Over 350 representatives from more than 170 Round 2 recipient organizations attended the November 9-10 workshop in Herndon, Virginia. Aneesh Chopra, the U.S. Chief Technology Officer, presented the keynote speech on Nov. 10 and talked about the importance of working with partners and developing creative applications to use on the networks made possible by BTOP grants. Attendees were also able to share best practices and lessons learned on topics like compliance, reporting, and environmental issues, and have face-to-face meetings with their Federal Program Officers (FPOs).

Aneesh Chopra, Chief Technology Officer and Associate Director for Technology, Office of Science and Technology Policy, discussed global broadband availability and how BTOP grants can impact local communities. For more information, please review Mr. Chopra’s presentation here.

Presentations

• Key Compliance-Related Issues All BTOP Awardees Must Know - Review of security interests, auditing, sub-recipients vs. vendor issues, and signage requirements.

• Recovery Act Oversight Program - Fraud Prevention Training

• First-Time BTOP Grantees - Department of Commerce Office of the Inspector General review of BTOP compliance and audit issues.
• Evaluation and Reporting - Overview of ARRA reporting, federal financial reporting (FFR), and performance progress reporting (PPR).
• Environmental Compliance - Overview of environmental special award conditions (SACs) for CCI grant recipients
• Evaluation and Measurement - Evaluation and measurement overview for PCC and SBA grant recipients
• Nondiscrimination and Interconnection - Overview of interconnection and nondiscrimination obligations for CCI grant recipients
• Baseline Reporting - Overview of baseline reporting requirements for CCI grant recipients