State Historic Preservation Office Grants

Important Links

Managing annual formula grants from the Historic Preservation Fund requires balancing several ongoing reporting requirements with annual reporting requirements. In general, the goal of reporting is to ensure that grant-supported activities are eligible, measurable, and tangible. Depending on the program area in which work is performed and whether it is performed directly by the SHPO or by subgrantees, different types of reporting is required.

Responsibilities of State Historic Preservation Offices as Pass-Through Agencies

When SHPOs make sub-grants, they assume the oversight role of a federal agency. In order to be successful at this and to meet program, audit, and statutory requirements, it is critical that SHPO staff responsible for managing sub-grants be familiar with the current requirements of each award's grant agreement, 2 CFR 200, and the Historic Preservation Fund Grant Manual, as appropriate.


 

Need Help with Systems?

Help desk support is available for the grant management software systems we use.

Help Desk Contact Information

Getting Started in GrantSolutions

We encourage new grantees to review the frequently asked questions section of the GrantSolutions website to understand how common actions will work in the platform. Common issues, like account creation, user roles, compatible web browsers, and how to receive technical assistance are all discussed. Grantees are responsible for creating, maintaining, and closing user accounts in GrantSolutions. Once you have created an account with GrantSolutions, you will use Login.gov to actually log in. Login.gov will store your credentials for participating websites, like GrantSolutions, and authenticate you to those websites. This will mean that you can now use the same Login.gov username and password combination that you use for systems like SAM.gov and Grants.gov to access GrantSolutions. If you already have a Login.gov account, you should go to Login.gov, select Manage Account and ensure that the email address associated with your GrantSolutions account is listed in your Login.gov account.

When creating an account in GrantSolutions you will request a role within the system, also called "role authority" on the GrantSolutions account creation form. There are currently 5 roles from which users can select. The Department of the Interior has elected to use two (and only two) of these available roles. You should only create accounts in GrantSolutions with the Authorizing Official/Authorizing Representative role or the Program Director/Principal Investigator role. Users may be assigned one or both roles.

Additional Information & Support

Grant recipients will mostly use the Grants Management Module (GMM) of GrantSolutions. Additional training and information on common tasks is available from GrantSolutions. These tasks include:

Locating NPS Comments on Returned Reports

Many grant recipients are confused about where to access and read comments when a report is returned to them. If a report is returned in GrantSolutions, look for comments under the Status column where blue hyperlinked text (usually reading "Returned") will link to a submission timeline with comments. In this timeline, called the "workflow history", clicking on the carets on the right-hand side of the window will display comments.
Group of people on sidewalk by sign reading "Fort Robinson State Park Nebraska Game & Parks Commission."
Fort Robinson State Park is a National Historic Landmark in near Crawford, Nebraska. Projects funded through the Nebraska SHPO that involve Fort Robinson would be an example of projects that should follow the NHL project submission requirements.

History Nebraska

What are Reporting Requirements After Submitting the Application but Before the End-of-Year Report?

After submitting an application, your reporting requirements are not necessarily complete. Depending on the dollar amount and scope of work for subgrants and in-house activities, your grant can include additional reporting.

Reporting Submitted in HPF Online

Project Activity Database (PADB)

As subgrants and contracts are awarded or let, you must keep the Project Activity Database updated as well as inform your grant manager when changes are made as part of demonstrating performance in all required program areas.

National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)

Passed by Congress in 1969, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) established this country's environmental policies, including the goal of achieving productive harmony between human beings and the physical environment for both present and future generations.

NEPA is triggered by a federal action. Federal actions are defined as:

  • projects, activities, or programs funded in whole or in part under the direct or indirect jurisdiction of a federal agency, including those carried out by or on behalf of a federal agency
  • those carried out with federal financial assistance
  • those requiring a federal permit, license, or approval; and those subject to state or local regulation administered pursuant to a delegation or approval by a federal agency

Your annual formula grant agreement comes with an attachment that documents our exclusion of all non-development actions from further review under NEPA. All development subgrants or contracts (including ground-disturbing archeology) must be further reviewed under NEPA. In order to provide us with the information we need to complete these review, please complete a NEPA environmental assessment screening worksheet in HPF Online. SHPO offices should not use HPF Online to complete and submit environmental assessment reporting for competitive project grants, like African American Civil Rights, Semiquincentennial, or Underrepresented Communities grants.

Projects Involving National Historic Landmarks

Any project involving a National Historic Landmark or, rarely a National Natural Landmark, require additional documentation prior to undertaking grant-assisted activities. Please submit additional documentation for NHL projects using HPF Online. SHPO offices should not use HPF Online to complete and submit NHL project reporitng for competitive project grants, like African American Civil Rights, Semiquincentennial, or Underrepresented Communities grants.

Reporting Submitted in the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act Subaward Reporting System (FSRS)

The Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (FFATA) requires information on federal financial assistance and expenditures be made available to the public via a single, searchable website (USASpending.gov). You will enter data in FSRS that will be aggregated and publicly published on USASpending.gov.

Any SHPO that makes a subgrant greater than or equal to $30,000.00 (through November 2020, this was $25,000) must file a FFATA subaward report not later than the month following the month in which the subgrant was awarded. Your grant agreement outlines the reporting requirements; you should be familiar with these as some subgrantees are exempt from FFATA reporting. Some subgrantees are required to obtain and provide their own Unique Entity ID (UEI) to you as part of your FSRS reporting.

If you are required to report on a sub-grant in FSRS but are unable to locate your prime award with NPS in the system, you should still document your timely attempt to file the report.

Detail of menu items in HPF Online
Updated options in HPF Online menu with options for reporting on grants in the first, second, and third (closing) years.

End-of-Year Reporting Requirements for Historic Preservation Fund Grants

Annual End-of-Year Reporting

The End-of-Year (EOY) Report is the opportunity for States to report on two key aspects of being a SHPO: "things you do because you are a SHPO" and "things you do because you have a grant." For example, SHPOs must nominate properties to the National Register. This is an activity that your office would have to perform even if you did not receive a grant. Portions of the end-of-year report, like the Cumulative Products Table, record data that includes this information. In addition, EOY reports also describe the accomplishments SHPO offices achieved with annual HPF grant awards. The EOY report provides a framework for NPS to compare actual results achieved to the planned performance specified in the grant application. EOY Reports provide documentation on the completion of the closing grant and the active grant(s). Beginning with federal fiscal year 2022 grant awards, the period of performance for annual formula grants may be up to 3 years. This means that States can, if desired, perform work and expend funding from an FY22 grant in federal fiscal years 2022, 2023, and 2024.

There is one EOY report that includes several parts. These parts can generally be described as having one of three functions: reporting on the ways the SHPO office fulfills requirements to be a SHPO; final reporting on grants that are closing; and interim reporting on grants that will continue. Information included in the EOY report should communicate performance in the eight program areas identified in the National Historic Preservation Act, as applicable. Performance can be demonstrated by describing:

  • what work occurred
  • what was accomplished with the funding
  • how the funding was spent
  • how conditions of the grant were met
  • accomplishments and the relationships among/between all program areas

How Many Grants are Included in End-of-Year Reporting?

EOY reports must cover all active formula grants. We refer to these as annual formula grants because grants are awarded every year. This means that up to 3 formula grants could be active. One grant will be in its first year of performance; one will be in its second year; and one will be closing. We refer to grants in their first or second year of performance collectively as the "active" grants. Grants for which final reporting is being submitted are the "closing" grants.

Due Date for End-of-Year Reporting

The end-of-year report consists of final reporting on the award(s) that is closing and annual reporting on the award(s) that is remaining open. To coincide with recent changes to federal regulations, your end-of-year report is now due on or before January 31. Reports in GrantSolutions may show due dates of December 31, so you may receive notifications that a report is overdue; we will not consider reports overdue unless they are received after January 31.

Summary of Where to Submit Reporting

GrantSolutions HPF Online
Submit as FFR - SF-425 •
Submit as PPR - SF-428A - only if equipment has been purchased •
Submit as PPR - SF-428B - only if equipment has been purchased •
Submit as PPR - SF-428C - only if equipment has been purchased •
Project Activity Database (PADB) •
Cumulative Products Tables •
Success Stories •
Submit as PPR - Carryover Statement not required for FY22 EOY report upload to GrantSolutions generate in HPF Online
Grant Products contact STLPG@nps.gov for SharePoint link

Contents of End-of-Year Reports

End-of-year reports provide both quantitative and qualitative information on SHPO accomplishments. Generally, the Cumulative Products Tables in HPF Online will be where quantitative data are reported — how many acres were surveyed? How many National Register nominations were submitted? Qualitative data, a more narrative description of completed work, generally appear in the Project Activity Database section of HPF Online where you describe both projects directly managed by your office (called "in-house projects") and projects accomplished via a subgrant or contract. Active and closing-year grants will have in-house and subgrants/contracts to report on in HPF Online. In addition, financial reporting recording the expenditure of matching and federal share is captured on the SF-425 that is submitted directly in GrantSolutions.

Last updated: January 4, 2024

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