What is an ANA impact visit?

Why does ANA conduct impact visits?

The Native American Programs Act (NAPA), which launched the Administration for Native Americans, mandates ANA to assess the impact and the effectiveness of the projects it funds.. The first full-scale exploration of ANA’s portfolio occurred in 2006; since then, ANA has visited over 480 projects.

How many visits does ANA do each year?

ANA visits approximately 70% of all ending projects each year, which amounts to roughly 70-80 projects. All visits are conducted by an Impact Evaluator and one of our Training and Technical Assistance Providers. Sites are chosen based on a variety of variables, including geographic distribution, funding amount, grant area, and frequency of past visits. An impact evaluator can visit up to 4 sites a week, which unfortunately does not allow much flexibility for the date of the visit.

What is the process for an impact evaluation?

About 45 days prior to the visit, a notification letter is mailed to the authorizing official and scanned and emailed to the project director which indicates the date of the visit. Once the date is confirmed with the project director, an outline of the project assessment tool is emailed to the project director. The outline indicates the specific information that will be gathered on the date of the visit including challenges faced, best practices and lessons learned. A week before the visit the impact evaluator will call the project manager to confirm the date, time and place of the meeting and answer any questions the grantee may have.