Creating and Running a Public Sector Grants Office: Duties, Deliverables, Benefits (obvious and otherwise)
This class will use the structure and history of the Maryland Governor’s Grants Office as a jumping off point to describe the various services provided and benefits accrued not just to the state government, but to the many different constituencies that benefit from these services. The Maryland Governor’s Grants Office has been recognized as a “best practice” by the National Governors Association. Other public jurisdictions (both state and local governments) have either established similar offices or are considering establishing similar offices.
While the core function of the Maryland Governor’s Grants Office is to bring in funding to meet the priority goals of the Governor, the broader range of benefits to local governments, nonprofits, individuals, and foundations has made this a popular model not just for other states, but also for many local governments. Grants management training, linking foundations to nonprofits, better publicizing state grant opportunities, being a core part of the movement towards transparency and accountability, and providing support services to elected officials at all levels of government interested in better serving their constituents, the Maryland Governor’s Grants Office has stretched beyond its original mission, in a way that has both policy and political benefits beyond “just” increasing funding to the state and reducing new audit findings.
Whether the CharityUniversity webinar participant works for a public jurisdiction or wants to encourage their state or local jurisdiction to set up a similar operation, this session will provide the information necessary to meet those goals. Just as the federal government (through Grants.gov) is doing a better job of coordinating information on grants (applying, winning, and managing) other units of government can benefit by copying some of these practices. Even before the passage of the Recovery Act, grants management was a neglected (and unpopular?) part of the grants process but thanks to the Recovery Act, a bright light has been shined on federal grants management issues and the better coordinated a state or local government is in dealing with these issues, the more tangible the results in terms of better targeting funds towards priority needs.
Class Format: This class is recorded from the live webinar class on June 11, 2010. On registering, you are transported to the classroom page, where you may play the class player to view the slides and hear the class presentation and discussion. You may log in as many times as you wish for one year from the date of registration, enabling you to replay portions of the class as you wish.
How to Register: Add the class (and any others that you wish to take) to your shopping cart, then proceed through the checkout process. As soon as you have completed the payment, you will be taken to the classroom page for this class, where you will find the class player where you play the class and view the slides.
About the Instructor
Eric Brenner is the founding Director of the Maryland Governor’s Grants Office, which he modeled off of a similar office he developed for the Governor of Illinois. Eric has worked for five Governors in three states, of both major political parties. His work has focused on the creation and implementation of public policy in the following subject areas: human services, health care, community revitalization, budgeting, energy, corrections, transportation, and financial services regulation. He also has served as the Director of Executive Management for the Council of Governors’ Policy Advisors and the Deputy Director for the Pennsylvania Insurance Department. Eric earned degrees from Duke University (B.A.), Hull University, England (L.L.M.), and Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government (M.P.A.).