Grants.gov Connector solves grants integration conundrum.

Washington, D.C., March 4, 2004: Washington-based TCG (Turner Consulting Group), today released its proven Grants.gov integration software for use by all Federal agencies. The software, called the Grants.gov Connector, is a Government Off-The-Shelf (GOTS) set of components that enable agencies to receive grant proposals directly from Grants.gov, the government-wide grants opportunity gateway, into their own grants management systems.

Grants.gov is the Federal Web-based system that allows grant applicants to fill out forms electronically and submit them to any participating Federal agency using one format and one Web site. Federal agencies have the option of downloading their programs’ applications individually or by using a Web Services system-to-system interface that retrieves the applications automatically.

Federal agencies are required to document their plan to receive grant applications electronically from Grants.gov by September 1, 20041. It is expected that most agencies will integrate through Grants.gov’s system-to-system interface2. The TCG Grants.gov Connector allows agencies to electronically receive grant proposals from Grants.gov and integrate the electronic receipt of applications with existing back-office business processes and systems.

The Grants.gov Connector offers several key advantages to Federal agencies:

• Zero cost to acquire: As GOTS software, the Grants.gov Connector is available to Federal agencies at no charge
• Modular: The Grants.gov Connector includes components to manage and audit grant application receipt and grants application viewing. Agencies can add their own modules to the system using the open-standards interfaces provided.
• Scalable: The Grants.gov Connector can be deployed at Department or agency levels, and provides a foundation upon which grants management systems consolidation can be built—an integrated grants management system is only a step away.
• Reduced development costs: Based on technology developed for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Grants.gov Connector was created and tested in close cooperation with Grants.gov. Agencies can take advantage of this investment and reduce grants management systems development costs.
• Quicker results: The Grants.gov Connector gives agencies a jump-start in Grants.gov integration. Agencies can meet the OMB deadline faster, leaving more time and energy for other commitments.
• Proven: TCG’s work at USDA is the test case for system-to-system integration with Grants.gov. In helping USDA be the first to integrate with Grants.gov in a system-to-system connection, TCG ensured that the Grants.gov Connector benefited from the lessons learned throughout a year of development activity.
•  Domain expertise: TCG has the broadest grants management systems development experience in the Federal government. Our work is based on a decade of grants systems development and unmatched experience with Grants.gov integration.

“This technology allows any government agency to quickly adapt its systems to Grants.gov,” said David G. Cassidy, Vice President at TCG. “TCG has more experience in Federal e‑grants than any other company, and this technology is a great example of TCG’s approach of developing a common solution to a widespread, difficult problem.”

Grants.gov, one of the Bush administration’s 24 original E‑Gov initiatives, aims to minimize the duplication of effort by government agencies and the public by providing a one-stop portal for grants information and grant applications. Since October 30, 2003, applicants have been able to find and apply for grant programs from across the Federal government at Grants.gov. The program is voluntary for government agencies this year; by October 30, 2004 it will be mandatory.

About TCG
Turner Consulting Group (TCG) (https://stage.tcg.com) specializes in delivering grants management solutions to the Federal government.

TCG focuses on helping government agencies use the power of the Internet and the Web to better interact with the public, and to generate internal cost savings and efficiencies. TCG projects have won awards for their groundbreaking achievements, including piloting the first inter-agency grants management system, and creating the first and only inter-agency government system to receive secure information from the general public. That system, Interagency Edison (http://www.iedison.gov), was built in 1995 for NIH’s specific needs. Today the system serves the invention and patent reporting requirements of 21 Federal agencies.

TCG was one of the fastest-growing privately-held companies in the United States, as ranked by Inc. magazine. The firm has been on Washington Technology’s Fast 50.

For more information, contact David G. Cassidy on 202–742-8471 or david.cassidy@tcg.com.