Grant Management Best Practices

Program Management

    • Understand legislation and regulations that support the grant project
    • Understand project outcomes and focus on strategies that directly lead to these outcomes
    • Understand how activities support SPPS goals and/or school improvement plans
    • Adhere to district and funder guidelines
      • Understand how project activities may or may not be modified
      • Maintain familiarity with terms of all contracts, agreements and/or grant notifications
      • Meet SPPS liability insurance requirements
    • Develop and adhere to a project timeline that reflects the proposed activities
    • Adjust the timeline as needed and share with project team and other staff
    • Modify activities achieve project outcomes efficiently and cost-effectively
      • Avoid duplication of services
      • Maximize resources
    • Plan for project sustainability

Communication/Team Building

    • Communicate with staff at all levels of the project
      • Goals and outcomes of the project and its impact on students
      • Allowable and unallowable activities and costs
    • Ensure principals, supervisors and staff are aware of and supportive of the project
      • Provide regular updates on progress
      • Plan collaboratively to integrate activities with other schools/programs
      • Coordinate activities with other schools/programs
      • Participate on school committees and in school/program activities
      • Provide school displays highlighting successes
      • Present project information in school newsletters
      • Engage principal and administration in project activities
    • Demonstrate and document a working relationship
      • With project funder
      • With project team
        • Discuss activities and resolve issues together
        • Evaluator is a critical member of the team, not a visitor
    • Document the successful participation of partners and develop new partnerships
      • Collaborate with the program/school on business partnerships
      • Establish clearly defined and realistic goals for the partnership
      • Determine mutual needs and expectations of the project and the partners
      • Clearly define partner and project expectations, roles and responsibilities
      • Identify services and available resources
      • Create on-going monitoring and evaluation of the partnership

Budget Management

    • Provide up-to-date information on encumbered and expended funds
    • Document non-federal match budget
    • Document budget and purchasing records
    • Compare budget-to-actual monthly, confirming expenses for reimbursement requests
    • Understand budget categories to properly code expenditures
    • Understand which expenses are allowable for the project
    • Process procurement requests in an efficient and timely manner
    • Process payroll and stipends in a timely and accurate manner
    • Work with the grants management coordinator on budget modification requests

Record-keeping and Documentation

    • Maintain project records in an easily accessible location
      • Use a logical file structure
      • Use a standard naming pattern
    • Ensure student records are secure, and access is limited according to regulations
    • Maintain a database or other tool recording progress toward project outcomes
      • Update regularly
      • Efficiently provide data related to progress toward outcomes
      • Provide project evaluator with timely and accurate data
    • Prepare and submit all required reports on time

General Management

    • Document regular monitoring of project personnel activities
    • Locate information and access support services within the school system as needed
    • Access technical support services of the Grants Office as needed
    • Provide timely and regular feedback to the project evaluator

Additional Resources

Last Modified on August 12, 2020