Our Process | Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation

Process Overview

Project managers from the Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation serve as a go-to resource by providing guidance throughout the entire grant development and execution process, from fielding initial inquiries to helping communities identify and manage relevant technical assistance and/or grant funding. These efforts support the military mission, while also assisting locally affected communities, workers, and businesses.

The Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation understands that in order to maximize support of the military mission, responses need to be structured to the unique requirements found at each location. Project managers serve as a community’s one-stop shop, beginning before the application process.

Because many Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation activities are eligibility- and needs-based, they allow staff to assist potential applicants with concept development during the grant application development process.

Overall Requirements

The Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation operates under the authority found at 10 U.S.C. 2391, Military Base Reuse Studies and Community Planning Assistance.

Assistance is designed to enable states, local governments, and instrumentalities of local government experiencing the effects of a Department of Defense program change or are managing compatibility issues near a local military installation to respond to these challenges.

The Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation also manages several competitive grant programs that have their own unique eligibility and programmatic requirements. Please see individual program pages for details.

Expectations of Grantees

Knowledge of Rules & Regulations
Grantees should be knowledgeable of all applicable Federal rules and regulations regarding the type of assistance received. Grantees are expected to conform to Federal grant requirements to ensure any assistance provided is reasonable, allowable, and allocable.

Reporting, Grant Management, and the Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation Grants Portal
Post-award, all grantee documentation will be submitted through the OLDCC Grants Portal and must comply with the required reporting processes outlined in the grant award. Project managers will work with grantees to understand these requirements upon the award of funds.

Working the Grant
Grant recipients are required to manage their project based on project goals, strategy, governance, and administrative procedures for a specific project.

Effective Partnerships Between Grantees and the Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation
The Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation and its project managers understand the daily challenges and issues that may arise in grant activity. Project managers are available to help grantees understand their options and to help connect grantees to potential solutions.

All projects must include transparency; a clear understanding of timelines, milestones, dependencies, and deliverables (i.e. a clear project management plan); and frequent communications and open dialogue.

Finally, a project manager cannot replace state and community-level decision making and consensus building that needs to take place for an effective outcome.