OMB directs agencies to review grants management systems immediately

The Office of Management and Budget is directing federal agencies to immediately review and upgrade computer systems related to grants management to prepare for the expected spike in applications from the stimulus.

"Recovery.gov funds must not be stuck in a bottleneck because of inadequate systems or overwhelmed network servers," OMB Director Peter Orszag said in a statement on Wednesday. The government expects a 60 percent increase in grant application volume between April and August as agencies begin to disburse the $787 billion in stimulus funds.

Agencies have until March 13 to assess their grants management systems and report back to OMB. According to OMB guidance released in February, agencies by March 15 must begin identifying computer systems collecting information related to the stimulus that are not equipped to make that data publicly available.

Orszag's March memo to agencies noted that the government's central portal for accepting grant applications -- grants.gov -- is not equipped to handle the surge in traffic that the stimulus funds will bring.

Grants.gov already has exceeded its original capacity, and could fail if technology upgrades are not made before stimulus-related applications arrive, and if other federal agencies that administer grants are not prepared to help handle the crush, Orszag said.

He directed the Health and Human Services Department, which administers grants.gov, and the General Services Administration to work together to improve the system and prepare it to handle the increased workload efficiently.

Technical problems with grants.gov date back as far as November 2008.