An intensive two day course on the essentials of federal grants practice, from issues affecting agency decisions, to the award and administration of grants.

A Comprehensive Primer and Update on Federal Grants and Cooperative Agreements

• Essential Background
• Types of Grants
• Laws and Regulations
• Competing for Funding
• Administering the Award
• Financial and Compliance Issues
• Intellectual Property Rights
• Interpretation and Litigation

Each year the Federal Government awards millions of dollars to state and local government, universities, hospitals and non-profits, and corporations. The funding is for a wide variety of purposes: from law enforcement, homeland security and disaster recovery initiatives; infrastructure and housing projects; medical, engineering, energy, agricultural and environmental research; to health care, education and training, and more.

The Government's selection of programs and recipients is not governed by the rules of government contracting. Its authority is from a combination of legislation and regulations that either prescribe or create assistance initiatives or give federal agencies the discretion to enter into assistance relationships. The administration of assistance awards is controlled by unique requirements also. They vary based on the program and recipient, but share common features and requirements with other assistance relationships and contracts.

This seminar is a comprehensive primer on the complicated, diverse, and often agency- and program-specific field of federal grant practice, with emphasis on:

• The laws and regulations governing grants, agency authorities, and programs.
• The interpretation, types, and legal nature of grants and cooperative agreements in comparison to other instruments.
• The funding selection process, with strategies for submitting competitive applications.
• Managing the award, to include compliance with award conditions and the applicable regulations; and
• Key subjects such as fiscal and intellectual property considerations.

The insight and experience of the exceptional Course Faculty, together with the materials in the Course Manual, will provide attendees with a background in Federal Grants and resources for future reference.

PART ONE - THE ESSENTIALS

1. Background
2. The History of Federal Assistance
3. The Constitution Basis for Federal Assistance
   1. Congressional Power to Define the "General Welfare"
   2. Conditions on Federal Assistance
4. The Federal Grant and Cooperative Agreement Act
   1. The Commission on Government Procurement
   2. The Federal Grants and Cooperative Act
5. The Requirement for Specific Statutory Assistance Authority
   1. Procurement vs. Assistance Authority
   2. Permanent and Annual Legislative Authority
   3. Mandatory vs. Discretionary Assistance Authority
6. Fiscal Issues Affecting Assistance
   1. Purpose, Time and Amount
   2. Restrictions and Earmarks in Appropriations
7. Types of Contractual Relationships with the Government
   1. Procurement Contracts
   2. Grants and Cooperative Agreements
   3. Cooperative Research and Development Agreements
   4. Other Transactions (Technology Investment Agreements)
8. Selecting Procurement vs. Assistance
   1. The Principal Purpose of the Transaction
   2. Selecting Grants vs. Cooperative Agreements
9. The Legal Nature of Grants and Cooperative Agreements
   1. Primer on Government Contract Law
   2. The Grant as Contract View
   3. The Non-Contract View
10. Types of Grants
    1. Formula or Block Grants
    2. Project or Categorical Grants
11. Intellectual Property Rights in Assistance
    1. Legal Primer on Intellectual Property
    2. Grantee and Government Rights
    3. The Bayh-Dole Act and 37 CFR 401

    PART TWO-GETTING ASSISTANCE AWARDS

12. Competition Requirements
13. Finding Assistance Opportunities
    1. Federal Information Program Act
    2. OMB Circular A-89
    3. The Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance
    4. Other Government Sources
    5. Broad Agency Announcements
    6. Forecasting Assistance Opportunities
    7. Enlisting Support For Assistance
14. Strategies for Successful Applications
    1. Focuses On:
       •Legislation and Programs
       •Agency Missions
       •Applicant Vision
       •Evaluation Criteria
       
    2. Focuses on Instructions and Content
    3. Budget Proposals
15. Evaluation
    1. Evaluation and Award Criteria
    2. Peer and Program Review
16. Certifications and Representations
17. Award
    1. The Award and Issues
    2. Typical Award Instruments
18. Rights of Non-Selectees

    PART THREE-AWARD ADMINISTRATION ISSUES

19. Regulations Affecting Assistance
    1. The "Common Rule"
    2. Government-Wide Regulations and their Applicability
       •Administrative Requirements (OMB Cirs. A-102 and A-110)
       •Cost Principles (OMB Cirs. A-21, A-87, A-122)
       •Audit Requirements (OMB Cir. A-133)
       
    3. Agency Regulations
    4. Treasury Circulars
    5. The Federal Acquisition Regulation
20. Typical Agreement Administration Functions
    1. Cognizant Agency Functions
    2. Financial Processes
    3. Program Reporting
    4. Property Administration
    5. System Reviews
    6. Audit Resolution
    7. Closeout
21. Sub-Recipients
22. Contracting By Grantees
23. Government Liability for Acts of Grantees
    1. Contract Liability
    2. Tort Liability
24. Assistance Funding
    1. Advance Funding
    2. Interest on Grant Advances
    3. Program Income
25. Cost Sharing
    1. Local or Matching Shares
    2. Hard and Soft Matches
    3. Two Grant Sources
26. Changes
    1. The Right to Change
    2. Changes in Amount
    3. "Scope" Changes
    4. Substituting Grantees
27. Costs
    1. Criteria
    2. Selected Cost Items
28. Disputes
    1. Resolution Within the Agency
    2. Litigation
29. Government Remedies
    1. Recovery
    2. Withholding
30. Compliance Issues
31. Conflicts of Interest
32. Indicators of Fraud
33. Terminations
    1. For Noncompliance
    2. Mutual and Unilateral
34. Suspension and Debarment
35. Extensions
36. Close-Outs
    1. Costing Adjustments
    2. Residual Funds
    3. Property
    4. Final Reports
37. Audits and Record Retention
38. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Issues
39. Interpretation
    1. Agreement Interpretation
    2. Statutory Interpretation

Kenneth J. Allen Command Counsel for Programs, Acquisition and Litigation, U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command, and counsel for the Department of Defense's Joint Vaccine Acquisition Program. Mr. Allen has practiced government law for over 28 years, and he lectures frequently on government contract and fiscal law for Defense agencies, the American Society of Military Comptrollers, and the Army War College. His previous assignments have included acquisition counsel for the Army and Defense Information Systems Commands, legal advisor on fiscal law to the Defense Business Management University, administrative and labor lawyer for the U.S. Army in Europe and the Federal Labor Relations Authority, and several assignments as an active duty judge advocate. He is a graduate of the Brandeis School of Law, University of Louisville, the Army JAG School resident basic and advanced courses, the Army Management Staff College, National Defense University, and the Army War College.

Jay Winchester is Senior Counsel and patent counsel for the United States Army Medical Research and Materiel Command. Jay has been directly involved in negotiating and drafting thousands of cooperative research and development and patent license agreements. He drafted a model cooperative research and development agreement for material transfer that has been widely accepted by the pharmaceutical industry. Jay has extensive experience with all legal mechanisms for formalizing relationships between federal and non-federal entities, such as grants, cooperative agreements, educational partnerships, cooperative research and development agreements, patent licenses and the various forms of contracts.

Jay has been a speaker at The Judge Advocate General's School for the Army, the annual meeting of the national and international Biotechnology Industry Organization, various federal acquisition conference, and numerous workshops on technology transfer sponsored by U.S. Government agencies, the American Bar Association, universities and local associations. He is a former chairperson for the Legal Committee of the Federal Laboratory Consortium.

Jay graduated from the University of Minnesota with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English Literature and received his Juris Doctor from the Hamline University School of Law, St. Paul, Minnesota. He served on active duty as a Captain in the United States Army in the Judge Advocate General's Corps and received the Meritorious Service Medal.

Robert L. Charles is an attorney at the Office of the Staff Judge Advocate (OSJA), U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command, at Fort Detrick, Maryland, where he is primarily responsible for issues involving Technology Transfer, Assistance Agreements, and Patent Licensing. He currently serves on the Executive Board and as Chairperson for the Legal Issues Committee of the Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer.

Bob came to the OSJA after an active duty career as a judge advocate with the U.S. Army. Most of his tours were served at Army Medical Department assignments. He was the initial editor and contributed numerous articles over the years to the Army's Medical-Legal Deskbook.

Bob earned his undergraduate degree from the U.C. Berkeley (Economics), and then attended law school at the University of Utah. While in the military, he graduated from the Army JAG resident basic and advanced courses. Bob was also selected by the Army for advanced civilian schooling and earned a Masters in Public Health from the Program in Health and Law for Lawyers, at Harvard University. Bob is a member of the Utah and Texas State Bars.