Online extra | Delay in e-gov funding puts some projects in a bind

Even with the quicker turnaround, nearly every e-government project, including E-Rulemaking, Grants.gov and the Integrated Acquisition Environment, felt some impact from the delay.

Some projects put off upgrades, while others had to do fewer outreach activities, federal officials said.

And the delays are becoming more commonplace as project managers now plan for funding lethargy.

“Grants.gov’s program management office has program management controls in place to ensure that the initiative can stay operational and within budget,” said Terry Nicolosi, Grants.gov deputy program manager. “Any potential and actual funding shortfall that impacts the initiative is analyzed, and an alleviation plan is constructed and communicated to [the Office of Management and Budget] and our governance board that is made up of the 26 federal grant-making agencies before being incorporated into our operating plan.”

The total funding that projects had to wait for from the four agencies—the departments of Commerce, Justice and Transportation and the Small Business Administration—was about $12 million. And the Office of Personnel Management still is waiting for approval, which is another $2.5 million.

The House and Senate, once again, have put provisions in 2007 spending bills that would require agencies to justify why they are transferring money for e-government projects.

The committees asked agencies to answer four questions before they would approve the transfer of funds, and those answers didn’t satisfy committee staff.

“The committee did not think it was wise to approve a transfer without any index to determine success,” said Jenny Manley, a spokeswoman for the Senate Appropriations Committee. “In the time period those agencies had to wait for approval, the committee repeatedly asked for any proof of how this program has been successful and whether it was providing a savings to the agencies, but that information was slow coming.”

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