Recovery Act (ARRA)

Accelerating Spending of Remaining Funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for Discretionary Grant Programs - OMB Memorandum M-11-34

The OMB Memorandum M-11-34 directs federal agencies to ensure grantees have fully expended ARRA projects by September 30, 2013 and directs agencies to revise terms of ARRA awards, to the extent permitted by law, to provide for reclamation of unspent funds after September 30, 2013.

Calendar

First ARRA Progress Reports Deadline 10/9/09 October 10, 2009 is the last day quarterly Progress reports can be submitted for UNO and subcontractors.

Announcements

Reporting Requirements ARRA funding has additional reporting requirements including quarterly progress reports by the PI and subcontractors. The first reports will be due on October 10, 2009 and will be due 10 calendar days after each quarter thereafter. October 10 is a Saturday and the federal submission deadline will not be extended to the next business day.

Recovery Act Opportunities

 Did you know that you can search online now for federal Recovery-related jobs, career planning and many kinds of financial opportunities offered by the U.S. government?

Check out FedBizOpps.gov for all federal government contracting opportunities that exceed $25,000. The site lists all major solicitations, contract awards, subcontracting opportunities, surplus property sales and foreign business opportunities. For actions related to funds made available by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, use the Search Recovery Actions option on FedBizOpps.gov.

Want to find out about federal grants? Federal agencies offer more than 1,000 grant programs and access to approximately $400 billion in annual awards (Note: federal grants are not federal assistance or loans to individuals). Search and apply for grants from 26 different federal agencies through the Grants.gov site. For grant opportunities related to the Recovery Act, use the Find Recovery Act Opportunities option on Grants.gov.

To reduce the burden of the extra volume resulting from the Recovery Act, select programs other than Grants.gov have been temporarily authorized to process grant applications. The following agencies will be accepting some or all applications: Corporation for National and Community Service; Department of Defense; Department of Education; Department of Energy; Department of Housing and Urban Development; Department of Justice; Department of Treasury; Department of Transportation; Department of Homeland Security; the National Science Foundation; Environmental Protection Agency; and National Aeronautics and Space Administration. If you apply for a grant through one of these agencies, the Grants.gov Contact Center will not be able to address questions or issues relating to the grant; you will need to contact the agency official specified in the grant.

If you're interested in finding loans or benefits that you might be eligible for, visit GovLoans.gov. The site will help you determine the loans that may be right for you, and where to find more information about them. You can also visit GovBenefits.gov, which has a screening tool to help you find government benefits that you may be eligible for, and how to apply for those programs.

A large portion of the Recovery Act funding is going to states, territories and tribes, which in turn are distributing funds through grants, contracts, subsidies, and loan programs. Be sure to check the list of State Recovery sites for a link to your state and its programs.

ARRA Awarded Funding

UNO has received ARRA funding on proposals already submitted and deemed meritorious but unfunded as well as new proposals. UNO has also received supplemental funding on an existing project. Below is the list of the awards received with basic information on the awards. Also, attached below are summaries of some of the proposals.

As of December 6, 2011, UNO has received seven awards totaling $1,441,443. The awards range in length from
1 year to 4 years.

REU (Research Experiences for Undergraduates) Site
REU - University of New Orleans Site, TRACK: Training and Research in Computing Knowledge
Principal Investigator: Charalampidis, Dimitrios College of Engineering - Electrical Engineering
Prime Federal Sponsor: NSF Award Length: 3 years
Award Amount: $299,222

American Routes Radio Program
Principal Investigator: Spitzer, Nicholas College of Liberal Arts - Planning and Urban Studies
Prime Federal Sponsor: NEA Award Length: 1 year
Award Amount: $50,000

Development of cannabinoid receptor based medications for drug addiction
Principal Investigator: Trudell, Mark College of Sciences - Chemistry Department
Prime Federal Sponsor: NIH Award Length: 1 year
Award Amount: $33,408 Supplemental Funding

Analysis of Epstein Barr Virus Type III Latency on Cellular miRNA Gene Expression
Principal Investigator: Zhu, Dongziao College of Sciences - Computer Science
Prime Federal Sponsor: NIH Award Length: 1 year
Award Amount: $137,638 Pass Through

A new informatics paradigm for reconstructing signaling pathways in human disease
Principal Investigator: Zhu, Dongziao College of Sciences - Computer Science
Prime Federal Sponsor: NIH Award Length: 3 years
Award Amount: $499,823

Reconsidering the "New Normal": The Impact of Trauma on Urban Ecological and Social Diversity
Principal Investigator:   Nance, Earthea  College of Liberal Arts – CHART
Prime Federal Sponsor: NSF  Award Length: 2.5 years
Award Amount: $64,969 Pass Through

UNO phasor data sharing and visualization
Principal Investigator:   Rastgoufard, Parviz  College of Engineering
Prime Federal Sponsor: DOE  Award Length: 4 years
Award Amount: $356,383 Pass Through

ARRA Awarded Funding Figures/Charts

Subawards on ARRA Funding

If you are planning a subaward - Please keep in mind that these additional reporting requirements include the same level of detailed information for subawards. 
 
It could be very challenging to obtain the information needed from outside organizations in order to meet the ten day reporting deadlines. Consider the need for a subaward very carefully and consider the timeliness of prior reports with any potential subawardee. If there is no choice but to use a subawardee then be certain that the reporting requirements are well understood by subawardee and get written confirmation that they can submit quarterly progress reports within the federally mandated time allowance.

Job Creation / Retention

There will be additional reporting requirements for those PI's receiving ARRA funds. The draft reporting requirements were issued on April 1, 2009 in the Federal Register. [ (Download Federal Register containing the OMB definitions) need URL then move to resources panel. ]
 
The requirements include reporting the number of "jobs or positions created" and the number of "jobs or positions retained". As you are preparing your proposals, several of you have raised questions about what these terms mean. The draft notice in the Federal Register defines these terms as follows:

"Job or positions created" means those new positions created and filled, or previously existing unfilled positions that are filled, as a result of Recovery Act funding.

"Jobs or positions retained" means those previously existing filled positions that are retained as a result of Recovery Act funding.

This section goes on to state:

At a minimum, this estimate shall include any new positions created and any existing filled positions that were retained to support of carry out Recovery Act projects or activities managed directly by the recipient, and if know, by sub-recipients. A job cannot be reported as both created and retained.

As you are preparing your proposals please be careful how you define and describe the job creation and/or retention. If you receive the funding you may have to justify how you came up with these estimates, and you should have a solid rationale for your calculations.