NM DHSEM ELECTRONIC GRANT MANAGEMENT PROGRAM

(E-GRAMP)

EMERGENCY GRANT MANAGEMENT PROGRAM (E-GraMP)

FINAL

PROJECT CHARTER FOR CERTIFICATION

Executive Sponsor – M. Jay Mitchell

Business Owners – Valli Wasp and Sarah Peterson

Project Manager – Duncan Sill

Original Plan Date: July 1, 2017

Revision Date: 10/30/17

Revision No.: 1

REVISION HISTORY

Revision Number / Date / Comment / Author
1 / 10/30/17 / Updates for Planning Phase / Connie Martinez via Duncan Sill
  1. PROJECT BACKGROUND

1.1EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (NM DHSEM) heads the State’s response to emergencies and disasters while providing for the safety and welfare of its citizens. Emergencies and disasters can be defined as something caused by natural or human-made events or any other circumstances determined by the Governor and may be declared by the President of the United States. When necessary, the State assists local jurisdictions whose capabilities are overwhelmed, serving as a conduit for assistance from the Federal government.

The NM DHSEM, as the federal recipient, is the fiduciary agent over all federal funding passed through the agency and as such, is charged with grant oversight related to sub-recipients as well as the federal funding expended by NM DHSEM for its own programs and operations.

NM DHSEM acquires a majority of its grant funding from the US Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). NM DHSEM is responsible for administering non-disaster grants, disaster grants, recurring grants and non-recurring grants. NM DHSEM supports 33 counties and 22 tribal governments, state agencies, sub-divisions of state government such as acequias and special districts, and certain private non-profits.

The Public Assistance program is authorized by the Robert T. Stafford Act, known simply as the Stafford Act, which provides grants to state, local, tribal governments, special districts and certain eligible non-profit entities to assist them after suffering a substantial loss due to a major disaster such as a fire, a flood, an earthquake, etc. The program assists thelocal government to achieve a somewhat “back to normal” status and in some cases, aids with hazard mitigation which protects the disaster area from future events from a similar disaster.

The Public Assistance (PA) Grant Management Program is amajor grant program administeredby the New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. FEMA manages the program, approves the grants and provides technical assistance to the applicants.

The New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management assists FEMA with the PA Program and is responsible for implementing and monitoring the grant awards under this Program. NMDHSEM ensures that grantee and sub-recipient supported activities are in compliance with applicable federal requirements and that project goals are being achieved.

Local governments are responsible for identifying the damage, providing the required paperwork to FEMA to be able to approve the grants and manage the projects funded by the PA program.

As established under the Public Assistance Program by the Stafford Act, a grant is provided through a seventy five percent (75%) minimum federal share. The remaining twenty-five (25%) non-federal share is the responsibility of the State and/or applicant. The State of New Mexico has elected to pay ½ the non-federal share or 12.5%. When a disaster occurs, and the local government seeks assistance, project worksheets are written either based on actual cost for work that is complete or they are based on estimates. Small projects are estimated and unless there is a significant over-run, then the estimate stands. FEMA does not adjust individual small project worksheets, they will address the over-run as a netting of all small projects. This is an appeal called Small Project Netting.

Large Projects are estimated, then upon completion, NM DHSEM inspectsthe site and performs a desk audit on the actual costs. If NM DHSEM, concurs with the costs, a letter is sent to FEMA requesting the Project total be adjusted (versioned) to match the actual cost.

When a disaster hits, either a portion of a community or multiple communities can be affected. The outcome of this is that NMDHSEM can have a range of 1 to 5000+ project worksheets to monitor and oversee for one disaster. This is for one grant program. NMDHSEM various disaster and non-disastergrant programs to oversee and these grant programs will be part of the RFP for procuring a web-hosted grant management software application.

The Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management was created in 2007 merging the Governor’s Office Homeland Security and the Department of Public Safety’s Office of Emergency Management. The Department was obligated to learn each other’s existing policies and procedures and merge the processes while still undertaking the work of the various grant management programs that continued to come in for oversight. As a result, the NM DHSEM continues to work with an antiquated process, where everything is entered manually for every step and attempts to enhance their policies and procedures to provide improved customer service and efficiency.

Currently, NM DHSEM manages and administers its emergency management grant programs through manual processes which entail the use of Excel spreadsheets to track applicants, the project and funding from the project’s beginning to the project’s closeout.

The current processesare tedious, the amount of paperwork is cumbersome and is highly susceptible to error and yields itself to inadequate data and dross information. Because of so many variables in the funding and federal mandates from year to year and the amount of project worksheets per disaster to monitor, the complex process can no longer be supported through the use of manual spreadsheets.

Additionally, NM DHSEM’s financial management systems, including records documenting compliance with federal and state statutes and regulations must be sufficient to permit the preparation of reports required on a regular basis.

To better manage all its non-disaster grants, disaster grants, recurring grants and non-recurring grants administered, NM DHSEM will be pursuing a RFP to contract with a vendor who can meet its specifications of a web-hosted software program. This program should have the ability to monitor grants throughout the entire grant management process for all grant programs, provide customized and ad-hoc reporting and enhance collaboration and communication with local entities and FEMA.

Because the Public Assistance program is a major grant program for NM DHSEM and is often the program much under scrutiny and negative audit findings, this program will have priority over other grants for implementation. This means that all the Emergency Grant programs will be part of the RFP, but this program will be first to implement. Because of this intention, there may be a Phase 2 added in order to satisfy this need.

The goals of procuring a web-hosted emergency grant management software program:

  • To track applicants, grants, projects, funding and to have the ability to produce ad-hoc as well as on-line customized reports.
  • To increase efficiency through improved collaboration and communication requirements for both state, local and federal entities.
  • To assist the agency and the applicants to monitor milestones and meet deadlines.
  • To improve productivity and efficiency.
  • To drastically reduce the processing time to disburse funds.
  • To improve reporting requirements to state, local and FEMA.
  • To streamline business processes and improve internal controls.
  • To reduce deficiencies in audit findings by reducing errors through development of consistent work processes and procedures and the establishment of an audit trail of work flows.

1.2SUMMARY OF THE FOUNDATION PLANNING AND DOCUMENTATION FOR THE PROJECT

The selected offeror will work with the agency to plan and document the project. Items to be included in the scope of this projectthat will be highly detailed in the RFP will include:

  • Software Functionality
  • Contact Management
  • Grant Administration Requirements (for all NM DHSEM grant programs)
  • Grants Tracking
  • Interfaces/Integration
  • Collaboration/Communication
  • Reporting
  • Project Management Plan
  • Project Management
  • Project Work Breakdown Structure
  • Cost Management Plan
  • Quality Management
  • Staff Management
  • Project Schedule
  • Risk Management Plan
  • Training Plan
  • Security Plan
  • Maintenance Support
  • Technical Support

1.3PROJECT CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS

CRITERIA / YES/NO / EXPLANATION
Project mission critical to the agency / Yes / Current business processes are performed manually. With the amount of work that exists for each grant program, it is critical to the Agency to have this project approved to improve efficiency and to provide more accurate financial data.
Project cost is equal to or in excess of $100,000.00 / Yes / The funding for this Project will come from federal funding – Disaster Management Costs.
Project impacts customer on-line access / Yes / This project will impact the customer on-line access in a positive manner. The RFP for the project calls for collaboration/communication in which users and the NM DHSEM can review items and respond back. Entities will have a customized access.
Project is one deemed appropriate by the Secretary of the DoIT / Yes / Project is being presented for Initiation at the Project Certification Committee (PCC) chaired by the Secretary of the DoIT on April 26, 2017 and will only continue upon PCC approval.
Will an IT Architecture Review be required? / Should the project require an IT Architecture review, NM DHSEM will request a meeting with the Technical Architecture Review Committee. As our RFP is requesting a web-based solution, a hosting exception request will also be made.

2.0JUSTIFICATION, OBJECTIVES AND IMPACTS

2.1AGENCY JUSTIFICATION

NUMBER / DESCRIPTION
NM Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management / The New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (NM DHSEM) heads the State’s response to emergencies and disasters while providing for the safety and welfare of its citizens. Emergencies and disasters can be defined as something caused by natural or human-made events or any other circumstances determined by the Governor and may be declared by the President of the United States. When necessary, the State assists local jurisdictions whose capabilities are overwhelmed, serving as a conduit for assistance from the Federal government.

2.2BUSINESS OBJECTIVES*

NUMBER / DESCRIPTION
Business Objective 1 / To track applicants, grants, projects, funding and to have the ability to produce ad-hoc as well as on-line customized reports.
Business Objective 2 / To increase efficiency through improved collaboration and communication requirements for state, local and federal entities.
Business Objective 3 / To assist the agency and applicants to monitor milestones and meet deadlines.
Business Objective 4 / To improve productivity and efficiency.
Business Objective 5 / To drastically reduce the processing time to disburse funds.
Business Objective 6 / To improve reporting requirements to state, local and FEMA.
Business Objective 7 / To streamline business processes and improve internal controls.
Business Objective 8 / To reduce deficiencies in audit findings by reducing errors through development of consistent work processes and procedures and the establishment of an audit trail of work flows.

*Please note that this Project Charter is for the purpose of implementing all grant programs deemed necessary by NM DHSEM.

2.3TECHNICAL OBJECTIVES

NUMBER / DESCRIPTION
Technical Objective 1 / NM DHSEM is writing an RFP for a web-hosted, commercial, off-the-shelf software application that requires minimal customization. Technical objectives will be added as the Initiation process continues.

2.4IMPACT ON ORGANIZATION

AREA / DESCRIPTION
End User / Impact on NM DHSEM staff will be maximized as the automation of the grant program will provide a more efficient and less complicated way of handling business processes.
Business Processes / Impact on business processes will be maximized as with implementation of the web-hosted program, processes will be streamlined and consistent processes for all users will occur.
IT Operations and Staffing / Impact on IT Staffing will be minimal as the Agency would like to procure a web-hosted software program to include vendor support and maintenance.
Outside Entities / Impact on outside entities will be maximized as with the requirements of this program, collaboration, communication, reporting requirements and fund disbursement will become more efficient.

2.5TRANSITION TO OPERATIONS*

AREA / DESCRIPTION
Preliminary Operations, Location and Staffing Plans
Data Security, Business Continuity
Maintenance Strategy
Interoperability
Record Retention
Consolidation Strategy

*This section will be completed once a vendor is selected.

3.0PROJECT/PRODUCT SCOPE OF WORK

3.1DELIVERABLES

3.1.1PROJECT DELIVERABLES

Project Charter / The Project Charter for Certification sets the overall scope for the project, the governance structure and when signed is considered permission to proceed with the project. The Project Charter for Certification is used to provide the Project Certification Committee with adequate knowledge of the project and its planning to certify the initiation phase of the project.
Certification Form / The Request for Certification and Release of funds form is submitted when a project goes for any of the certification phases. It deals with the financial aspects of the project as well as other topics that indicate the level of planning that has gone into the project. Many of the questions have been incorporated into the preparation of the project charter.
Project Management Plan / “Project management plan” is a formal document approved by the executive sponsor and the Department and developed in the plan phase used to manage project execution, control and project close. The primary uses of the project plan are to document planning assumptions and decisions, facilitate communication among stakeholders and documents approved scope, cost and schedule baselines. A project plan includes at least other plans for issue escalation, change control, communications, deliverable review and acceptance, staff acquisition and risk management plan.”
IV & V Contract & Reports / “Independent verification and validation (IV&V) means the process of evaluating a project to determine compliance with specified requirements and the process of determining whether the products of a given development phase fulfill the requirements established during the previous stage, both of which are performed by an organization independent of the lead agency. Independent verification and validation assessment reporting. The Department requires all projects subject to oversight to engage an independent verification and validation contractor unless waived by the Department.
IT Service Contracts / The Department of Information Technology and the State Purchasing Divisions of General Services have established a template for all IT related contracts.
Risk Assessment and Management / The DoIT Initial PROJECT RISK ASSESSMENT template which is meant to fulfill the following requirement:
“Prepare a written risk assessment report at the inception of a project and at end of each product development lifecycle phase or more frequently for large high-risk projects. Each risk assessment shall be included as a project activity in project schedule.” Project Oversight Process memorandum.
Project Schedule / A tool used to indicate the planned dates, dependencies and assigned resources for performing activities and for meeting milestones. The defacto standard is Microsoft Project.
Monthly Project Status Reports to DoIT / Project status reports. For all projects that require Department oversight, the lead agency project manager shall submit an agency approved project status report on a monthly basis to the Department.
Project Closeout Report / This is the Template used to request that the project be officially closed. Note that project closure is the last phase of the certification process.

3.1.2PRODUCT DELIVERABLES

Planning /
  • Project Plan
  • Resource allocations
  • Scope, Schedule, Budget

Project Design /
  • Required documents
  • Workflow design

System and Acceptance Testing /
  • Test Plan
  • Test Scripts
  • Tracking Logs

Training /
  • Training Materials
  • Training Class

Implementation /
  • Implementation Schedule
  • Tracking Logs

Support/Closeout /
  • Transition Plan
  • Close-out Report
  • Support Plan

*Once a vendor is selected from the RFP process, the product deliverables will be revised.

3.2SUCCESS AND QUALITY METRICS

NUMBER / DESCRIPTION
Quality Metrics 1 / The project scope, schedule, budget, milestones and deliverables are met.
Quality Metrics 2 / The staff is properly trained and able to utilize the system to perform job tasks.
Quality Metrics 3 / The reporting systems can accurately track data and integrate monthly, weekly and ad-hoc reports.
Quality Metrics 4 / The system is secure and able to provide an audit trail of functions performed.
Quality Metrics 5 / Real time data will improve trust and customer relations.

4.0 SCHEDULE ESTIMATE*

PROJECT PHASE / START DATE / COMPLETION DATE / GOALS
Project Initiation / January, 2017 / April, 2017
Planning / November, 2017 / March, 2018
Design / March, 2018 / March, 2018
Implementation / April, 2018 / July, 2018
Testing / July, 2018 / July, 2018
Deployment (Training, Production Cutover, Project Closeout) / August, 2018 / September, 2018

*The dates for this schedule are estimates only; the schedule will best be determined once the RFP for this project is finalized and a vendor is selected.

5.0BUDGET ESTIMATE

ITEM / ESTIMATE
Staff - Internal / $0
Consulting Services / $0
IV &V Services / $40,000.00
Hardware / $0
Software Licensing Price / $280,775.00
Installation Cost / $27,582.00
Interface Cost / $33,210.00
Training / $44,286.00
Application Support and Maintenance Fees / $261,095.20
Hosting and Infrastructure Support Fees / $ 28,800.00
Hosting and Infrastructure Maintenance Fees / $9,600.00
Enhancement and Releases – Hourly Rate / $700.00
Contingency (Add-ons) / $233,951.50
Annual Support / $120,000.00
Hosting / $45,000.00
TOTAL / $960,000.00

5.1FUNDING SOURCE(S)

SOURCE / AMOUNT / ASSOCIATED RESTRICTIONS
Federal Funding – Disaster Management Costs / $960,000.00 / n/a

5.2BUDGET BY MAJOR DELIVERABLE OR TYPE OF EXPENSE*

ITEM / EXPENSE / COST ESTIMATE
Software Implementation / Implementation / $94,002.00
Software Licensing Price / Software Licensing / $280,775.00
Support and Hosting / Support & Hosting Fees / $299,495.20
Interface Cost / Interface Connection / $33,210.00
Training / Training Services / $44,286.00
IV & V / Consultant Services / $40,000.00
TOTAL / $791,768.20

*The budget for major deliverables or type of expense will best be determined once the RFP for this project is finalized and a vendor is selected.