Nicole Hardeman-Swindle

This 5-Year Strategic Plan aims to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of federal grant management for the State of Nevada. Key focus areas include enhancing proposal review, submission, and grant management capacity; streamlining award negotiation, setup, and post-award monitoring; strengthening compliance, advisory, and regulatory services; expanding education, training, and outreach; and coordinating site improvement visits and audits. The plan seeks to maximize federal assistance by providing inclusive, collaborative, comprehensive, and centralized support to stakeholders, ultimately positioning Nevada as a leader in federal grant management.

This Strategic Plan for the Nevada Governor's Office of Federal Assistance aims to enhance the state's federal grant management capabilities and ensure the optimal use of federal funds. It focuses on five key areas: enhancing proposal review, submission, and grant management capacity; streamlining award negotiation, setup, and post-award monitoring; strengthening compliance, advisory, and regulatory services; expanding education, training, and outreach; and coordinating site improvement visits and audits. Through these initiatives, the plan seeks to position Nevada as a leader in federal grant acquisition, fostering sustainable growth and improving the quality of life for its residents by providing comprehensive support and oversight to stakeholders.

The meeting commenced with the Chair calling the meeting to order and establishing a quorum after the roll call. The key discussions involved the Chair's goals for the council, emphasizing the critical need to maximize and steward available state and federal funds amid federal instability. A presentation by Parsalvo focused on modernizing government financial operations, specifically indirect cost recovery and cost allocation planning, with an offer for a free audit of Nevada's federal grants portfolio potentially identifying $5--7M in ARPA funds. The Governor's Office of Federal Assistance (OFA) provided an update on departmental activities, highlighting the successful intervention to protect $466,088 in DOT Hazardous Materials (HMEP) funds from deobligation, updates on the Rural School District Capital Improvement Project Fund, and leveraging funds for rural grid resilience via the Grant Matching Program. OFA also discussed the adoption of GrantExec for grant discovery and AI-assisted drafting, as well as training provided to state employees on internal controls and grant management.

This state plan outlines Nevada's strategy to maximize federal assistance, addressing historical underperformance in securing federal funding due to fragmented management, insufficient coordination, and legislative barriers. The plan focuses on three key areas: Capacity Building, Centralization and Streamlining through a Centralized Grant Management System (CGMS), and Collaboration and Partnerships. Its strategic goals include increasing federal grants by 10% in the short term, strengthening grant management capacity in the medium term, and fostering a statewide culture of collaboration, compliance, and innovation for discretionary grants in the long term. The intended outcomes are to increase federal dollars, improve essential services, relieve pressure on local budgets, and support the state's overall growth and development.

This document outlines the strategic direction for The Governor's Office of Federal Assistance (OFA), aiming to support stakeholders in obtaining, increasing, and maximizing federal assistance by reducing barriers and providing inclusive, collaborative, comprehensive, and centralized support for securing federal dollars for Nevada. The strategic plan is structured around three core pillars: Capacity Building, Centralization and Streamlining, and Collaboration and Partnership. Key objectives include increasing federal grants, strengthening grant management capabilities, and fostering a statewide culture conducive to competing for discretionary grants.