There are multiple gateways to the grants industry, and each is important for creating thriving communities. Grant professionals are researchers, writers, administrators, coordinators, evaluators, and educators. We work at community-based organizations, hospitals, local governments, schools, and beyond. Securing funding is highly valuable, but being a grant professional often evokes one of the following responses while networking– a blank stare followed by “Oh,” or “I need a grant!”. Elevating the profession through national recognition is a pathway to R-E-S-P-E-C-T.
Fortunately, the Grant Professionals Association, Grant Professionals Certification Institute, and the Grant Professionals Foundation are working collectively toward the inclusion of “Grant Professional” in the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system. If successful, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics classification will have a lasting professional impact. Additionally, the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) is another important classification. These two classification systems portend professionalizing our roles.
The NAICS is the federal standard for classifying business establishments (U.S. Census Bureau, 2024). It was developed in 1930 as the Standard Industrial Classification system. In 1997, in collaboration with Canada and Mexico, the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) adopted the NAICS system to compare business statistics among North American countries. Similarly, the OMB developed the SOC to create a uniform method for collecting occupational data. In short, the SOC identifies people by their work type or occupation, while the NAICS identifies the industry for which they work.
Why are these classifications so crucial? Professionalization backed by data is powerful! Businesses, researchers, educators, and policymakers rely on SOC information to make decisions about wages, trends, job descriptions, and identify skill gaps. For business owners seeking government contracts, selecting a NAICS code aids in marketing your services. Government agencies use NAICS codes to classify procurement documents and reach out to potential vendors that are aligned with their needs. The correct NAICS code boosts visibility, demonstrating that you could be their perfect match. Moreover, the SOC and NAICS systems can help agencies report compliance with regulations such as equal employment opportunity, wage classifications, or utilization of minority business enterprises. This would indeed be game-changing for our profession.
These classifications have the power to transform the grants profession and level the playing field. As more professional data are collected, it can help to remove the guesswork involved in determining competitive wages and provide grant professionals with leverage during contract negotiations. Furthermore, the Grant Professionals Certification Institute (GPCI) continues to elevate the profession by securing accreditation of the Grant Professionals Certified (GPC) credential from the National Commission for Certifying Agencies. The GPC remains the only nationally accredited credential for Grant Professionals globally! GPCI regularly conducts job analyses to maintain accreditation, which would benefit from the Bureau of Labor Statistics professional code data. Finally, codification creates a sense of pride for grant professionals. GPA, GPCI, and the GPF’s commitment to moving the grants profession out of the shadows adds to the industry’s longevity and feeds our love for the standardized data that connect the dots.
How can you help advance the profession; and what would NAICS and SOC inclusion mean for you?
Original Article posted here.
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