Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
SmartForm and OLDC tips: combined M2/M4 form, key exceptions and technical caveats
Loading...
Summary
OCS research and evaluation staff described SmartForm updates for FY25 (combined M2/M4 form), exceptions requiring human review, Excel and ActiveX requirements, export/import caveats, and how to use the outstanding errors/warnings tab and results report to populate the comments template.
Tiffany Jarvis, research director, led an overview of SmartForm updates for FY25 and said module 2 and module 4 were combined into a single SmartForm to improve cross‑module comparisons; agencies must still produce XML files for each module. "Both module 2 and module 4 were combined into 1 form," Jarvis said, noting the SmartForm now includes cross‑module validations aligned with the Federal Quality Assurance Review (FQAR).
Jarvis listed three exceptions that still require human review: how the FNPI Z indicator is written, the significance thresholds used to decide whether many FNPIs require a single explanation in comments, and whether an expenditure period selection in module 2 is correct. She suggested practical checks and group explanations when multiple FNPIs receive the same action‑required message.
On technical issues, presenters warned that macros and ActiveX must be enabled for the SmartForm to function and that the SmartForm export will not work if the file is saved to a cloud‑synced location such as OneDrive or SharePoint. Jarvis also acknowledged a coding issue with the import data button and told agencies needing import help to contact their CSBG lead agency or data and evaluation specialist.
Jarvis demonstrated the outstanding errors/warnings tab and the results report export, which can be copied into the optional comments template after removing the message description column. She reminded participants that the results report is a static snapshot and that file names should be managed to avoid overwriting prior exports.
Practical takeaways included enabling automatic calculation in Excel to ensure formulas update, saving working files to a local drive for export functionality, using the outstanding errors/warnings tab to guide comments, and coordinating with IT if ActiveX or macro settings block SmartForm features. The webinar closed with resources and a reminder to reach out for tailored technical assistance.
