Greetings Directors:
OSEP has received questions from Project Directors who are facing difficulties having their travel approved for the Project Directors' Conference. Please see the answer below regarding this issue: The Notice Inviting Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 for the State Personnel Development Grants program (SPDG), published in the Federal Register on April 14, 2009 (74 FR 17178), states that, "Projects funded under this priority must also: (a) Budget for a three-day Project Directors' meeting in Washington, DC during each year of the project; ..." Similar language has been included in notices inviting applications for this program since 2005. Thus, grantees are required to include this item in their applications and must budget an appropriate amount of money for the three days of the yearly Project Directors' Meeting consistent with its location (Washington, DC). While the Notice does not include explicit language that grant funds must be spent for travel to this meeting, each applicant has been put on notice that it must spend the funds budgeted for the Project Directors' Meeting consistent with the purpose for which the funds were budgeted--which is for project directors to attend the annual three-day project directors meeting in Washington, D.C. Under Office of Management and Budget Circular A-87, "Cost Principles for State, Local, and Indian Tribal Governments," Attachment A, Section E 2, travel expenses incurred to specifically carry out an award are direct costs chargeable to Federal awards. There are no restrictions on the use of funds under the SPDG grant for out-of-State travel. Thus, any issues regarding the approval of travel for this conference are likely to be the result of restrictions on the use of State funds and not the Federal funds that are subject to the conditions of your SPDG grant. Please contact your Project Officer if you have any questions regarding this issue. Best regards, Jennifer Jennifer Doolittle OSEP Audrey Desjarlais SIGnetwork Technical Assistance and Consulting Services 1268 University of Oregon Eugene, OR 97403 541.346.0373 direct 541.346.0322 fax 541.954.8870 mobile http://www.signetwork.org/ <http://www.signetwork.org/>
