PPR Refresher Webinar >> Whitney: Hi everyone and welcome to the Performance Progress Report Refresher Video. This video is a refresher for current CED grantees for submitting your Performance Progress Reports, also known as PPRs. Today’s video will review the purpose of the PPR and how it is used; Review the PPR timeline and important dates; Go over recent changes to the OLDC system; Review general information about the PPR submission process; Review the newest indicator added to the PPR and how you will report on it; Provide helpful tips to make reporting easier and help you avoid common mistakes; and Let you know where you can find additional resources and support for completing your PPR. Specifically, we will show you how to access the PPR Information page on the CED website. This will be your go to place for resources and information regarding the PPR, and we will provide you with the URL for this page at the end of this video. So first, What is the PPR? The PPR is a semi-annual report you are required to submit through the On-Line Data Collection system, or OLDC, to provide information about the project for which you’ve received a CED grant. The report is designed to provide a snapshot of how a project is doing and collects information on key indicators, such as the number of jobs it has created, the number of businesses it has created, amount of funds leveraged, etc. This data allows OCS to also identify any projects that may be in need of further assistance. The reports also provide funders, Congress, and other stakeholders with aggregate data on the CED program to show its value and contributions to the community. Finally, the system also allows grantees to see previous reports, compare data, and archive their program records. Now we'll go over some important dates to keep in mind. Remember that you are required to complete a PPR twice a year. The six month reporting periods are from April 1st to September 29th and from September 30th to March 31st. For the reporting period ending on March 31st, the OLDC reporting system opens the first of April and you have one month to complete and submit your report in OLDC. For the reporting period ending September 29th, the OLDC reporting system opens the first of October, and you have one month to complete and submit your report in OLDC. Before you begin your current report, please confirm that you have submitted your previous report and that its status is marked “Submission Accepted by CO.” If you begin your current report without your previous report being approved, the baseline data will not populate correctly. If you have not submitted your previous report or if it has not yet been accepted by your program specialist, please email OCSRegistrar@icf.com for assistance. Please do not begin your current report until you receive guidance from the OCS Registrar about the status of your previous report. Now we will go over the new process for accessing the On-Line Data Collection System, or OLDC, which was implemented in August 2016. You now access the On-Line Data Collection System (OLDC) through GrantSolutions at www.grantsolutions.gov. The former URL for OLDC Secure Sign-In at http://extranet.acf.hhs.gov, will no longer be used to launch OLDC. You will want to update your browser bookmark to access OLDC at www.grantsolutions.gov. The OLDC system will look and function as it has in the past. Only the URL you access the system from has been changed. To access OLDC: Sign into GrantSolutions at www.grantsolutions.gov, Select “On Line Data Collection” from the top menu bar, as you see outlined near the bottom of this slide. The OLDC page will open in a new window. This change in how you login to OLDC is part of an ongoing effort to streamline systems for grant management and reporting. In addition to being able to access both GrantSolutions and OLDC through one URL, another benefit of this change is you only need one username and password for both systems. Most of you already have an existing GrantSolutions account or OLDC account, or both. Now we will walk through which username and password you will use moving forward. If you currently have an OLDC and GrantSolutions account, you will use your current GrantSolutions username and password to log into GrantSolutions. If you do not have an existing GrantSolutions account, but you do have an OLDC account, you will use your OLDC username and password to log into GrantSolutions. If you do not have an account for either GrantSolutions or OLDC, you will submit a Grantee User Account Request form, which can be accessed from the GrantSolutions homepage. If you have any questions about logging in, refer to the “Quick Sheets” page of the GrantSolutions website at the URL listed on this slide. If you have forgotten your username or password, you can also contact the GrantSolutions help desk. Information for the help desk is also provided on this slide. Once you are able to log into the OLDC system through GrantSolutions, you will get to the OLDC home page, just as you see on this slide. You may remember that in the summer of 2015, new enhancements were launched by OLDC, including a new home page. To activate the new Home Page view, select the link Switch Home Page (Enhanced) from the right side of the “OLDC Home” screen as shown in this slide. Or you may choose to continue using the original home page, whichever you prefer. The enhanced home screen was created to improve navigation and make OLDC easier to use. OLDC functionality remains unchanged. The new home page has a number of new features, including: My Recent Activity Tab – provides a list of recent activities, so grantees can easily navigate to PPRs that have been recently accessed. There is also a Search Box – allows grantees to more easily locate information. There is also a Due Date Columns – provides the due date for PPRs, which allows grantees to easily identify when a PPR is due. If the PPR due date is passed and not submitted, the words ‘Past Due’ appear to alert the grantee that action is needed Activity Report Tab – allows grantees to search, using the program and/or grantee dropdowns, for reports in progress, submitted, or approved over the past two years Report Due Tab – allows grantees to access reports that are currently due for submission within the last two years Additionally, there are a number of resources available on the ‘News and Tips’ page in OLDC that provide guidance and tips on the enhanced home page features and using OLDC. Now, we will briefly review the steps you will take to locate and begin completing your report forms. From the OLDC home page, you select Report Form Entry to access your PPR. For your CED grant, select the Urban and Rural Economic Development option in the Program Name drop down box. If you have multiple grants, select the one in the drop down box with the highest two-digit number, indicating it is the most recent. Confirm that you have selected the correct grant by checking the grant number on the next screen. Then, choose your Funding/Grant Period and Reporting Period. Then select New/Edit/Revise Report. The report consists of a cover page and three standard forms. The cover page collects the basic information about your program. Form A is titled Performance Measures. Here, you will report quantitative performance data about your project, such as the number of positions created and businesses created or expanded. Form B is titled Program Indicators. Here, you will report qualitative data about your program. It provides you with a place to discuss any changes, successes, or challenges around your project in greater detail. Form E is titled Activity Based Expenditures and will collect financial data about your project. A common issue many grantees run into is that grantees believe that they have submitted their report, when in fact they have entered in all of the information, but they have not completed all of the steps necessary to allow the program specialist to review and approve it. Throughout the reporting process, your PPR will go through a variety of stages. You’ve probably become familiar with these stages from submitting reports in the past. However, we will quickly review these stages in this video because it is important for you to be able to check the status of your report and know whether there are additional steps you need to take to submit it. Initialized means that you have accessed your report at least once but may or may not have entered any data. Saved means that you have entered some or all of the data in your report and clicked Save. Validated means that you have entered some or all of the data in your report and clicked Validate. Validate checks your data for mathematical errors. Certified means that you have completed adding data to your report. Note that this step should not be confused with the report submission. Once you Certify your report, you are still required to click submit to submit your report to OCS through the OLDC system. Submitted means you have completed your report and selected Submit. This means your report is submitted and your program specialist will be notified that your report has been submitted. Submitted with Warnings is the systems way of reminding you that if you made a change to certain fields - Project Strategy and Geographic location on Form B – that you must inform your program specialist. Reports can be submitted with some warnings. We will talk more about this later in the video. Submission in Review by CO means that you have submitted your report and it is currently being reviewed by your assigned program specialist. Submission Accepted by CO means that your report has been accepted by your assigned program specialist. If your report has been accepted, you will receive an automated email from On- Line_Data_Collection_System@acf.hhs.gov indicating so. Submission Returned by CO means that your program specialist has reviewed your PPR, but needs you to make edits or clarify information before they can accept it. You will be notified via automatic email if your PPR is returned. Additionally, Your program specialist will then contact you to explain why your report was not accepted and asking you to resubmit your report with requested changes. After the changes are made, you will need to re-submit your PPR in OLDC. If you are unsure what stage your report is in, you can always check using the timeline found at the top of each report form. For example, in the report displayed in this slide, you can see that the report has been initialized and saved. Since all of the information may be entered into the report forms, the grantee may mistakenly believe that he or she has completed and submitted the report. However, based on the stages we just reviewed, we know that the report still must be validated, certified, and submitted before the program specialist is notified that it is ready to be reviewed. One of the most common questions from grantees is, “My program specialist returned the PPR I submitted and requested I make changes. How do I edit and resubmit the report?” In some cases, your program specialist may reject a submitted PPR because the PPR is lacking sufficient detail or if the program specialist needs clarification on information provided in the report. If your report is returned by your program specialist, you will receive one email from the automated system notifying you that it has been returned and another email from your program specialist outlining the specific information that needs to be edited, clarified, or added to the PPR in order for it to be accepted. When you go into the PPR, it will be in the status “Submission Returned by CO.” To edit the report once it is returned, first you need to Unsubmit the Report. To do this, navigate to the “Report Form Status” page and select the blue Unsubmit Report button. After the report is unsubmitted, you also need to uncertify the report. To do this, on the Report Sections page select “Uncertify.” So, always remember, to edit a returned PPR, you must first unsubmit and then uncertify the report. At this point you will be able to edit the report, make the changes requested by your program specialist, recertify it, and resubmit. If you would like to learn more about the level of detail and information program specialists are looking for in your PPR, we encourage you to review the Submitting a High Quality PPR Webinar. This video provides tips and guidance for completing high-quality PPRs and highlights key details that must be included in order for them to be approved, including job titles, explanations of project delays and challenges, and other key information about project progress. The recording of this webinar is located on the PPR Information page of the CED website. At the end of the video, I will show you where and how to access this video. Now, we’d like to specifically address those grants that have just ended. If your grant ended on September 29th, your last semi-annual PPR will be due October 30th. This is for all grants with this end date. If you are fairly confident that your data will not change after you submit this report on October 30, you can mark this report as final. Then, you will not need to submit an additional final report for your grant. If you anticipate that you may have changes in your data, you will submit the report for this reporting period with the data you have by October 30th and then create a revised report in OLDC. An example of a situation where your data may change is if you anticipate addition jobs for individuals with low-income being created between October and December 30th. This revision will be due Dec. 30th, and you will mark it as final. In this revised version, you will only be required to modify the original report to reflect the changes that occurred after October 30th. To mark your report as final, you will edit the Grantee Information and Certification page – which we commonly refer to as the cover page. From the Report sections screen, select “Edit Section” from the drop down to the right of the Cover page and Select Go. Next, you will choose “Yes” under number 8. Final Report on that report section. Your report will then be marked as final. For step-by-step guidance on submitting your Final Report, please watch the Final Report webinar, which is available on the PPR Information page of the CED website. Now we will go over the Data Collection Tool. This tool makes it easy for any grantee to collect all of the data they need to fill out Form A of the PPR throughout the year. Using this tool and updating it on an ongoing basis has many benefits. In the current reporting period, it will simplify filling out Form A by doing the calculations for you when it comes to entering data into the system. Not only does it collect the data you need, the Data Collection Tool also presents it in the exact format you need to enter it into Form A in the online system. This will help minimize errors by calculating the indicators for you as you enter information over the life of your project, and it will keep a record of what you submitted. As long as you’re using this tool to update your records on a regular basis, submitting the semi-annual report could be as easy as selecting the reporting period from a dropdown box, copying the data from the tool, and pasting it into the online form. This can free up your time to think more about telling your story in the qualitative forms. If you are not currently using the Data Collection Tool to record your project’s data throughout the year, we strongly encourage you to start. The tool is available for download in Excel on the PPR Information Page of the CED website, which we will show you how to access later in the video. For more guidance on the data collection tool, please view the webinar recording of the Data Collection and Reporting webinar located on the PPR Information Page of the CED website. If you have been using the tool to track your data throughout the year, the final tab is where you will find all the information you need to fill out PPR Form A online. Once you’ve finished entering all your information in the previous tabs for a reporting period, the first thing you need to do on this final tab is select the reporting period from the dropdown box. If you have filled out the previous tabs, the numbers in the PPR in this tab will be updated automatically and you will be ready to enter the data into Form A in OLDC. Remember, you should copy the numbers you see in this tab directly into Form A in OLDC. Keep in mind that just because you’ve selected the reporting period on this tool and clicked the finalize your records button, this does not mean your forms have been submitted to OCS. You still need to copy the numbers you see here into Form A within OLDC and follow instructions for submission. In addition, the Data Collection Tool only captures information required for Form A of the PPR. You will still need to complete Forms B and E within the online data system. We also want to remind you of the type of data you are reporting on in the PPR. With one exception, Form A of the PPR only collects data for individuals with low-income in the actual to date column. The one exception is indicator A-00-J, which was added to the PPR in 2014. This indicators asks for the total number of positions created with CED funds, including the jobs created for individuals with low income and individuals without low income. This new indicator is the only indicator that asks for information on individuals without low income. All other indicators on Form A are specific to positions filled by people with low income, and you will continue to report on the positions created exclusively for people with low income for the existing indicators in Form A, A-05-J through A-12-J, as you have for all other reporting periods. Although A-00-J is the only indicator in the PPR that asks you to report a quantitative figure related to non-low-income individuals, OCS still wants to hear about the overall success of the project. So if you have information related to jobs created for non-low-income people, please discuss that information in the explanation field to the right of the indicator or in Form B of the PPR. Now we will elaborate a bit on the new indicator that counts all full-time positions created. First, it appears just above the existing job creation indicators (A-05-J through A-12-J). Now we want to clarify the difference between the existing job creation indicator A-06-J and the new indicator. Both ask for full-time positions created, however the difference is the new indicator, A-00-J, asks for the total number of full-time positions created for individuals with low income and others, and the existing indicator, A-06-J is only interested in full-time positions created for only individuals with low income. This number entered in A-00-J (the new indicator) will always be the highest number in the Actual to Date column for the job creation indicators. For some of your grants, this number will be the same as the total number of full-time positions created for low-income individuals (indicator A-06-J), meaning all the jobs created with grant funds were filled by individuals with low income. Let’s use some examples. In one scenario, say 100 full-time jobs were created for individuals with low income and 0 positions were created for individuals without low income. The number entered in the Actual to Date column for A-00-J would be 100. The number entered in A-06-J would also be 100. For other grants however, the total number of full-time positions created for both people with and without low income will be higher than full-time positions filled exclusively by people with low income only. Often when a business is created or expanded, there is a need to hire high-level managers or other content experts with unique skills and experiences that may be more difficult to identify and recruit. This is why only 75% of positions are required to be filled by individuals with low income. For example, maybe your grant created 100 total full-time jobs for individuals with low income and an additional 20 jobs for individuals without low income. If this is the case, in the Actual to Date Column, you would enter 120 for A-00-J and 100 for A-06-J. In all cases, indicator A-00-J will be equal to or greater than indicator A-06, and there are validation checks in OLDC to ensure that this is true. The new indicator is not on the Data Collection Tool. This is because the data collection tool is designed to only collect information on jobs created for people with low income. For those of you using the Data Collection Tool, we want you to continue using the tool as you have been; only entering in the data that pertains to individuals with low income. You will need to keep track of the positions created for non-low income individuals using a different method, outside of the Data Collection Tool. Then, when using the Data Collection Tool to input data into OLDC, you’ll just need to pay special attention to ensure you are entering in the data into the Actual to Date column for the correct indicator, since, as you see on your screen, the Data Collection Tool now looks slightly different than Form A in OLDC. We often see many of the same questions come through, and will review some of the most common questions here. Let’s start with making sure you complete the correct report. It is very important that you complete your report for the correct reporting period. If you do not, there is no way to change the reporting period, and you will need to re-enter the information for the correct period. To avoid this problem, be sure to select the radio button next to the dates for the correct reporting period. When selecting the correct report, it is also important to check the status of your previous report. Before you begin your current report, please confirm that you have submitted your previous report and that its status is marked “Submission Accepted by CO.” If you begin your current report without your previous report being approved, the baseline data will not populate correctly. If your previous report has a status other than “Submission Accepted by CO,” email OCSRegistrar@icf.com for assistance. Please do not begin your current report until you receive guidance from the OCS Registrar about the status of your previous report. You may find over the course of your grant that you need to update the person listed as the Grant Administrator in OLDC. If your Grant Administrator has changed or if it is listed incorrectly in OLDC, please submit a request to OCSRegistrar@icf.com with the new Grant Administrator’s information. Please submit the following information: phone number, email, position title, and whether the original Grant Administrator is still with your organization. As you are reporting, you may find that you need a refresher on the definitions and explanations of some of the indicators on Form A. First, we will discuss reporting of individuals with low income hired or retained, or Indicators A-15, A-21, and A-22 on Form A. These indicators measure the total number of individuals with low income who were employed in a job created with CED funds. Indicator A-15 asks you to report on the total number of individuals with low income ever hired into a position created with CED funds. Indicator A-21 asks you to provide the total number of individuals with low income who were hired into a CED-created full-time position at least six months ago. It does not include those who were hired within the past six months. Indicator A-22 asks you to report on the total number of individuals low income who retained their full-time jobs for AT LEAST six consecutive months. It does not include those who retained their jobs for less than six months. A good way to think about these three indicators is as an inverted pyramid. Remember that the number you report in Indicator A-15 should include all individuals with low income ever hired with your CED grant. Indicator A-21, which is the number of individuals with low income that were hired at least six months ago, will be a subset of the total number of individuals with low income ever hired, as reported in Indicator A-15. Of the number of individuals with low income hired at least six months ago, or Indicator A-21, a subset will have retained their jobs for at least six months. This number should be reported in indicator A-22. The inverted pyramid is a good way to think about several other groups of indicators as well, including the number of businesses created, the number of positions created, and the number of TANF recipients hired. We would also like to review the indicators around leveraging additional funds. You are asked to report on this in indicators A-25 to A-29 on Form A. While leveraging is not a requirement, tracking this information allows us to show how organizations are able to utilize CED funds to attract other financing to help create jobs and revitalize their communities. We use these numbers to demonstrate to Congress, partners, and stakeholders that the CED funds grantees receive can grow and be put back into the community. These five indicators related to leveraging on Form A measure the amount of money leveraged through any non-CED source: Indicators A-26 to A-29 ask you to report on how many dollars your project has leveraged from: government funds, the private sector, Loans, and other sources? For other sources, you can use the field in column 7 to provide an explanation of the sources or type of loan these funds came from. All of the leveraged funds you report in Indicators A-26 to A-29 will add up to the total dollars your project has leveraged. This total will be automatically populated in Indicator A-25. If no funds were leveraged, enter a zero into these fields and provide a brief explanation in Column 7 that indicates that no funds were leveraged. You can also use Indicator B-09 in Form B to provide more details about the funds leveraged as a result of CED funds. As a reminder, reports can still be submitted with warnings, however errors must be resolved before the report can be submitted. There are a few typical error messages you can expect: When there are blank fields requiring numbers, When there are zeros that require explanations, When baseline numbers exceed the actual to date, When the number of individuals employed is less than number of positions created, When timeframes do not align, and When TANF recipients employed exceed individuals with low income employed. Warning and error messages will appear at the top of the form once you have validated. Explanations are provided to help you resolve the error messages before submitting your form. Some information in the forms is already completed, and you will not need to fill it out. In Form B, the Project Strategy (A-01) and Geographic Location (A-05) fields are editable, but edits will produce a warning as those are not expected to change throughout the course of your grant. You can still submit your report if you receive these warnings. However, if you have made edits to these fields, please let your program specialist know. You can see on this slide where you can make edits to the Project Strategy and Geographic location indicators. We hope that this review of the PPR submission process has been helpful as you work on your semi-annual reports. Now, we will highlight additional resources and places you can go for assistance. The PPR Information Page is the first place you should go to locate resources. The URL is listed on this slide at: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/ocs/resource/ced-ppr-information-page. On this page, you can access resources to assist you in completing your PPR and instructions and support documents if you need assistance. Useful resources include: the Frequently Asked Questions document, Sample forms and instructions, Data Collection Tool, Webinar recordings, User Guides, and Information about submitting your PPR through OLDC. If the PPR Information Page does not provide you with the answer you are looking for, or if you have questions specifically related to your grant, please feel free to contact your program specialist or contact us at the PPR Help Desk. Program specialists are available to provide general grant assistance and guidance. They are a good resource for questions, because they can refer you to the right people and help you make sense of the issues you may be encountering. Please feel free to email us at OCSRegistrar@icf.com with questions related to reporting for your grant. Thank you for your time and for viewing this video! END