In any case, inform your program officer now about your concerns- this
person can be a really good source of advice and support (believe me, they
have seen similar cases to yours, and it is always better to keep them
informed all along the way!).

I am not sure how Dept of Ed grants are structured, however, if your grant
requires noncompetitive renewals for each year, or if you are required to
submit a financial report at the end of year 1, then you will probably need
to submit a request for "carryover" of unspent funds from year 1 into year
2.  In other departments, this carryover process continues until the end of
the three years, when you submit a formal request for a "no-cost extension"
that allows you to complete your objectives and spend the remaining funds.
Your program officer or the grants management person will be able to answer
this question - call them for clarification before you speak with the PI.

Elizabeth Miller Evans
Project Development Coordinator
CHI Mountain Region Foundation
961 East Colorado Avenue
Colorado Springs, CO   80903
719.634.6725   FAX 719.630.0873

Laura Hartley wrote:

We have a three-year Dept of Ed award which began this past September.  Due
to some internal issues, we have not yet been able to hire the needed
personnel to get the project going, and in fact won't likely have these
individuals on board until summer.  I've been asked to look into whether
there's anything in particular we need to do to get a 9-month to 1-year
time extension on the grant, so that we can adequately complete the project.

In the documents we got from Dept of Ed, I found the following instructions
about time extensions:
* One-time extension of the project period for up to one year without prior
approval;
* Grantee sends written notification of planned extension to assigned ED
program officer no later than 10 days before end of project period;
* Cannot be merely for the purpose of exhausting unexpended funds;
* Cannot require the need for additional Federal funds;
* Cannot change the scope or objectives of the project.

Assuming our case meets these criteria, is there anything I need to know
before informing the PI that we will be ok with the time extension?  Also,
given that this is the first year of a three-year project, should we let
the program officer know now that this time extension will likely be
needed, or is it best to just wait until the end of the third year to
submit written notification?

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