 20 primary functional categories further categorized within 176 subcategories that identify specific areas of interest (Functional Index - two volumes); and 4) Complete federal program opportunity profile indexed with listing of Guam’s grant awards (Complete Grant Opportunity Profile and Government of Guam Awarded Programs/Grants). Concordances may be viewed and downloaded here. For more information, please contact 475-9380~2 ext. 904 or e-mail information@guamclearinghouse.com.
April 24, 2008 GOVERNOR AND LT. GOVERNOR ANNOUNCE INDIRECT COST TRAINING FOR PUBLIC SECTOR PERSONNEL Today, Governor Felix P. Camacho and Lieutenant Governor Michael W. Cruz, M.D. announced that the Guam State Clearinghouse (GSC) will host a four day course to strengthen Guam’s ability to prepare federal program indirect cost proposals. Indirect costs are general administrative expenses incurred by agencies in support of various federal programs. Mr. Charles Hester, from the United States Department of Agriculture’s Graduate School, Pacific Islands Training Initiative, will facilitate this course entitled: Developing and Negotiating Central Services Cost Allocation Plans and Indirect Cost Rate Proposals; which will be paid by the United States Department of the Interior’s Territorial Technical Assistance Program. Training sessions are scheduled from April 29 thru May 2, 2008, 8:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m., at the Department of Administration’s training room in Hagåtña. Employees from several agencies have been invited to participate in this seminar including the Bureau of Budget and Management Research, Department of Administration, Guam Public School System, University of Guam, Guam Community College and the Department of Public Works. For additional information, please call Jason Tedtaotao at 475-9380 ext. 903 or send an e-mail to training@guamclearinghouse.com.
April 18, 2008 FEDERAL PARTNERS HELP GUAM’S CAPITAL FINANCING NEEDS Governor Felix P. Camacho and Lieutenant Governor Michael W. Cruz, M.D. will host the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Farmer’s Credit Administration’s Rural America Group and their financial firm, Morgan Keegan, to discuss ways Guam may creatively fund critical healthcare, education, infrastructure and housing projects. Public and private sector representatives will be present to learn and discuss innovative financing methods in anticipation of Guam’s growing population and military expansion. “These options are important because our current fiscal condition makes it difficult for the local government to obtain conventional financing for healthcare projects and other critical priorities,” said Lieutenant Governor Cruz. “ Guam’s financial challenges should not prevent us from finding creative ways to meet the demands of our growing community.” USDA and Morgan Keegan advisors are also expected to meet with the Guam Memorial Hospital to explore financing options for capital improvement projects including the expansion of Guam’s only civilian hospital. This forum will be held at the University of Guam’s Jesus and Eugenia Leon Guerrero School of Business and Public Administration Building, IT & E Lecture Hall, April 23, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
April 7, 2008 OMB TO RELEASE NEW FEDERAL FINANCIAL REPORT The White House Office of Management and Budget (‘OMB’) is consolidating and replacing four existing financial reporting forms (SF-269, SF-269A, SF-272 and SF-272A) with a new single Federal Financial Report (‘FFR’), to give recipients of grants and cooperative agreements a standard format for reporting the financial status of their awards. OMB published a final request for comments in the December 7 Federal Register on the new Federal Financial Report, including a copy of the proposed form (beginning on page 14 of the PDF). The announcement states that the “FFR standardizes reporting information by providing a pool of data elements from which agencies can choose to use for reporting purposes.” It continues on to say that OMB “recognize(s) that a transition period will be necessary to provide agencies and grantees with time to adapt their processes to the new form and phase out the use of the old ones. When the FFR is approved by OMB, the SF-269, SF-269A, SF-272 and SF-272A may continue to be accepted by agencies until September 30, 2008. Agencies must determine the earliest practical time that their recipients will transition to using the FFR on or before September 30, 2008.” Click here to view the announcement in the Federal Register
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Serving the interest of Guam and her people! |
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-Guam’s Official Grants Site- |
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Håfa Adai and Welcome! |
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Håfa adai, Thank you for taking the time to visit the Guam State Clearinghouse website. This site contains valuable information and intuitive training modules designed to assist and stimulate interest in applying for federal financial assistance programs. The site will be regularly updated with the hope that the service provided here is informative and useful. It is an honor to serve the people of Guam as Lieutenant Governor and it is my privilege to offer this site as a resource and tool for those interested or involved with federally assisted |
