There’s a Better Way to Manage Federal Grants, a New Report Shows
Agencies spent $921 billion through grants last year. We know surprisingly little about what that funding has achieved.
Emeritus Fellow, IBM Center for the Business of Government
The federal grant system is vast. In fiscal year 2019, agencies spent $765 billion on grants to states, localities, research institutions, non-profits, and others that’s more than the Pentagon’s annual budget. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, grant spending surged to $921 billion last year.
Grants expert Jeff Myers, along with several of his colleagues, recently wrote in
Government Executive:
“A new survey [of federal grant managers] shows that administrative costs have spiked, while funding agencies struggle to measure outcomes … It isn’t surprising that measuring recipient outcomes is challenging. Grant managers are accustomed to measuring and reporting funding flows and uses, timeliness, and compliance. Bu