Office of Grants and Training Preparedness Directorate U.S. Department of Homeland Security Washington, DC 20531 G&T Information Bulletin No. 212, July 10, 2006 TO: All State Administrative Agency Heads All State Administrative Agency Points of Contact All State Homeland Security Directors FROM: Tracy A. Henke Assistant Secretary, Office of Grants and Training SUBJECT: Fiscal Year (FY) 2006 Investment Prioritization and Initial Strategy Implementation Plan (ISIP) Submission Process I. PURPOSE To provide guidance for the submission of the FY 2006 Investment Prioritization through the Grants Reporting Tool (GRT) as part of the Initial Strategy Implementation Plan (ISIP) submission process. This Information Bulletin includes the criteria for completion of the yearly ISIP requirement and FY2006 Investment requirements. II. ISSUE Within 60 days of the grant award date, States are required to submit an ISIP to G&T through the GRT. As a part of the ISIP, States must submit a prioritization of Investments they intend to fund using their FY 2006 HSGP allocations. G&T is also providing guidance for completing the investment improvement submissions, which are required for Investments that scored in the bottom 15% nationally. The improvement submission will be coordinated between the Preparedness Officer and the State or Urban Area POC via email, these submissions will not be sent via the GRT. The purpose of this Information Bulletin is to outline the components of these submissions. III. POLICY A. FY 2006 ISIP Submission Requirements Within 60 days of the grant award date, States are required to submit an ISIP to G&T. In previous years, this report has required States to tie all funds received to specific, actionable projects and to link each one to the goals and objectives identified in their State and, where appropriate, Urban Area Homeland Security Strategies. In an effort to reduce the burden of data entry for the States and streamline our reporting requirements for FY 2006, States will not be required to submit to G&T any project or strategy alignment data as part of the ISIP. Instead, the basic ISIP requirements will include a list of subgrantees that will be funded for FY 2006 and the applicable funding amount for each subgrantee per grant program. Instead, States are asked to include a list of subgrantees that will receive FY 2006 HSGP funding and the applicable funding amount for each subgrantee per grant program. Additionally, States are asked to identify to G&T which State and Urban Area’s Investments they intend to fund using their FY 2006 allocations, and the level of funding that will be applied to each Investment 60 days after the grant award date. The SAA must also submit a certification that funds have been obligated to local units of government (to include the identification of sub- grantees and sub-award amounts). The final list of Investments must be chosen from the Investments included in the State’s or Urban Area’s Investment Justification submission; no new Investments may be proposed for funding. B. Grants Reporting Tool Investment Module Overview Based on State and Urban Area user input, G&T has modified the pre-existing GRT structure to include several new enhancements as well as the investment justification information that was submitted as part of the FY2006 HSGP application. The new Investment Module within the GRT not only allows for post-award analysis and adjustments, but also provides users with the ability to update and change funding amounts for their investments. This increase in GRT functionality was created as a means to condense the number of individual State data submissions to G&T, while also increasing the amount of information that is gathered throughout the process and the value of the tool to users. This functionality will be online and available to users on Tuesday July 11, 2006. State Overview Tabs The State Overview tab provides a summary view of the State submission and any applicable urban area submissions. This tab, accessible to State as well as federal users, includes a self- check that validates the submission. The Self-Check field is Green (OK) when the awarded amount and reported amount are equal. This tab also has a grant award self-check validation view accessible by selecting “State Funding Breakdown” from the Select Option dropdown box. Clicking the underlined Submission Name link of either the State or any urban areas will advance to the Investments Tab for that submission. Investments and Investment Detail Tabs The Investments tab lists each Investment in the applicable State or urban area submission. From this tab, grantees and Preparedness Officers have the ability to view all Investments and corresponding details. This includes Investment name, requested amount, reported amount, status of work flow, investment rank, and action buttons. The Investment will appear in red text on the “Investment” tab if it is under the 15% threshold (see below). The Status field lists the work flow status for the particular Investment, e.g. “Data Entry in Progress.” The Investment Rank field lists the prioritization rank originally assigned to the Investment by G&T. State ranks must be completed by the SAA before the investment can be submitted. Clicking the underlined Investment Name link will advance to the Investment Detail tab for that Investment. The Investment Detail tab displays a table with grant programs as column headings and solution areas (including the new Personnel solution area) as row headings. Although the fields will be pre-populated with the amounts originally requested, these amounts will need to be adjusted to reallocate funding as necessary to match the reported investment funding with the actual grant awards. Submitting Investments Once all self-checks read OK, and the total amount reported for each grant matches the total amount awarded for each grant, the entire Investment may be submitted. Submitting Investments in the Investment module will mark the submission as “Investment Submitted”. The SAA should now complete and submit their ISIP. Once both the Investment and ISIP are submitted, the SAA may proceed to the Approval module for final submission of the complete ISIP package to G&T. Approval Module This module displays validation self-checks and computations for both ISIP and Investments. Both the ISIP and the Investments will be submitted simultaneously by the SAA as a single package to G&T. The Preparedness Officers will have the ability to approve or change request submissions by the State. When the action is approved, status will change from “Submitted to G&T” to “Approved by G&T”. Approval denotes G&T approval of the traditional ISIP, as well as the Investments submission. If any changes are required to either the ISIP or the Investments, the entire package must be change requested by the Preparedness Officer, back to the State. C. Questions Any questions may be directed to your Preparedness Officer or the Centralized Scheduling and Information Desk at askcsid@dhs.gov or 1-800-368-6498.