Traveling on Your Federal Grants - Rules for the Road

It’s no secret that the COVID-19 pandemic brought lots of changes to the federal grant management landscape. One big change one involved where grant programs and projects were being performed and administered, and whether travel needed to occur at all.

Now, working from home arrangements, hybrid scheduling, Zoom meetings and other features have permanently changed the dynamics of grant-funded travel. Recipients and subrecipients are faced with new scenarios under which the costs of employee travel and for others who travel at organizational expense may be allowable. There remain wide policy gaps in the cost principles on subjects like surface transportation and travel documentation.

So, a fresh look at organizational travel policies is in order to see what’s actually required, and what it makes management sense to implement. This webinar will help you structure a review of your existing practices and will provide best practice tips for what your policies should say going forward. We’ll cover:

• Required: A written recipient or subrecipient travel policy that answers questions such as
  • Who’s traveling? Where are they going? Why?
• Employee salaries, wages, and fringe benefits while on travel status
• Internal controls over travel arrangements
• Travel premiums
• Selective use of rules for federal employee travel
• Airfare costs and ancillary charges
• Meals and incidentals: Per diem, actual costs or a combination?
• Lodging: Concierge level or Murphy bed?
• Security costs
• Filling in the gaps on surface travel
  • Common carriers
  • Vehicle rentals
  • Car and driver expenses
  • Fleet vehicles
  • Employee-owned vehicles
• Commuting between work locations
• Dependent care while on travel status

Join us for this comprehensive and authoritative look at grant-funded travel.