FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What kinds of agencies participate in the Capital
Projects Database?
Most State and Federal agencies that provide funds for
capital projects in Alaska are included in the database. The major providers
of information are:
STATE
AGENCIES |
FEDERAL
AGENCIES |
Alaska Energy Authority (AEA) |
Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC) |
Alaska
Housing Finance Corporation (AHFC) |
Bureau of
Indian Affairs, Branch of Roads (BIA) |
Dept. of
Commerce, Community & Economic Development (DCCED) |
Denali
Commission (Denali) |
Dept. of
Education and Early Development (DEED) |
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE) |
Dept. of
Environmental Conservation – Village Safe Water (DEC/VSW) |
U.S. Dept. of Agricultural, Rural
Development (USDA/RD) |
Dept. of
Environmental Conservation – Municipal Grants and Loans (DEC/MGL) |
U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Economic
Development Administration (EDA) |
Dept. of
Health & Social Services (DHSS) |
U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD) |
Dept. of
Transportation & Public Facilities (DOT&PF) |
U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) |
Who uses the Capital Projects
Database?
Many agencies and individuals use this database to find out
what projects will be built in the future throughout the state. Some use the
information to plan training and workforce development activities; others use
it to identify potential cost saving opportunities with multiple projects
happening in the same community, and others use the database to keep abreast of
activity in order to explore work opportunities.
DCRA itself uses this information in many different reports,
such as the Alaska Economic Performance Report prepared annually for the
Legislature. Research and Analysis staff often replies to requests for
community and project information from engineering firms, consultants and
training companies.
State and Federal Agencies |
to review current projects in a community. |
Local Government Officials |
to provide information for project applications or proposals. |
Training Organizations |
to plan what types of training might be required in a
region or community. |
Individuals |
to explore work opportunities. |
What does the Capital Projects
Database Contain?
All projects are listed under a
Community name. This would be the community
that is closest to where the project will take place. Sometime the Borough
Name, or the terms Regional or Statewide are used. When viewing information on
the website the following information is available.
LEAD AGENCY |
The agency or entity that is
administering the project funding. Although other agencies may also be
funding the project, this is the organization to contact for questions
regarding the project. |
FISCAL YEAR |
The fiscal year that the project funds
were first allocated or planned. |
PROJECT STATUS |
One of three terms to describe the status of the projects funding:
- Funded – funds are allocated in a budget.
- Planned– funds are designated in an official planning document, but have not been
allocated and are subject to reprioritization.
- Potential – funds have not been designated by any agency. These are essentially
"community needs," identified through recent community plans,
funding summits, grant applications, surveys and other sources.
|
PROJECT DESCRIPTION/ COMMENTS |
A brief description of project, including
the phase number, if appropriate. / This field also includes program names,
information on other funding agencies and amounts, and comments about the
project. |
PROJECT STAGE |
If funded, the current stage of the
project is listed:
- Completed – Project has been completed.
- Construction – Project is currently under
construction.
- Design – Project is currently in
engineering, design, feasibility, or under environmental study.
- Contract – Contract has been awarded for
the project.
- Preliminary – Project is funded, no contact
or agreement has been signed.
|
TOTAL COST |
The total funding that will be required to
complete the project. May represent the cost to complete this phase of the
project - does not imply that the entire project will be completed at this
cost. |
SCHEDULE |
The date that construction is scheduled to
start and end or any information on the schedule for the project |
TYPE/ CONTRACTOR |
Type of administration: direct grant,
force account, internal agency, contract, etc. / The name of the
organization administering the project or the contractor awarded the bid. |
Not all this information is included for every project. DCRA
staff only enters the information that is received from each agency and not
every agency tracks the same information.
How often does DCRA collect data, how, from whom?
Once a year, Division staff prepares a spreadsheet for every
agency. The spreadsheet contains all current project information from the
capital projects database for the respective agency. The spreadsheet and a request
for an update are sent to the agencies. The agency contacts are asked to
review the list, make any necessary changes and add any new projects to the
list.
Most agencies provide the spreadsheet or parts of it to
their project staff and request the information for the update. These staff
may be project engineers, grant administrators, program managers or other
staff. Some individuals make the changes on the spreadsheet that is sent to
them and return it. Others download information from their own databases and
send that to the DCA staff. DCA staff then reviews the information, compares
it with existing information and make changes to the Capital Projects Database
to reflect the data provided.
AGENCY COST |
The amount of funding that the lead agency
has contributed to the project. |
LOCAL SHARE |
The amount of funding that the local
community has contributed to the project. |
OTHER SHARE |
The amount of funding those agencies,
other than the Lead Agency and local sources, are contributing to the project.
The total amount for other agencies is listed in this field, and then the individual
agencies and the amounts awarded are included in the "Comments"
field. This helps eliminate duplication of projects. |
REQUESTOR |
The organization is listed that requested
this project or listed it in their planning document. |
POTENTIAL AGENCY OR PROJECT # |
If the project is potential, this would
include agencies that may have funding for the project. Once a
project is funded, this field should the number that the Lead Agency uses to
track the project. |
CONTRACTOR LOCATION |
Prime contractor's location. |
CONTRACT TYPE |
Type of administration: direct grant,
force account, internal agency, contract, etc. |
SUB CONTRACTORS |
Subcontractor for the project, if known. |
TOTAL JOBS |
Total jobs provided by this project, if
known. This information can help agencies providing training to plan for
upcoming needs. |
LOCAL JOBS |
Number of local jobs provided by
this project, if known. This information can help agencies providing
training to plan for upcoming needs. |
LOCAL SALARY LO |
If Known |
LOCAL SALARY HI |
If Known |
PERSON MONTHS |
If Known |
JOBS COMMENTS |
What types of jobs will the project create |
AGENCY CONTACT |
The name of the engineer, project manager
or grant administrator in your agency that handles the project. |
Not all this information is included for every project. DCRA
staff only enters the information that is received from each agency and not
every agency tracks the same information.
How often DCA collects data, how, from
whom?
Once a year, Division staff prepares a spreadsheet for every
agency. The spreadsheet contains all current project information from the
capital projects database for the respective agency. The spreadsheet and a
request for an update are sent to the agencies. The agency contacts are asked
to review the list, make any necessary changes and add any new projects to the
list.
Most agencies provide the spreadsheet or parts of it to
their project staff and request the information for the update. These staff
may be project engineers, grant administrators, program managers or other
staff. Some individuals make the changes on the spreadsheet that is sent to
them and return it. Others download information from their own databases and
send that to the DCA staff. DCA staff then reviews the information, compares
it with existing information and make changes to the Capital Projects Database
to reflect the data provided.
