FW; CMHS Consumer Affairs E-News: New Grants.gov Web Site

[Guest guest]

FYI

Mike Savory

Consumer Affairs News from the Center for Mental Health Services

http://www.mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/consumersurvivor/

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CMHS Consumer Affairs E-News December 15, 2003 Vol. 03-115

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NEW GRANTS.GOV WEB SITE OFFERS ONE-STOP SHOPPING FOR INFORMATION ON

APPLYING FOR ALL FEDERAL GRANTS

Site Supports President's E-Gov Initiative By Improving Grant Application

Process

HHS Secretary Tommy G. has unveiled a single, comprehensive Web

site that will contain information about finding and applying for all

federal grant programs.

The Web site, Grants.gov, makes it easier for organizations to learn about

and apply for federal grants. Its launch marks an important milestone in

President Bush's Electronic Government (E-Gov) Initiative.

"For the first time, there will be a single government-wide source for

information about grants programs across the federal government,"

Secretary said. "By putting relevant information in one place,

we're helping to level the playing field for organizations less familiar

with federal grant programs so that they too can identify and apply for

appropriate grants."

Grants.gov is a key element of President Bush's E-Gov initiative, which

aims at harnessing Internet-based technology to make it easy for citizens

and businesses to interact with the government, save taxpayer dollars and

streamline citizen-to-government communications.

The White House Office for Management and Budget named HHS as the lead

agency for this Grants.gov initiative. HHS awards more than half of all

the competitive grants across the federal government.

"President Bush has made it a priority for his administration to provide

government information and applications in ways that are more accessible

and easier to understand," OMB Director Bolten said. "Grants.gov

is a strong step forward in that effort, as it makes the federal

grant-making process simpler and more efficient for applicants. The launch

of this important Web site is a milestone in progress on the President's

Management Agenda."

HHS led the development of the cross-agency Web site, which now has

information about more than 800 available grant programs involving all 26

federal grant-making agencies. These agencies together award more than

360 billion in grant funds. The site provides information in a

standardized format across agencies and includes a "Find Grant

Opportunities" feature to help applicants find potential funding

opportunities.

The site also contains an "Apply for Grants" feature that greatly

simplifies the application process by allowing applicants to download,

complete and submit applications for specific grant opportunities from any

federal grant-making agency.

To date, application packages have been posted to the Grants.gov Web site

by five agencies -- the U.S. Departments of Commerce, Education, Energy,

Justice and HHS. This section will be expanded in the coming months as

federal agencies continue to post application information about additional

grant opportunities.

The site has been developed with extensive input from organizations that

apply for and receive federal grants to maximize its potential to simplify

the process and meet the needs of the grant community.

Grants.gov is a collaborative effort involving HHS and the Departments of

Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Education, Homeland Security, Housing and

Urban Development, Justice, Labor and Transportation, as well as the

National Science Foundation.

More information about Grants.gov is available at http://www.grants.gov.

More information about the President's E-Gov Initiative is available at

http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/egov.