What Is DGMS?

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Business Challenge
HUD has over 100 grant programs, initiatives, and components, administered by seven different cylinders of the organization, each with their own operating procedures. To process these grants, there are currently over 20 computer systems in place in the Department. This environment has created duplication of effort, both in the development of support systems, as well as in the submission of applications/plans and performance reports required of grantees. In addition, management realizes that not only is data being collected inconsistently, it is very difficult to generate performance reports across the Department.

Business Solution: DGMS
Based on these challenges, it became very clear that HUD needed an enterprise-wide grants management solution. HUD's Departmental Grants Management System (DGMS) will be a web-based system that captures grant-related data in a centralized database and provides one source for all grant information in support of competitive, formula, and other types of grant-related programs, initiatives, and components. The implementation of DGMS will address the following Goals and Objectives:

Summary of Major DGMS Goals and Objectives

	Implement grant processing consistency across the Department
	Offer more accessible method for obtaining HUD grant program information and applying on-line using web technology
	Maximize data integrity and minimize data inconsistencies
	Provides readily available and consistent management information across the Department
	Allow more effective support and monitoring of grantees
	Improve financial and internal management controls
	Eliminate duplicative grantee application and performance reporting processing burdens
	Eliminate/reduce costly development and maintenance of legacy grant systems in the Department
	Compliance with Clinger-Cohen and Public Law PL.106-107
	Working with the Inter-Agency Electronic Grants Committee (IAEGC), DGMS will also incorporate standards that makes HUD's grant processing consistent with other Federal Agencies.

In preparation for DGMS development, HUD began a major effort to streamline its grant processing and standardize administrative rules for it's grant programs. The result of this streamlining process was the development of a common set of Grant Life Cycle Phases that also take into account exceptions due to statutory and regulatory requirements of each grant program. The common Grant Life Cycle Phases are (1) Intake (Application/Plan Submissions), (2) Evaluation, (3) Award, (4) Grant Administration and Funds Disbursement, and (5) Performance Management and Close-out. These phases make up the five major functional areas (or components) of the DGMS system.

DGMS Components:

Component 1: Intake (On-line Application/Plan Development and Submissions)

	Development and Maintenance of Applicant/Grantee Mailing List
	On-line Development of Application Forms and Plan Tables
	Submission of Completed Applications and Plans
	Receipt of Applications and Plans

Component 2: Evaluation

	Select Reviewers and Review Method
	Review and Assessment of Plan and Application Submissions
	Qualify Applicants
	Conduct Scoring
	Conduct Ranking
	Capture Congressional Release Info

Component 3: Award

	Apportion, Allocate, and Assign Funds
	Commitment of Funds
	Negotiated Adjustments
	Authorization to Incur Costs
	Develop Grant and Cooperative Agreements
	Obligated and Contracted Funds
	Deobligations

Component 4: Grant Administration and Drawdown

	Set up Thresholds
	Set up Subgrants
	Record Grant Amendments
	Record Receipts of Program Income, Matching Funds, and other Receivables
	Drawdown Requests and Approvals
	Record Accomplishments and Beneficiary Data

Component 5: Performance Management/Closeout

	Performance Baselines
	Risk Assessments
	Workplan Development
	Monitoring Activities
	Technical Assistance Activities
	Closeout and Audit Activities

Component 6: System Administration & Other Features

	System Administration (Setup Program Specific Lists & Security/Access Controls)
	Reporting (Canned w/perimeters and Adhoc-type)
	Exchanging of Electronic Data

DGMS Systems Development Strategy
The DGMS system's Functional Requirement Document (FRD) has over 1,000 requirements. Given the scope of the DGMS, it is unrealistic that such a system be built in it's entirety in one development effort. Therefore, the Development strategy HUD has implemented is to have DGMS built in Modules. That is to say that there will be several Module Releases of the system, which breaks-out as follows:

Module Release 1
Intake Component
Award Component (partial)
Grant Administration and Drawdown Component
System Administration Component

Module Release 2
Enhancements to Module Release 1 Components
Evaluation Component
Performance Management Component

Module Release 3
Enhancements to Module Releases 1 and 2 Components