Better Grants Better Service (BGBS) is a Rural Development (RD)-wide effort to review RD’s grant-only programs and determine how best to streamline them.
Through ongoing and direct feedback, our customers have asked us to look for opportunities to improve how we deliver our programs. Many customers find it hard to navigate our grant program applications, which results in incomplete or ineligible applications. RD has listened to this feedback and is dedicated to finding and implementing solutions.
Our Commitment to You
Inclusion and transparency are important to the success of BGBS. Through BGBS we will gather new ideas directly from our customers and our staff to determine which changes to our grant processes will have the most impact. Our findings and actions will be available to the public in a final report.
Our Goals
Through Better Grants, Better Service we will:
- Make it easier to successfully apply for grants
- Improve the speed and consistency of our customer service
- Provide a better, overall grant application experience
Our Recommendations
Phase One of Better Grants Better Service led us to make 33 recommendations to RD’s Under Secretary. While we hope to enact each recommendation, our ability to implement them is dependent on available resources. We pledge to keep the public updated on our progress as we work through the next steps of each recommendation. For now, here are some highlights:
- Revise and streamline selected forms
- Create an online program search tool
- Develop an online grant administration portal for all program areas
- Coordinate and communicate RD-wide deadlines for grant programs
- Improve how visitors to RD's website we can find and access points of contact for assistance
Phase One Actions
This process began by analyzing RD’s existing equipment and technical assistance grant programs to determine which programs most closely align according to eligibility requirements, size of award, type of funding, and impact to underserved communities. Upon completion of the analysis process, it was determined that the initial grant programs to be assessed for streamlining efforts would be:
- Community Facilities Grants (CF)
- Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grants (DLT)
- Rural Business Development Grants (RBDG)
- Rural Cooperative Development Grants (RCDG)
- Socially-Disadvantaged Group Grants (SDGG)
The BGBS team then mapped grant processes to identify pain points, process disparities and potential areas of alignment. In June 2024 members of the BGBS team convened for a deep-dive evaluation of these programs, from both the staff and customer perspective, and identified and prioritized recommended solutions for improving access to these programs. From June through October the BGBS team worked to refine the recommendations that are included in a report to RD’s Under Secretary. A number of the recommendations require additional research and discussion to determine the steps necessary to implement them. Working groups have been formed around primary themes and BGBS members have begun the research and analysis.
What We've Heard From You
- Potential applicants have difficulty finding our grant programs, determining if they’re eligible, and knowing ahead of time what is required to apply
- Program deadlines often overlap, creating unnecessary capacity issues for applicants and staff
- Applicants and awardees want a more transparent timeline and easy-to-follow guides and templates that utilize plain language and omit agency jargon
- Members of the public would like improved access to agency points of contact and increased accountability for consistent policy interpretation nationwide
- Grant program reporting and servicing policies and processes are burdensome for both awardees and staff
- There’s a need to analyze the information and forms required for grant application and reporting and ensure all information collected is necessary and utilized by the agency
- There’s a need to create a more user-friendly online application and grant management experience
We Want to Hear from You!
BGBS is currently exploring ways to improve equipment grants across RD programs. Please share your ideas of how to streamline and improve Rural Development grants by emailing SM.RD.BetterGrants@usda.gov.