Compliance with Government Grants: Tips for Avoiding Pitfalls

It’s great to win government grants and other benefits from federal, state, and local agencies. However, it is common for winning organizations to get lost in the compliance maze once an award has been granted. It is essential for practitioners to understand what steps to take to ensure full compliance with the rules and to avoid common pitfalls when representing clients who have won government grants. The risk of non-compliance is that government agencies and departments typically can exercise the right to recapture (claw back) benefits plus substantial penalties and interest. In some cases, parties can even be debarred from future grants or contracts.

In this course, we cover practical tips for practitioners to stay in compliance, while avoiding some of the more common risks and pitfalls of failing to comply. Our emphasis is on grants at a federal level, with case studies of “how-not-to” perform, and “how to” best ensure full compliance.

Learning Objectives:

1. Understand common strictures attached to government grant awards, with focus on federal grants
2. Avoid penalties for non-compliance, including claw back provisions and debarment proceedings
3. Refer to case studies examining real life examples in which parties have failed to comply and have learned the hard way what to do and what not to do in response to government grant awards
4. Learn practical tips for setting up systems and safeguards to ensure full compliance