(September 2001)
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We have estimated
that each response to this collection of information will take on
average 34 hours for planning grant recipients to prepare the certification
of completion, final report, and list of project expenditures. Our
estimates include the time to read the instructions, look through
existing records, gather the required data, and complete and review
the response. If you have any comments on this estimate or how we
can improve the collection and reduce the burden it causes you,
please write to the Office of Policy Coordination and Management,
NTIA, Room 4892, Department of Commerce, Washington, DC 20230. Your
comments will also be accepted via the Internet if you send them
to. You are not required to respond to a collection of information
sponsored by the Federal government, and the government may not
conduct or sponsor this collection, unless it displays a currently
valid OMB control number or if we fail to provide you with this
notice. |
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Introduction
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The information presented here is meant to assist you in closing out your Public Telecommunications Facilities Program (PTFP) planning grant. We urge you to read it carefully and to refer to the appropriate sections again as you prepare each item for your close-out. We encourage you to call your Program Officer at (202) 482-5802 if you have any questions.
The documents you need to submit in order to close out your grant are described in the sections that follow. Also included is a checklist on which you can record relevant information about your close-out. All of the items on the checklist are important to the close-out process. We suggest you print out one for your grant as soon as possible and refer to it as you prepare your close-out.
Please remember that all close-out documentation -- is due within 90 days of the completion of the grant project or the expiration of the Grant Award Period, whichever comes first; and
- must include an original and one copy of all documents, with the full grant number (e.g., 99-01-99999) on each document.
Failure to provide the required information on time and in full not only creates unnecessary problems for you and needless work for the PTFP staff, but also puts your project out of compliance with the terms and conditions of your grant award. Being out of compliance can result in -
- termination of the award,
- establishment of an Account Receivable for all Federal funds paid to your organization, and
- denial of future grants to your organization.
- Certification that the project has been completed satisfactorily.
- Final Report.
- Copies of planning studies and reports.
- Documentation of expenditures (in the format of your approved budget).
PLEASE NOTE CAREFULLY:
- Under OMB rules, close-out documents and financial reports cannot be accepted even one day after the end of the 90-day close-out period. If you are late, you must seek a retroactive extension of the close-out period. Your request must be supported with justification in the form of an explanation of why you were unable to file your close-out on time.
- In addition, failure to submit your close-out package within the 90-day period can result in the establishment of an account receivable for all Federal funds paid to your organization.
- All documents should be submitted in DUPLICATE with ORIGINAL SIGNATURES where required.
| Please submit closeout
documents in duplicate! |
|
Contents |
| Closing Out Planning Grants |
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Where
to Send Close-Out Documents
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Your PTFP Program Officer should be the initial contact for all programmatic aspects of closing out your grant award. The reports and other documents you submit to NTIA/PTFP at close-out are:
| Certification of Completion | ||
| Final Report | ||
| List of Expenditures | ||
| Copies of Planning Studies and Reports |
They should be addressed to:
[Program Officer's Name] NTIA/PTFP Room 4096 U.S. Department of Commerce 1401 Constitution Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20230
The name of your organization's PTFP Program Officer is listed in the Special Award Conditions of your grant award document.
The Office of Acquisition Management (OAM) is the Commerce Department's Federal Grants Office and is responsible for all administrative and financial aspects of closing out your grant award. The reports you submit to OAM at close-out are:
| Financial Status Report (SF-269) | ||
| Request for Advance or Reimbursement (SF-270) | ||
| Cash Transaction Report (SF-272) |
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Closing
Out Planning Grants
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The first item in your package of close-out documents must be a certification that your organization has completed the project. The certification should be in the form of a letter addressed to the William Cooperman, Director, Public Broadcasting Division, and must reference your full grant number (e.g., 99-01-N99999). The letter should indicate that your organization has:
complied with all of the terms and conditions of the grant;
completed the planning process; and
conducted the planning process consistent with the goals and objectives contained in the Financial Assistance Award document.
(N.B. A draft of your Final Report is due at PTFP 45 days before the end of the Grant Award Period.)
Two copies of the Final Report on your project must be submitted. (State or regional planning projects must submit three copies of the Final Report.) The Report should contain the following elements:
1. An executive summary covering the major findings and conclusions.
2. A detailed explanation of the planning process you used.
3. A detailed discussion of the results and conclusions of the planning process. The Report should answer the following questions, as given in PTFP's guidelines for preparing broadcast planning project applications:
a. What will be the mission/purpose of the station? How was that decided?
b. What types of station ("Alternative Technologies") were considered – Low-Power FM, full-power AM or FM, repeater with local origination capability? What are the pros and cons for each type in your situation? Which type did you choose? Why?
c. Will the station be built by and licensed to your organization or another organization? If the latter, the Final Report should document that the organization is (i) eligible to apply for and receive a Construction Permit for the proposed station from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and (ii) committed to the construction and long-term support and operation of the station.
d. If the proposed licensee is not experienced in broadcasting, what source of broadcast expertise will the licensee have available to assist it in the operation of the station?
e. How will the licensee oversee the operation of the station? Will the station have an advisory board or committee? How will its members be chosen? Is there to be any participation by the general public?
f. What financial resources will be available to support the cost of (i) constructing the proposed station and (ii) the long-term operation of the completed station? Documentation – with dollar-commitment estimates, even if conditional – from possible supporters of both types of expense should be included with the Final Report.
g. Have sites been found for studios, offices, the transmitter, and a tower? Does the proposed licensee own them or will it buy or lease them? If the latter, does it have a commitment from the present owner(s) to sell or lease? If sites have not been found, what is being done to find them?
h. What engineering resources will be available for (i) the construction of the proposed station and (ii) the long-term maintenance of station equipment for its operation and continued useful life?
i. What staffing plans have been developed? How many and which positions will be paid? How many and which will be volunteer positions? Will there be any student positions? How many and in what capacity? If experienced professionals will not be hired, how will the staff be trained?
j. What programing plans have been developed?
k. What evidence is there that the population of the expected coverage area is interested in the proposed station?
l. What evidence is there that other organizations in the coverage area would welcome the station and see it as a potential aid to their work? Have they pledged any type of support?
m. If you requested Priority 1A or 1B for your project, is the proposed coverage area currently unserved by a public radio or television station?
n. If you requested Priority 4A for your project, will the proposed station address underserved needs in the projected coverage area in a way that significantly differentiates its service from what is already available?
o. When will an application for a Construction Permit be submitted to the FCC?4. The following should be attached to your Final Report:
copies of all studies developed as part of the planning process;
a list of all meetings held as part of the planning process, showing who attended and the results of the meeting; and
copies of all engineering studies and FCC applications, if any, generated by the project.
Note: If your planning effort leads directly to a PTFP construction grant application, copies of the planning Final Report (minus the attachments) should be included as one of the application's optional exhibits. In addition, the construction application Project Narrative should summarize the planning effort and its major results. Also, other sections of the construction application should make prominent reference to the planning (e.g., the financial certification in Exhibit A should thoroughly discuss the project funding plans).
It should also be noted that it is perfectly acceptable for a planning grant project to conclude that a station should not be constructed.
(N.B. A draft of your Final Report is due at PTFP 45 days before the end of the Grant Award Period.)
Two copies of the Final Report on your project must be submitted. (State or regional planning projects must submit three copies of the Final Report.) The Report should contain the following elements:
1. An executive summary covering the major findings and conclusions.
2. A detailed explanation of the planning process you used.
3. A detailed discussion of the results and conclusions of the planning process. The Report should address the following important issues, as outlined in PTFP's guidelines for preparing nonbroadcast planning project applications:
a. What the comprehensive needs assessment determined.
b. The precise goals and objectives for the proposed nonbroadcast system, flowing from the needs assessment.
c. What types of nonbroadcast technical systems ("Alternative Technologies") were considered –T1, satellite distribution, ITFS, other microwave? What are the pros and cons for each type in your situation? Which type have you selected? Why?
d. Project staffing. If your project is for distance learning, you should have determined how many staff would have to be dedicated to the proposed system in order to operate, maintain, and administer it. Staff training also fits under this heading. You should show how you intend to provide sufficient – and continuing – training to the faculty who will be using the system, either as teachers or as mentors.
e. What sort of advisory group is desirable to ensure that the nonbroadcast distance learning system will continue to serve the needs of its users? How will it be formed?
f. What sources of funding will be available for two purposes: (i) to provide the non-federal share of a PTFP project implementation proposal, if relevant, and (ii) to support the eventual nonbroadcast system adequately over the long term?
g. If Federal Communications Commission authorization is required to construct your facility, when will an application for a Construction Permit be submitted to the FCC?4. The following should be attached to your Final Report:
copies of all studies or reports developed as part of the planning process;
a list of all meetings held as part of the planning process, showing who attended and the results of the meeting; and
copies of any engineering studies and FCC applications generated by the project.
Note: If your planning effort leads directly to a PTFP construction grant application, copies of the planning Final Report (minus the attachments) should be included as one of the application's optional exhibits. In addition, the Project Narrative should summarize the planning effort and its major results. Also, other sections of the construction application should make prominent reference to the planning (e.g., the financial certification in Exhibit A should thoroughly discuss the project funding plans).
It should also be noted that it is perfectly acceptable for a planning grant project to conclude that a facility should not be constructed.
You must submit a detailed final report of all project expenditures. The report should be arranged in the same format as the approved budget contained in the Financial Assistance Award document, and it should show the payees in each budget category. Brief explanations should be provided of any aspect of the expenditures that is unusual and might, therefore, be questioned.
The total expenditures reported must equal the total project cost reported on the final Financial Status Report (SF-269) submitted to the Office of Acquisition Management.
Please
submit TWO copies of all documents.|
Audit
Requirements |
If your organization expends more than $300,000 in Federal funds - from all Federal sources, not just PTFP - in a one-year period, you must have an audit performed in accordance with Federal guidelines as stated in OMB Circular A-133, dated June 30, 1997 (copies were included in the grant award package).
These audits are performed in one of two ways. An NTIA/PTFP-specific audit may be performed if your organization receives Federal funds only from NTIA. If your organization receives funds from more than one Federal source during the year for which the audit is conducted, an organization-wide audit must be performed. (Note that CPB funding is not considered a Federal source.)
If an allowance for audit costs was included in your Grant Award, the audit report material must be submitted prior to the deadline for submitting the close-out documentation in order for the cost to be charged to the grant. If you are not going to include the audit within the Grant Award Period, you should seek an amendment to allow the audit funds to be used for the equipment purchased.
Questions about audits should be addressed to your Grants Specialist in the Office of Acquisition Management.
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Planning
Grant Close-Out Checklist |
Supply an original and one copy of all documents, with the full grant number (e.g., 99-01-99999) and original signatures where required on both copies.
| Grant Award Number: | ___________________________________ | |||
| Grant Award Start Date: | ___________________________________ | |||
| Grant Award Ending Date: | ___________________________________ | |||
| Extended to: | ___________________________________ | |||
| Draft Final Report due: | ___________________________________ | |||
| Close-Out due: | ___________________________________ | |||
| Grant Amount: | ___________________________________ | |||
| Local Matching Share: | ___________________________________ | |||
| Total Project Cost: | ___________________________________ |
| DUE | SENT | |||
| Certification of Completion | ____________ | ____________ | ||
| Final Report | ||||
| Executive Summary: | ____________ | ____________ | ||
| Discussion of Planning Process: | ____________ | ____________ | ||
| Discussion of Results: | ____________ | ____________ | ||
| Conclusions: | ____________ | ____________ | ||
| Attachments: | ____________ | ____________ | ||
| List of Project Expenditures: | ____________ | ____________ |
PTFP Program Officer: _________________________________
(Phone: 202/482-5802)
OAM Grants Specialist: _________________________________
(Phone: 202/482-1370)
NTIA/PTFP reviews all close-out documents to be sure that the project was completed in accordance of the terms and conditions of the award. The program may request clarification or revision of material submitted in your package of close-out documents. Your prompt response will assist in the timely completion of the close-out process.
All grant recipients should be aware that failure to provide additional requested close-out information in a timely manner can result in
- the establishment of an Account Receivable for all Federal funds paid to your organization and
- the denial of future grants to your organization.
If the final report (1) fails to address or meet any grant award objectives; (2) furnishes no evidence that the work contracted for was in fact performed; or, (3) clearly indicates that the written instructions and guidance provided by NTIA/PTFP, if any, were disregarded, NTIA may pursue remedial action, including, but not limited to, demand for submission, in whole or in part, of a fully satisfactory final report.
An unsatisfactory final report may result in the establishment of an Account Receivable by the Department of Commerce for the repayment of grant funds disbursed.
Your responsibility to the Federal government through the Department of Commerce does not end when the Office of Acquisition Management informs you that your close-out has been completed. This section summarizes some of the requirements imposed on grantees in the years after a grant is closed out.
Retention of Records
Federal regulations require that your organization keep financial records, supporting documents, statistical records, and all other records pertaining to the grant project for three (3) years after your final financial status report has been accepted. If any litigation, claim, or audit is started before the expiration of the three-year period, all records must be kept until all litigation, claims, or audit findings involving the records have been resolved. Grant recipients must keep the following records intact and accessible for inspection at any time:
(1) A complete and itemized inventory of all public telecommunications facilities under the control of the grantee, whether or not financed, in whole or in part, with Federal funds;
(2) Complete and current financial records that fully disclose the total amount of the project; the amount of the grant; and the amount, nature and sources of all non-Federal funds associated with the project; and
(3) All records specified in Office of Management and Budget Circular A-110 (for educational institutions, hospitals, and non-profit organizations) and 15 CFR Part 24 (for state and local governments).
Inspections
Grantees must permit inspections at any time during normal business hours by NTIA and the Comptroller General of the United States, or their authorized representatives, of any books, documents, papers, and records relating to your planning grant.
