Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

Although grants are a tool widely used by the U.S. federal and state governments to influence state and local government behavior, there exist few studies on the ability of grant programs to achieve the grantors’ policy objectives.  In addition, there is minimal guidance on how grants can be designed to be most effective.  We evaluate the effectiveness of California’s Integrated Regional Water Management (IRWM) grant program at achieving the program’s goal of increasing regional collaboration among water agencies.  Across four rounds of IRWM grant funding, we analyze the impact of the grant program’s eligibility and evaluation guidelines on regional cooperation.  We find that the grant guidelines have led to an increase in regional water management over time, but changes in the grant requirements could further promote regional collaboration.  We show that changes in how a grant program is structured can make a substantial difference in what projects are proposed, which get funded, and what they achieve.  We conclude with recommendations to help government agencies design more effective grants.