Janet Yellen Secretary of the Treasury | Twitter Website
In a new report, an interagency team identifies barriers to compliance in post-award reporting and offers solutions shown to be effective in a pilot project.
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of the Treasury, alongside the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Executive Office of the President, and the U.S. Department of the Interior, released a report detailing findings from its Tribal CX Pilot for Post-Award Reporting project. The report provides an overview of piloted solutions to assist with grant reporting compliance and future focus areas to support agencies as they work toward effective policy for the economic growth of Tribal Nations. A copy of the Tribal CX Pilot for Post-Award Reporting report can be found here.
Tribal nations receive critical federal funding for healthcare, education, housing, public safety, infrastructure, and other essential services as part of the Nation’s treaty and trust responsibilities. Yet Tribes often struggle to comply with grant reporting requirements due to unreliable broadband, high costs associated with submitting performance reports, and limited staff capacity.
Consistent with Executive Order 14112 (Reforming Federal Funding and Support for Tribal Nations to Better Embrace Our Trust Responsibility and Promote the Next Era of Tribal Self-Determination) and Executive Order 14058 (Transforming Federal Customer Experience and Service Delivery to Rebuild Trust in Government), the interagency Tribal CX Pilot team worked to identify barriers to compliance reporting for Tribal grant recipients. They developed and tested improvements focused on customer experience to lessen burdens and support Tribal reporting in rural and underserved areas.
“This project is a step in the right direction to reduce friction and barriers to effective grants management for Tribal Nations. Tribal Nations know their needs and communities better than anyone else, and giving them streamlined access and alternative methods of reporting will pay dividends on growing capacity and preserving capital. The savings realized through simplified grant compliance enable Tribal Nations to stretch their dollars and reinvest it into their communities,” said U.S. Treasurer Chief Lynn Malerba. “We now have a path forward to continue expanding access to capital for Indian Country through capital access programs including the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund. I applaud the work that the Tribal CX Pilot team did by reaching out to Indian Country to arrive at a solutions-based framework ensuring continued access to critical federal grant funding.”
“We want to make it as easy as possible for communities to receive and implement grants. That’s why we have been working across government departments to alleviate the burden on Tribal Nations complying with grant reporting requirements,” said HHS Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Financial Resources Lisa Molyneux. “We now have real solutions for Tribal Nations that alleviate burdens associated with post-award reporting, provide greater grant data transparency, and give grant recipients new simplified reporting tools. The Biden-Harris Administration will continue working towards strengthening our relationship with Tribal Nations while improving customer experience within their communities.”
“The Tribal CX Pilot Report is part of continued steps we are taking towards lowering barriers Indigenous communities have long faced in gaining access to federal resources,” said Interior Department Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Wizipan Garriott. “Across federal government sectors we want assurance that not only are more resources being delivered but also that they reach Indian Country effectively.”
The pilot project focused on ways aimed at improving technology gaps related specifically around grant reporting intending reduced burden supporting equitable compliance amongst Tribes alike; interviews conducted by teams included various stakeholders ranging from tribal recipients themselves organizations non-profits alongside both state/federal agencies leading identification key needs addressed tandem transforming post-award outcomes ultimately resulting four selected/piloted solutions addressing major challenges:
1) Treasury’s Office partnered State Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) program finding alternatives lacking reliable high-speed internet offline templates usability forefront accommodating remote tribes unreliable connections.
2) HHS piloted Federal Grant Systems Hub searchable public dashboard centralizing information simplifying access tailored individual recipient organizations enhancing data transparency/systematic accessibility.
3) Simplified post-award reports analyzed by Indian Health Service reducing recipient burden significantly estimated time completion decreased substantially enabling efficiency.
4) Engaged identity verification providers removing common obstacles faced verifying identities necessary applications/report submissions/drawing funds development tribal-specific guides onsite assistance expanded options nationwide USPS locations.
The Treasury Department has collaborated across Biden-Harris Administration deploying historic support initiatives into Indian Country leading implementation key components American Rescue Plan Act (ARP)/Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). ARP funding includes $20 billion SLFRF awarded representing largest-ever single infusion federally allocated finances targeting small business financing history nation among others significant investments made under IRA establishing credit delivery mechanisms benefiting clean energy projects job creation lower energy costs contributing overall community growth/developmental aspects within regions concerned respectively.
The full report can be viewed here.
