SMART Grants Program - Grantee Information

“Next Step” Forms

Recipients received the following forms from their grant managers in their original “Next Steps” email. The forms should be returned to the grant manager upon completion.

• Point of Contact form Only complete if adding other contacts not already included in the SF424.
• Civil Rights form
  • If your agency is an existing DOT recipient, and has active Civil Right programs managed by FTA, FHWA, or FAA, please send your grant manager a PDF screenshot of the status of the below programs (to be known as TED):
    • Title VI,
    • Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO),
    • Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE)
    • *Exception, Tribal Transit Program (TTP) grantees are exempt from TED program requirements.
  • If your agency is a new recipient, or does not have a direct recipient relationship with FTA, FHWA, or FAA, please complete and submit the Pre-Award Compliance Review Report
• ADA Compliance if your project has any of the below mentioned triggers, please notify your grant manager immediately, regardless of the project phase to be funded —as related to having an impact to the “path of travel” of the traveling public:
  • New construction or rehabilitation of a facility, includes buildings, stops/stations/terminals, sidewalks, curb ramps, signage, and public address system
  • Alteration or addition to a facility: altered or added portions of the facility have been made accessible; path of travel to the altered or added portion of the facility have been made accessible
  • Commuter rail project: exception, operating assistance preventative maintenance
  • Light rail project: exception, operating assistance preventative maintenance
  • Remanufacture or overhaul of a vehicle
• Certification Regarding Lobbying that no appropriated funds may be expended by the recipient of a Federal contract, grant, loan, or cooperative agreement to pay any person for influencing or attempting to influence an officer or employee of any agency, a Member of Congress, an officer or employee of Congress, or an employee of a Member of Congress in connection with any of the following covered Federal actions: the awarding of any Federal contract, the making of any Federal grant, the making of any Federal loan, the entering into of any cooperative agreement, and the extension, continuation, renewal, amendment, or modification of any Federal contract, grant, loan, or cooperative agreement.,
• SF-LLL Disclosure of Lobbying Activities (if applicable)- if such person has made or has agreed to make any payment using non-appropriated funds (to include profits from any covered Federal action), which would be prohibited as described in the certification regarding lobbying.

Pre-Award:

As a reminder, notification of selection is not an authorization to begin work, and it does not guarantee Federal funding. USDOT and your agency must establish and execute signed, mutually agreed upon grant agreements prior to the disbursement of award funds.

*There is no Pre-Award Authority for the SMART program. No costs incurred before USDOT signs and executes the grant agreement will be reimbursed.  

• Non-Federal entities are required to comply with requirements in 2 CFR Part 200 regardless of whether the non-Federal entity is a recipient or subrecipient of a federal award.
• SAM.gov registration must remain current.
• All non-Federal entities must disclose, in writing any potential or real conflicts of interest (2 CFR § 200.112).
• An applicant and/or recipient of Federal awards must disclose, in writing all violations of Federal criminal law involving fraud, bribery, or gratuity violations potentially affecting the OA/OST award (2 CFR § 200.113).
• Recipients must maintain written policies and procedures that address acquisition, classification, and management of all equipment and supplies, whether associated with Federal awards or other recipient activities.
• The recipient must follow the guidelines in 2 CFR§ 180.300 as follows to ensure that it does not make a subaward or award a contract to an entity that is debarred, suspended, or ineligible.
• Financial Management (Accounting) System - Each recipient must have a system that records expenditures adequate to establish that the funds are used in accordance with Federal statutes, regulations, and the terms and conditions of the award. The provisions are set forth in 2 CFR § 200.302.
• Procurement System - Each recipient must have a system for procuring property and services under a federal award that supports the provisions in 2 CFR 200 Subpart D – Procurement Standards (2 CFR §§ 200.317–.326) and 2 CFR § 1201.317. See “Procurement” below for additional guidance.
• Property Management System – Each recipient must have a system that records the management of property (real property and equipment) that meets the provisions set forth in 2 CFR Part 200 Subpart D – Property Standards (2 CFR §§ 200.310–.316).
• The recipient must have an audit conducted and submitted annually, pursuant to 2 CFR Part 200, Subpart F – Audit Requirements if the recipient expends $750,000 or more in Federal awards during the recipient’s fiscal year. Each non-Federal entity expending more than $50 million a year in Federal awards must have a cognizant agency for audit

For Procurement- Recipients must comply with 2 CFR 200 Subpart D regarding procurement standards (200.317 through .327).

• If the recipient is a State, the State must follow the same policies and procedures it uses for procurements from its non-Federal funds. (See 200.317).
• All other recipients must follow the standards of 200.318 through .327. Those entities need to have documented procurement procedures consistent with State, local, and tribal laws, which are consistent with the standards in Part 200. 200.319 specifically is about competition, and non-competitive procurement must only occur when justified in accordance with 200.320(c).

200.320 (c) Noncompetitive procurement. There are specific circumstances in which noncompetitive procurement can be used. Noncompetitive procurement can only be awarded if one or more of the following circumstances apply:

(1) The acquisition of property or services, the aggregate dollar amount of which does not exceed the micro-purchase threshold (see paragraph (a)(1) of this section);

(2) The item is available only from a single source;

(3) The public exigency or emergency for the requirement will not permit a delay resulting from publicizing a competitive solicitation;

(4) The Federal awarding agency or pass-through entity expressly authorizes a noncompetitive procurement in response to a written request from the non-Federal entity; or

(5) After solicitation of a number of sources, competition is determined inadequate.

A subrecipient is defined as a recipient of a subaward from a pass-through entity to carry out a portion of the federal award.

[1] Subawards are not subject to procurement standards or sole source requirements. Example: A project partner has a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the pass-through entity and has its performance measured in relationship to the Federal award’s objectives.

• Generally, subrecipients provide substantive program effort and may be responsible for programmatic decision-making.
• Subrecipients must comply with the pass-through entities’ program requirements and conditions noted in the federal award and are subject to monitoring by the passthrough entity.
• Subrecipients cannot earn a profit from the subaward but rather should be reimbursed for actual costs and expenses, such as staff time, supplies, travel costs, etc.
• Funds expended under a subaward are counted towards the subrecipient meeting the audit threshold for the fiscal year (increased from $500,000 to $750,000 in the new Uniform Guidance).
• As subrecipients must comply with the pass-through entities’ program requirements, a subrecipient must fall into one of the categories of the eligible applicants for the SMART Grants Program:

1. a State;
2. a political subdivision of a State;
3. a federally recognized Tribal government;
4. a public transit agency or authority;
5. a public toll authority;
6. a metropolitan planning organization; or
7. a group of two or more eligible entities listed above in Section C.1 applying through a single lead applicant (Group Application).

Subrecipients differ from contractors as contractors are considered vendors who provide goods or services to many different clients, normally operate in a competitive environment, and their goods or services are ancillary to the operation of the federal award. Contracts are subject to the procurement standards and sole source requirements.[2]

SMART uses a two-part reporting process. An MS form will be used to provide narrative responses. Schedule and cost spreadsheets must be submitted as email attachments to SMARTReports@DOT.gov.  Recipients are required to complete post-award reports per the terms and conditions of the award.

• SMART Grant Recipient Reporting Guidance for the Evaluation and Data Management Plan
• SMART Grant Recipient Guidance for the Implementation Report

Useful Links

• 2 CFR Part 200 Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards
• SMART Resources
• SMART FAQs
• DOT Grant Related Regulations and Directives

Kickoff Recordings[GP(1] 

• Smart Traffic Signals
• Connected Vehicles
• Curb Management
• Smart Grid
• Transit Innovation
• Work Zone Safety
• International Commerce

General

• Will the SMART grant be managed by the modes? / Is this grant going to be processed in TrAMS or other grant management systems utilized by the modes?
  • SMART is a USDOT/OST (Office of the Secretary) Grant Program. It is managed at the OST level by OST staff.

Current Status

• What is the status of SMART Project funding?
  • SMART Projects are still under NEPA review. During this period, the Recipient may not expend any of the funds provided in the Grant Agreement or incur expenses under this Agreement on final design, construction, or other activities that represent an irretrievable commitment of resources. USDOT may authorize the distribution and expenditure of funds once the project complies with the National Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. § 4321 et seq.) (“NEPA”), Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. § 470f) (“NHPA”), any other applicable environmental laws and regulations, and USDOT has provided the Recipient with a written notice that the environmental review process is complete.
• What can we do while we wait for NEPA review?
  • The Recipient may not obligate or expend any funds (federal, state or private) for final design, construction, or other activities that represent an irretrievable commitment of resources for the Project, or commence any part of final design, construction, or other activities that represent an irretrievable commitment of resources for the Project or any component of the Project, without receiving such written confirmation from DOT.
  • The Recipient can start planning, so long as it doesn’t constitute an irretrievable commitment to a specific course of action. The Recipient cannot conduct planning steps that commit to a particular outcome, which could theoretically become untenable after NEPA. Preliminary planning that does not place the recipient too far down a particular path that could theoretically become untenable after NEPA, is acceptable.
• What happens after the review is complete?
  • Depending on the outcome of the environmental review process, USDOT may rescind the Grant Agreement or may pursue any other permissible remedy under 2 CFR 200.338-200.342.

Procurement

• Can the recipient use a consultant they had on board from another project, or do they have to go out again for competitive sourcing?
  • This depends on if it’s a State recipient (must follow State law) or non-State (requirements of 2 CFR 200.320(c) must be met in order to be able to do a noncompetitive procurement).
• The SMART project is a smaller component of a big project, can Recipient use the consultant/contractor that is working already on the bigger project?
  • This depends on if it’s a State recipient (must follow State law) or non-State (requirements of 2 CFR 200.320(c) must be met in order to be able to do a noncompetitive procurement).
• The SMART project is a smaller component of a bigger project. Bigger project is moving forward (paid with local funds). SMART federal funds are for capital purchases only, Recipient will wait for grant agreement before purchasing capital. Does this work, especially considering no pre award?
  • Recipient should not expend any funds toward the SMART project until there is a signed grant agreement. Any funds expended prior to the date of a signed grant agreement cannot be reimbursed and cannot count toward overall project cost.
• A private company/consultant helped with the project proposal, can Recipient sole source with them?
  • Please see answers above regarding applying State law or 2 CFR 200.318 to .327 (and .320(c) for circumstances justifying a non-competitive procurement) as applicable.
• Can Recipient start sourcing activities but keeping the period of performance timeframe within grant agreement?
  • Upon a signed grant agreement, the recipient should proceed with project activities.

Buy American Requirements

• Does my project have to follow Buy American Act requirements?
  • For domestic sourcing compliance purposes and to ensure proper procurement, recipients shall coordinate with the SMART Program office to identify if their project is considered an Infrastructure project.  If USDOT determines that a project is a "project for infrastructure," the recipient will comply with Build America Buy America requirements. If USDOT determines that a project is not a "project for infrastructure," the recipient will comply with Buy American Act requirements. The Recipient may participate in planning activities before project identification, as long as it does not include the purchasing of physical materials or a commitment to do so.

Forms/Documents

• How will the grant agreement be signed and accepted?
  • This will be a paper grant agreement; we will email the grant agreement to request needed signatures.
• What is the deadline to submit the requested documents?
  • A timely response is recommended; there is no deadline.
• How do we clear Civil Rights?
  • Please note that every Recipient must either provide a screenshot or fill out the Pre-award Civil Rights form. This is a requirement.
  • If you are a sub-recipient of a direct FTA, FHWA, or FAA recipient, you may screenshot the direct recipients' Civil Rights programs
    • If you have Civil Rights programs approved by FTA, FHWA, or FAA send us the screenshot of the program's approval.
  • If you do not have any Civil Rights program approved by USDOT, please contact your Grant Manager and submit the Pre-award Civil Rights form.

For additional questions or concerns, including technical communications, please contact your organization’s respective SMART Program grant manager:

• A-Ma – Roxanne Ledesma (Roxanne.Ledesma@dot.gov)
• Me-Z – Christopher Walston (Christopher.Walston2@dot.gov)