Lesson 5 Overview

When you are done with this lesson, you will be able to:

Identify the types of subapplications
Identify the advantages and disadvantages of copying existing subapplications in eGrants

Acquisition Scenario

Listen to Sally

Audio transcript

Name: Sally Watkins

Community: River City, State of Columbia

Problem: Repetitive flooding of three properties along the South Branch of the Washburn River

Proposed Solution: To acquire and demolish the properties and replace them with a community park

To Date: You have registered for and accessed FEMA's eGrants system. You have familiarized yourself with the navigation features.

Your Next Step: You will create a subapplication.

Hello. I'm Sally Watkins and I am the River City City Manager. Today, we'll be creating a subapplication asking for funds to acquire and demolish properties in the floodplain of the Washburn River. So far, you've registered and logged into the eGrants system. Now, I'm going to show you how to create the subapplication.

Subapplication Types

It is important to know which type of subapplication is being proposed because the sections required for each type varies.

Select this link for a chart of the required subapplication sections.

There are four types of subapplications in the eGrants system:

Project: Project subapplications are completed for any mitigation measure or activity proposed to reduce the risk of future damage, hardship, loss, or suffering. Typically, projects are "brick and mortar" construction or a type of physical measures. Examples of activities that are eligible project types are acquisition, elevation, or relocation of flood-prone properties or retrofitting buildings to withstand wind or seismic events. There are also other mitigation activities that may be considered. For a complete list, please refer to the latest Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) Guidance and Addendum at URL https://www.fema.gov/hazard-mitigation-assistance-program-guidance. A FEMA-approved hazard mitigation plan is required to receive a project subaward.

Planning: Planning subapplications are completed for local, state, territorial, federally recognized tribal, or multi-jurisdictional mitigation planning activities that will result in the creation of a new or updated mitigation plan. Planning subapplications are for completing mitigation plans that demonstrate the Subapplicant's commitment to reducing risks from natural hazards and serve as a guide for decision makers as they commit resources. A FEMA-approved hazard mitigation plan is not required to be able to receive a planning subaward.

Required Sections for Subapplications


	Project	Planning	Management Costs	Technical Assistance
Subapplicant	x	x	x	x
Contact	x	x	x	x
Community	x	x	x	x
Mitigation Plan	x	x
Scope of Work	x	x	x	x
Properties	x
Schedule	x	x	x	x
Cost Estimate	x	x	x	x
Cost Share	x		x	x
Cost Effectiveness	x
Environmental/Historic Preservation	x
Evaluation	x	x
Assurances and Certification	x	x	x	x
Comments and Attachments	x	x	x	x

Subapplication Types (continued)

Management Costs: Management costs subapplications are completed by Applicants for activities that are directly related to the administration of programs or promotion of mitigation activities and may include outreach and training, environmental or historic preservation reviews, developing subapplications, performing Benefit-Cost Analyses, etc.

Technical Assistance: Technical assistance subapplications are completed by Applicants for activities that promote the Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) program to communities.

Note

Management costs subapplications are available only for Applicants. Applicants must complete a separate management costs subapplication to apply for their management costs. However, Subapplicant management cost activities, if necessary, are to be included in the Subapplicant’s project or planning subapplication.

Note

Technical assistance subapplications are available only to Applicants acting as Subapplicants.

Creating a New Subapplication

One of the options listed in the task menu on the Subgrant Applicant Homepage is Create New Application. This option allows you to create a blank subapplication into which you will enter all the appropriate data.

For the acquisition scenario, starting with a blank subapplication is appropriate. Sally has all the necessary data for you to input. In the slideshow below, Sally demonstrates how to create a new subapplication.

Scroll down to see slideshow captions.

Note

In some cases, the first step in the process of preparing a project subapplication is completing a pre-application. However, pre-applications are not required by all Applicants. Applicants determine if or when this requirement is appropriate. If pre-applications are required, the requirement applies to all eGrant users within the Applicant's state, territory, or tribal area.

Task Menu Subgrant Applicant Homepage. (Hyperlinked) Print Blank Applications, (emphasized) Create New Application, Update/Complete Un-submitted (obscured), Revise/Amend Submitted Applications(s)

To begin a new subapplication, select the Create New Application link on the Subgrant Applicant Home Page.

The first part of creating a subapplication is to give it a title. It is recommended that you include the location and type of activity in the title of the subapplication. Select the Application Title field. You need to enter the name of the River City subapplication. So, type “River City Floodplain Acquisition—Phase 1."

When creating a new application, it is necessary to sselect the type of application. Use the drop down menu to choose either a project or planning application.

Select the Application Type drop-down menu. This drop-down menu has two options: Project Application or Planning Application. For our scenario, you need to select the option for "Project Application."

Select the Save and Continue button to save what we have entered for later retrieval. You have just created a new subapplication.

To start with a blank subapplication, select the Start New Application button at the bottom of the Start New Subgrant Application screen. See Appendix for alt text description.

The Start New Subgrant Application screen appears. Select the Start New Application button at the bottom of the screen.

After opening an un-submitted application, the Application Status screen appears. Each section of the application is listed with a link marked complete or incomplete in the status column.

The Application Status screen appears. You can see all the sections of the project subapplication you will have to complete.

Copying an Existing Subapplication

You can also begin a new subapplication by copying an existing subapplication. The resulting copy will be either partially or completely filled with data from the original one, depending on which sections of the subapplication you selected to be copied and the status of each of those sections.

Note

In addition to copying information from an existing planning or project subapplications to a new subapplication, information from an existing pre-application can be copied to a new pre-application.

Note

If you choose to copy an entire subapplication, all of the attachments and comments associated with the existing subapplication will also be copied.

Copying an Existing Subapplication (continued)

In the slideshow below, Sally demonstrates how to copy an existing subapplication.

Scroll down to see slideshow captions.

To create a new subgrant application by copying an existing subgrant application, select the Create New Application link on the Subgrant Applicant Home Page.

Like before, you first need to give your subapplication a title. Select the Application Title text box to enter the name of the subapplication. Type “River City Floodplain Acquisition—Phase 1," the name of the River City subapplication, in the text box.

Next, select the Application Type drop-down menu to see the options. We can choose between the two options: Project Application or Planning Application. We need to select the “Project Application” option for our subapplication.

Select the Save and Continue button to store the data we have just entered into eGrants so we can retrieve it later.

Next, you need to select the radio button in the Select column for the subapplication title you wish to copy. We want to copy information from another subapplication submitted by River City a few years ago. So we will select the radio button next to the 2015 River City Floodplain Mitigation Plan subapplication. Then, select the Copy Existing Application button.

Use the radio buttons to select which sections of an existing application you would like to copy. The choices in this example are Subapplicant, Contact, Community, and Schedule.

You can select either the checkbox in the Select column that corresponds to the section you wish to copy. Or you can select the checkbox for the "Entire Application" option. Today, You just want to select the “Subapplicant” checkbox.

Then select the Save and Continue button to save the copied Subapplicant section to our newly created subapplication in the eGrants system.

Copying Risks

When copying an existing subapplication, you need to be careful to avoid copying:

Outdated information: Since the original subapplication was created in the past, some information may have changed. For example, contact information may have changed since the previous subapplication was created. Also, the grant program guidelines may have changed.
Irrelevant Information: While the original subapplication may have been for a similar project, it's not safe for you to assume that all of the information in the previous subapplication will be appropriate for the new one.

It's always best to review every item in the subapplication for accuracy prior to submission. Furthermore, it's a good idea to review the grant program regulations and guidance to ensure all required and relevant information is provided in the subapplication.

Lesson 5 Summary

You’ve just completed the Creating Subapplications lesson. In this lesson, you learned that:

Subapplicants must create a project pre-application, when requested by an Applicant
Subapplicants may create project or planning subapplications
To start a new, blank subapplication, you can select the Start New Application button from the Start New Subgrant Application screen
To start a new subapplication populated with data previously entered in another subapplication, you can select the Copy Exiting Application button from the Start New Subgrant Application screen
You should ensure that all information from a copied subapplication is current and relevant to the new subapplication