Some years ago, while at U. of Florida in Gainesville, almost by accident, I learned of the award of a federal grant to a local feminist group to hire chronically unemployed people to help run their bookstore, newspaper, and organization. The group was of the hard Left, lesbian sort and I suspected immediately that the grant was improper. I therefore read the applicable federal regulations and got copies of the application and grant documents from the local county agency responsible for the grant.
I then made trouble by filing an administrative complaint with the Federal Department of Labor, getting a conservative newspaper columnist to do a couple of columns about the grant, meeting and recruiting a local Right to Life leader as an ally, and lobbying the county commission. Eventually, the grant was revoked after a series of heated county commission meetings and a direct threat from the Department of Labor to terminate the county from the entire program if the feminist grant was not revoked.
Among other abuses, it was found that instead of hiring hard core unemployed, the feminists had simply hired several of their volunteers, and the head of the county agency supervising the grant was also a member of the feminist organization and had helped spur the grant -- a blatant conflict of interest. After the grant was revoked, the feminist bookstore and newspaper and the organization itself soon folded, with the local county official responsible for the grant shown the door.
Even before that fight was won, the local Planned Parenthood affiliate declined to accept a similar six figure grant that it had sought for a sex education program in the local public school system. The check had been cut and was ready to be picked up but they refused it because they did not want the controversy we threatened.
I get the idea of a wide-ranging research effort into federal grant practices, but you might also find the chance to strike a direct blow for liberty by challenging any irregular grants that you come across. My experience in fighting the feminist grant in Gainesville helped to prepare me for similar and much harder fights over the years. I wish you the best of luck.
Good work there Rockingham. I hope my research leads to at least half of what you accomplished. We are all busy trying to earn a living but if each of us took a little time out to thwart the looting of our tax dollars it would make a big difference. You know the liberals all help each other out to our taxes.