eGrants Management

The goal of the Electronic Grants Management (eGMS) Initiative is to encourage the development and refinement of comprehensive eGMS in the state administering agencies (SAAs) and tribal communities. The Initiative focuses on assessing the current business processes and future business goals of grants management systems at state criminal justice agencies. The project will match the needs of each level of government and will promote the development of common functional specifications to advance program implementation and service delivery.

The National Criminal Justice Association (NCJA), under a grant with the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), Technology Policy Office, has completed a report entitled “Electronic Grants Management Systems in State Criminal Justice Administering Agencies: An assessment.” This document includes best practices and promising approaches in implementing Electronic Grants Management Systems (eGMS) and how these systems can facilitate the grant management process for state, tribal and local government agencies applying for, receiving, and reporting on federal and state funding assistance.  To view the full report click here.

The Assessment

The assessment is intended to provide a resource for the State Criminal Justice Administrative Agencies (SAAs) and other state agencies when considering the implementation of new or enhanced systems capable of providing timely and complete information about their grant programs. This document presents case studies of six SAAs, describing their efforts to design, implement, and sustain their electronic grants management systems; findings, conclusions, and recommendations based on those case studies; functional attributes that SAAs should deem as “core” to their systems; and a resource section that includes samples such as business cases, and business process workflows.

Some of the most important findings discussed in the assessment are:

•  Planning and governance are essential to ensure that you bring together the key stakeholders, leverage the resources needed to implement and sustain your system, and establish a road map that will guide your work.

• The grants management process follows a rather standard set of categories – Find, Apply, Manage, and Close, regardless of the grant program. Within these four categories or modules, there are common business events and functionalities that you need to integrate into your system during the planning and design phases.

• Your system should be modular, so that you can add to or otherwise modify your system as future needs require.  

• Collaboration with your SCIO is important to ensure that you integrate your efforts with existing state policies and procedures. Contact with other SAAs that administer electronic grants management systems can assist your efforts by identifying existing architectures that may expedite your planning and design process.

Some states, like New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, have already developed comprehensive electronic grants management systems which may be replicated, resulting in significant cost savings. Contact information for these and other states may be obtained in the full report.

Technical Assistance

Many SAAs have expressed an interest in developing or enhancing their eGMS. The NCJA maintains information on the status of SAAs’ eGMS efforts, along with points of contact within the SAAs. For further information, please contact the NCJA Executive Director Cabell Cropper at (202) 448-1721.

View the one page flyer with information about this program.

*This document is supported by Grant No. 2003-DD-BX-0003 awarded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) to the National Criminal Justice Association (NCJA).   BJA is a component of DOJ’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP), which also includes the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), and the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC).  The points of view and opinions expressed in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice or the National Criminal Justice Association.