Article 3: Understanding and Using the Project Performance Plan

Article 3: Understanding and Using the Project Performance Plan (PPP)

Introduction: The Project Performance Plan is a versatile tool that serves multiple purposes. One of its most important purposes is to serve as a positive communication tool between you and SSAI as you work through the program year.

The number of active participants, new enrollments, exits, and placements into unsubsidized employment are the key elements that determine a sponsor’s participant wages cost over the course of a program year. By keeping track of costs, you can effectively manage your wages budget, utilize all available funds, and not run out of funds before the end of the program year.

It is essential to not only record participant wage costs in the Payroll-by-Payroll tool discussed in Article 2 but also to plan for future enrollments and exits throughout the program year. The Project Performance Plan (PPP, Plan) uses the actual wages costs reported on the Payroll-by-Payroll tool plus futureexit and enrollment activityproposed by sponsor staff to project year-end costs. It enables you to create a roadmap to a successful program year.

In Article 1, the Payroll-by-Payroll and Plan webtools were introduced. Article 2 gives full details on the Payroll-by-Payroll webtool. Here, Article 3 explores the Project Performance Plan in detail, explains the elements that make up the tool, and provides instruction for using the tool.

1. Accessing the PPP tool: The PPP tool can be accessed From the SSAI website: The PxP and PPP tools can be accessed from the SSAI Home page by selecting Partner/Subgrantee Sign In at the top right corner. Once you have entered your username and password, you will be directed to the Pay-by-Pay home page/Subgrantee Performance Summary. From the home page, click the link for “Plan” at the top of the screen to the right of the SSAI logo.

1. “Plan Index” page: Upon opening the Plan tool, the Plan Index page will be displayed. From the Index page, sponsor staff can open any previous plan, sort the list of previous plans, and create a new plan.

1. Plan types: Several different types of plans may be displayed on the Plan Index. Each type has a date and time prepared associated with it.
2. “Approved Plan” – The initial Plan that has been completed and submitted by the sponsor at the beginning of the Program Year, which was reviewed and approved by SSAI. In order to be approved, these plans must meet the minimum threshold for performance goals as part of the Continuous Improvement Process
3. “PPP Update” –Plans submitted throughout the year are referred to as PPP Updates. PPP Updates are reviewed by SSAI staff, but are not formally approved, as with the first plans of the program year.
4. “Provisional Plan” – If during the program year, it appears that a project will not be able to achieve the minimum Continuous Improvement Process thresholds, or meet the spending goals, a Provisional Plan may be needed. Although these plans do not meet the goals agreed upon in the Approved Plan, they are officially accepted by SSAI as part of the Continuous Improvement Process.
5. “Draft” – A Draft is a plan that was worked on by the sponsor, but was either not completed, or not submitted as a “PPP Update”
6. “Shared Draft” – A Shared Draft is a draft that was prepared by SSAI staff and made available for the sponsor to review, edit and/or save.

SSAI uses the most recent “PPP Update” for reports and analysis. Drafts and Shared Drafts are not recognized by these analyses because they have not been finalized by sponsor staff. It is therefore important that “Drafts” which are intended to be “PPP Updates” are finalized and submitted by sponsor staff.

By using the View by Type menu at the left of the Plan index Page, the list of plans can be sorted to display each type of plan.

1. Plan List: At the center of the Plan Index Page, a list of all previous plans is displayed. The most recent plan will appear at the top of the list. Each type of plan is displayed on the list, named by the date and time a “Plan” was submitted or “Draft” last edited. Clicking on the link with the plan name will open the plan.

1. Definitions
2. Wages Budget: The Wages Budget is the total amount allocated by the sponsor for participant wages (excluding fringe benefits) available for the current program year. This amount is determined by the sponsor agency when it submits its Sponsor Budget Proposal, which is an essential part of the Sponsor Agreement. The Sponsor Budget Proposal is Attachment 3 of the Sponsor Agreement.

The amount of the wages budget may change during the program year due to, for example, a budget modification. If you click on the Wages Budget number in the Payroll-by-Payroll report, it will display any changes made to a sponsor’s wages budget.

1. Wages Cost: The Wages Cost, is the actual wages to date, carried over from the Pay-by-Pay,plus the projected wages for the remainder of the program year.

1. Remaining Wages: Remaining Wages is the Wages Budget minus the projected Wages Cost.

1. Wage Rate: Minimum Wage for the project

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1. Weekly Hours Q1-Q4: The planned participant work hours per week for each quarter are displayed in the Participant Wages Budget Section on the left of the screen. The quarterly hours can be changed when working on a plan but cannot be changed for a plan that has already been submitted.

1. Wages Run Out Date: The date on which the Wages Budget will be exhausted, given the actual past activity and projected activity on the plan. The corresponding pay period on the plan will be highlighted in red to denote the Wages Run Out Date.

1. Quarter: On each plan, a summary of spending and activity is given for each quarter.

1. Pay Period: The Pay Period column will display the Pay Period beginning and end dates for each pay period of the program year, starting on July 1 and running through June 30th. SSAI customizes this column to match each sponsor’s payroll schedule. Only wages paid from July 1 through June 30 should be reported on the Pay-by-Pay. It may be necessary to split the first and last payrolls so that only wages paid during the appropriate program year are reported.

1. Wages This Period: The actual wages (excluding fringe benefits) paid to SCSEP participants for each pay period. Pay periods and wages costs are reported on the Payroll-by-Payroll and are automatically carried over to the PPP. For pay periods not yet reported, the Plan projects wages costs based on the number of active participants and planned activity.

1. Active Participants: The number of active participants comes automatically from the SSAI database. This number is derived directlyfrom data entered in SPARQ by SSAI sponsors and cannot be edited in the PPP tool.

1. New Participants: The number of participants enrolled or planned to be enrolled in a given period. For prior pay periods, participant numbers will automatically appear in this column after data is entered in SPARQ, and downloaded to the SSAI tools. Numbers in prior pay periods cannot be edited. If the number does not look correct, make sure that all of your Participant Forms entered into SPARQ. Planned future enrollments are entered by the sponsor when completing the plan.

1. Unsubsidized Employments: The number of participants exited or planned to be exited into unsubsidized employment in a given period. For prior pay periods, participant numbers will automatically appear in this column after the data entry form is processed by SSAI. Numbers in prior pay periods cannot be edited. If the number does not look correct, make sure that all of your Exit Forms have been entered into SPARQ. Future anticipated and planned exits are entered by the sponsor when completing the plan.

1. Other Exits: The number of participants exited or planned to be exited for other reasons in a given period. For prior pay periods, participant numbers will automatically appear in this column after the data entry form is processed by SSAI. Numbers in prior pay periods cannot be edited.If the number does not look correct, make sure that all of your Exit Forms have been entered into SPARQ. Future anticipated and planned exits are entered by the sponsor when completing the plan.

1. Expanded View: Clicking on the blue arrow, on the top right corner of the plan (next to Other Exits) will display an expanded view. This view allows the plan to be compared to the prior program year activity. This view shows the actual number of enrollments, placements and exits during the prior program year.

1. Instructions for Using the PPP Tool

1. Before working in the PPP tool, make sure that the Payroll-by-Payroll tool is up-to-date with costs. If a plan is submitted prior to the updating the Payroll-by-Payroll report, the Wages Cost, Remaining Wages, and Wages Run-Out Date will be updated when the Payroll-by-Payroll is updated. Important note: If new enrollment or exit forms are entered into SPARQ after a plan has been saved, the PPP will not recalculate the projected costs and remaining wages based on that enrollment or exit activity in the saved plan.

1. Creating a PPP: When creating the first Plan of the Program year, click the “Create a New Plan” link at the top left of the plan index page.For subsequent plans, click the “Update PPP” link at the top left of the plan update page. “Update PPP” will create a new draft based on the last Approved Plan, PPP Update or Provisional plan that was submitted. Projects may only have one Draft or Shared Draft open at a time. If a Draft or Shared Draft exists, the Update PPP link will not be available.

1. Entering/Updating New Enrollments, Unsubsidized Exits and Other Exits: The wages projection in the Plan tool is driven by the number of participants that are expected to be active in a given pay period. This number is based on the number of active participantsin the SSAI database plus the number of new enrollments, unsubsidized exits and other exits which are planned.

Sponsor staff should enter realistic enrollment and exit projections based on their knowledge of current participants and project history. Planning that is not realistic or is based solely on meeting goalswill make it difficult or impossible for you to effectively manage your spending.

When entering planned enrollments and exits in the PPP, enter data in one field at a time. After typing in a number, mouse click, or tab to the next field. This will direct the PPP to record the entered data and make the appropriate changes to the active participants column, the remaining wages, and wages run out date.

1. Adjusting Hours: The weekly hours for participants for each quarter are displayed in the Participant Wages Budget Section on the left of the screen. The quarterly hours can be changed when working on a plan, by clicking the + or - signs for each quarter.

1. Start low/end high: When reduced hours are necessary due to budgetary constraints, sponsors should develop plans that do not require hours to be further reduced during the program year. Sponsors should seek to start with reduced hoursand increase up to 20 hours weekly or as high as the wages budget allows in later quarters.
2. Default hours when creating a new PPP: When creating a new plan, the quarterly hours will start at default hours. These hours were set uniformly by SSAI for all projects before the start of the year. They are not suggested hours and must be adjusted when creating a new plan. When copying an existing plan, quarterly hours are carried over from the plan being copied.

1. Bottom Line/Wages run-out date: The remaining wages and wages run-out date project your year-end bottom line. Does your PPP project you to be over spent or under spent based on planned activity and wages?

1. Changes to planned activity, and differences in actual wages and activity from planned activity will affect the Wages cost and Wages Run-Out date.

1. Realistic Planning is the key: The goal of the plan is to develop a road map that will lead to a successful completion of the program year. That road map must be built with realistic projections for activity. The goal is not to simply adjust planned enrollments or exits so that the remaining wages equal zero or close to zero if those activity numbers are not attainable.
2. When and what you can and should adjust: Planned exits or enrollments should be based on realistic assessments, and project history. Creating a plan with exits/enrollments which exceed your project’s capacity will result in over spending or under spending later in the program year.

Quarterly work hours should only be adjusted upward from the initial hours. Hours should not be adjusted below the 12-hour per week minimum.

1. What to do if your bottom line does not work out, when using realistic numbers: If the remaining wages/wages run out date project significant over spendingor underspending after you have incorporated realistic projections for exits, and if this over or underspending cannot be corrected by adjusting quarterly hours, contact the SSAI Front End Support Team for guidance. SSAI is committed to teaming with you and providing technical assistance to address challenges.

1. Submitting Plan/Notes: To submit a plan, or to change a “Draft” to a “Plan” click the Submit Plan link at the top left. Clicking this link will open a pop-up, and prompt you to enter notes for the plan. You should provide your name or initials as well as any comments which will help sponsor staff and SSAI understand any changes on the plan, monitor activity more effectively and use this information to make the most accurate projections on future plans. A Plan cannot be submitted until the notes are entered.