GMM has defined a user-centered, business-driven approach to modernizing grants management that is founded on active engagement with all grants stakeholders. Stakeholder input allows FEMA to understand and prioritize what grants users need in the future IT system.
Engagement with users that touch all aspects of FEMA grants is underway and will be ongoing. During the first year of this modernization program, the GMM team has engaged with hundreds of stakeholders, including:
Through these engagements, the GMM team has collected hundreds of ideas for programmatic and technical system enhancements. This input will shape the design and implementation of the modernized system.
What steps will GMM take to implement its development approach?
Step 1: Research: The GMM team did extensive research to understand the current state of FEMA grants. This included researching applicable policies, processes and systems as well as current challenges in grants management.
Step 2: Design: The GMM team is designing notional IT system requirements and programmatic concepts that address grants management challenges. This includes analyzing existing grants data archives and records in preparation for migration to the modernized system, and identifying and evaluating possible policy and training solutions. This step will culminate in the acquisition of an integrated grants management platform as well as a thorough understanding and mapping of new policies, processes, and organizational structures to address grants challenges.
Step 3: Launch: The GMM team will launch the modernized system while deploying a comprehensive plan for training and educating users on the functionality of and improvements in the integrated grants management tool and environment.
Step 4: Operationalize: The GMM team will institutionalize and operationalize the modernized system and grants management environment by continuing to assist all grants users in using new capabilities to manage grants more effectively, making strategic decisions based on grants information, and using grants data to inform disaster operations.
Step 5: Optimize: The GMM team will work to understand the impact grants modernization has had on users, share best practices for grants activities, and measure the outcomes the grants transformation has achieved. This real-time, iterative evaluation will allow GMM to constantly optimize the new grants management tool, training, and environment.
What is the expected timeline of the development approach steps?
What type of stakeholder engagement is included in the GMM approach?
GMM welcomes stakeholder engagement and outreach opportunities and recommendations from grants users and the public via the GMM Mailbox To-date, GMM has engaged with over 900 stakeholders in venues including:
| Sources | Location/Date | Number of Participants | Type of Particpants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago User Session | Jan 20-21, 2016; Chicago, IL | 61* | FEMA region, state, tribe, non-profit |
| Oakland User Session | Mar. 1-2, 2016; Oakland, CA | 78 | FEMA HQ and region, state, tribe, territory, local |
| Washington D.C. User Session | Mar. 22-23, 2016; Washington, D.C. | 76 | FEMA HQ and region, state, local |
| Interviews | Boston, MA; Chicago, IL; Oakland, CA | 51 | FEMA region, state |
| Regional Grants Workshop | April 28, 2016; Denton, TX | 52 | FEMA HQ and region |
| Regional Recovery Division Directors Meeting | April 28, 2016; Washington, D.C. | 24 | FEMA HQ and region |
| Business Architecture Working Group | October 2015 - present; quarterly meetings | 40 | FEMA HQ and region, state |
| HMA Grants Stakeholder Meeting | July 8, 2016; Emmitsburg, MD | *200 | FEMA HQ and region, state, territory, tribe |
| IA leadership session | July 28, 2016; Winchester, VA | 10 | FEMA HQ |
| R4 Partners in Mitigation Workshop | August 3, 2016; Atlanta, GA | 152 | FEMA HQ and region, state, tribe |
| R4 Tribal Nations Conference | August 24, 2016; Atlanta, GA | 125 | FEMA HQ and region, state, tribe |
| R1 Grants Workshop | September 15, 2016; Boston, MA | 45 | FEMA HQ and region, state |
| R5 User Session Webinar | September 28, 2016 | 80 | FEMA HQ, state |
| Total | 994** | FEMA HQ, FEMA region, state, tribe, territory, local |
* Total Number of participants excludes support staff (e.g. GMM team members, FEMA stakeholders serving as facilitated discussion leaders, etc)
** Some stakeholders have attended more than one of the events listed above. For that reason, the total number of stakeholders listed above is greater than the total number of distinct stakeholders who have participated in GMM events.