Program Design and Risk Assessment Course

Module 1: Federal Grant Program Design Lifecycle

• Understand how federal grant programs translate statutory authority and national priorities into operational funding mechanisms.
• Distinguish between program policy, program design, and program execution.
• Identify how early design decisions shape accountability, performance, and risk across the grant lifecycle.

Module 2: OMB’s Role in Grant Program Design and Oversight

• Explain the role of the Office of Management and Budget in federal grants governance.
• Understand how the Uniform Guidance serves as a foundational framework for program design.
• Recognize OMB expectations for risk-based program design and oversight.

Module 3: Translating Statutory Intent into Program Design

• Interpret authorizing statutes and appropriations language to define program purpose and scope.
• Design eligibility criteria and allowable activities aligned with statutory intent.
• Balance flexibility and control to support both innovation and accountability.

Module 4: Risk Assessment in Program Design

• Identify programmatic, financial, operational, compliance, and reputational risks at the design stage.
• Recognize how early design choices introduce or mitigate downstream risk.
• Apply pre-award risk assessment concepts to program-level decision-making.

Module 5: Designing Controls into Grant Programs

• Embed risk mitigation strategies into program structure, award conditions, and reporting requirements.
• Use phased funding, monitoring models, and subrecipient oversight to manage risk.
• Align controls proportionately to risk while preserving program effectiveness.

Module 6: Program Design Risk Mapping Case Exercise

• Analyze a realistic grant program design to identify embedded risks before award.
• Map risks to specific design decisions and anticipate how they may escalate post-award.
• Propose targeted design modifications that reduce risk without undermining program goals.

Module 7: Aligning Grant Programs with Agency Strategic Goals

• Link grant program objectives to agency mission, strategic plans, and performance goals.
• Design programs that emphasize outcomes rather than activity counts.
• Use grants as strategic policy tools rather than administrative funding transactions.

Module 8: Program Evaluation Fundamentals

• Distinguish between performance measurement and program evaluation.
• Understand formative and summative evaluation approaches.
• Recognize OMB expectations for evidence-building and evaluation use.

Module 9: Metrics and Indicators for Demonstrating Program Success

• Develop meaningful performance measures aligned with program goals.
• Distinguish outputs, outcomes, and impacts.
• Design metrics that are feasible for recipients and useful for decision-making.

Module 10: Working with Industries and Communities Served by Grant Programs

• Assess recipient operating environments, capacity, and industry constraints.
• Incorporate equity and community readiness considerations into program design.
• Use engagement and technical assistance as preventive risk-management tools.

Module 11: Integrating Risk Assessment, Performance, and Oversight

• Use performance data to inform monitoring and oversight decisions.
• Apply escalation and corrective action triggers consistently.
• Support continuous improvement in grant programs.

Module 12: Capstone — Designing a Defensible Grant Program

• Integrate strategy, risk assessment, performance measurement, and oversight into a single program design.
• Identify and mitigate risks across the grant lifecycle.
• Develop a defensible grant program framework suitable for audit and oversight review.