Like a Tree, the Federal Program Inventory Continues To Grow
Like a tree that starts off small but continues to grow and expand over time, the Federal Program Inventory (FPI) is continuing to develop into an increasingly useful tool. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) last week released a blog post stating that it has made a “substantial update” to the FPI that “significantly improves its usability, functionality and depth of information.”
The FPI is a publicly available tool with critical information about federal programs. When it was released in February 2024, the FPI met a congressional mandate to create a single, searchable website that displayed federal financial assistance information. By using data from SAM.gov and USAspending.gov, the FPI also provides program information including: the program’s objective and authorizing statute(s); the federal agency and, if relevant, sub-agency; the type of assistance provided (e.g., grant); and eligible applicants and beneficiaries. The site also allows users to explore federal program objectives and both estimated and actual program spending. Using a search function on the site, users can filter searches across various categories and subcategories to customize a list of programs.
The site, when launched, identified almost 2,400 federal financial assistance programs The recent update, which responds to feedback from site users, Congress and the Government Accountability Office, now adds more than 200 new programs, including federal tax credits that provide critical benefits to millions of families and businesses nationwide. These programs represent nearly $3 trillion in federal fiscal year 2024 expenditures (combined outlays and revenue losses). In addition, new information is now available for existing programs, where applicable, including program rules and regulations and new program spending information (comparing outlays to obligations). Finally, the site now includes a vastly improved search function and user experience.
OMB states that it committed to enhancing the FPI and it requests public feedback on the tool and ways to strengthen it in future FPI releases. Such feedback may be sent via fpiwebsite@omb.eop.gov.
Hopefully, the financial assistance community agrees with OMB that the FPI is providing the information it needs about federal programs. We will be watching to see how this site, like a maturing tree, continues to grow.
Join us for our following Thompson Grants events:
2025 Thompson Grants Workshop: Procurement | Jan. 30, 2025 | Virtual Event
2025 Thompson Grants Workshop: Indirect Costs | March 25, 2025 | Virtual Event
