Independent Program Evaluation of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries Pandemic Relief Program

We contracted with the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA), an independent firm, to perform this evaluation. Our office oversaw the evaluation’s progress to ensure that IDA performed it in accordance with the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency’s Quality Standards for Inspection and Evaluation (December 2020) and contract terms. However, IDA is solely responsible for the attached report and the conclusions expressed in it. The evaluation objective was to determine whether NOAA Fisheries grantees and subrecipients accounted for and expended pandemic relief funds provided under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act and subsequent funding authorizations in accordance with federal laws and regulations. IDA found that (1) a dashboard helped NOAA monitor execution progress of most funding; however, NOAA had little to no oversight of CAA funding for the Tribes; (2) some states and territories employed more rigorous processes and internal controls to identify potential incorrect payments; and (3) some states, Tribes, and territories were slower to distribute funds and less effective at targeting fishery participants with greater than 35 percent loss.