Number C-14-03
08-04-03
Dear Colleague:
In 2001, President Bush initiated several government reform efforts, collectively known as the President's Management Agenda (PMA), to make the Federal Government more results oriented, customer-focused and citizen-centered. One element of the PMA is to expand electronic government through the E-government Initiative.
The E-government Initiative is designed to make better use of information technology (IT) investments to eliminate duplicative federal spending, reduce government's paperwork burden on citizens and businesses, and improve government response time to citizens - from weeks to minutes. A key goal is to provide citizens with the ability to access government services and information within three "clicks" when using the Internet. This letter serves to provide you with information on this initiative and how it may affect the way you apply for Federal Transit Administration (FTA) funding in the future.
E-grants Overview
One of the President's initiatives concerning E-government is the creation of an E-grants web portal. This web portal will produce a "simple, unified storefront" for all customers to electronically find opportunities, apply, and manage grants from the Federal Government. The E-grants systems will make transactions with the government for obtaining financial assistance easier, quicker, less expensive, and more comprehensible.
More information on the Federal E-grants Initiative can be found on http://www.grants.gov.
How E-grants will Affect FTA Grant Applications
Development of this E-grants portal is underway and is projected to become available for use on October 1, 2003. At this time we do not anticipate any changes to our electronic grant process. However, as the E-grants portal is developed and becomes operational, we anticipate there will be some modifications to our electronic grant process in the future.
One of the requirements for applying for Federal funds through the E-grants page will be for all applicants to have a D-U-N-S number, a nine-digit identification number, which provides unique identifiers of single business entities. In anticipation of the opening of this E-grants page, FTA is requiring all grant applicants, who currently do not have a D-U-N-S number to obtain one from Dun and Bradstreet before October 1, 2003. The D-U-N-S number is free and easy to obtain. It takes approximately five weeks to receive a D-U-N-S number from Dun and Bradstreet after you input the information that is requested in the "Instructions on How to Obtain a D-U-N-S number." Please inform your Regional FTA Office as soon as you are in receipt of a D-U-N-S number. As this new E-grants web portal becomes operational, FTA will keep you advised of any additional requirements of the E-grants Initiative and provide details on the use of this portal for applying for federal funds. FTA E-grants information will also be made available on our web site at http://www.fta.dot.gov. If you have any questions on the E-grants Initiative within FTA, please contact Mokhtee Ahmad, Region 7 Administrator, at (816) 329-3920.
Instructions on How to Obtain a D-U-N-S number
Go to the D&B web site at http://www.dnb.com.
To verify if your organization already has a DUNS number, click on Are you in D&B's Database, located on the right side of the page.
To apply for a DUNS number click on "Get a D&B D-U-N-S number for your business," located on the right side of the page.
If you do not have access to the web, please call D&B at 1-800-234-3867 to obtain a number by a different method.
Sincerely,
Jennifer L. Dorn
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