Increasing the Capacity of Individuals, Families and Communities

Sub-Award Management

Step 1: Soliciting Applications | Step 3: Distributing Funds and Monitoring Sub-Awardees

Step 2: Selecting Awardees

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At this point, you have already determined the design of your RFP packet, how you will solicit applicants, how you will support applicants in preparing their RFPs and how you will institute preventive measures to ensure sub-awardee accountability. The next step in designing your sub-award plan is to develop your selection process for awardees. There are four phases to the selection process: A) preparing for review and selection; B) making the selection; C) securing awardees’ agreement; and D) making the announcement. Reference the chart, Sample Review and Selection Process, for a summary of phases B and C.

A. Preparing for Review and Selection
There are two parts to preparing for the review and selection of applicants: 1) designing your review process and 2) recruiting and training your reviewers. Let’s look at designing your review process first.

Part One: Design your review process
Good planning and preparation can transform a potentially daunting challenge into an exciting and rewarding experience for all involved. To make this process work as smoothly as possible, develop standard and impartial review procedures, including criteria for selection and evaluation. The following is a sample review and selection process based on a combination of sub-award processes used by 2002 CCF intermediaries.¹⁹

You may want to consider this sample process and determine what elements and components will best fit your project needs.

Sample Review and Selection Process Process Steps Components Preliminary Screening Reviewers screen every application to make sure that: it was submitted by the stated deadline the organization fits the eligibility criteria the application is complete All applications passing the preliminary screening are sent to the review committee. Review and Scoring Applicants The designated reviewers read all applications based on the review criteria provided by the grantor. Possible review criteria can include: Extent to which the application furthers the Federal government’s and grantor’s project purposes Viability of the idea Experience and ability of the project leaders Extent to which the proposed project furthers Best Practices in particular service areas Geographic distribution of applicants Organizational size and capacity that will be impacted by a sub-award Ability and willingness of key individuals to participate in all aspects of the program Proposed budget consistent with award amounts and budget guidelines provided Reviewers score applicants by completing criteria rating sheet for each area (See examples in Appendix) Preliminary sub-awardees are chosen On-site Visits Or Pre-award Calls On-site visits are conducted with preliminary sub-awardees to verify that: the grant applicant is able to manage the proposed project financial systems and audit procedures are in place to receive Federal funds the organization’s leadership and board is in agreement with the proposal and the requirements of a potential sub-award grant If on-site visits are not possible, pre-award calls can be made to the applicant leadership to verify information. Final Decision and Securing Awardee’s Agreement Based on the reviews, rating sheets and the information from the on-site visits and the pre-award calls, a list of finalists is sent to a review committee and/or the grantor organization itself to make the final selection of awardees Awardees are contacted by phone and/or by letter to inform them of their selection and to secure their agreement to abide by the requirements of the grant. Awardees are asked to sign a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA)20. In addition, selected applicants may be asked to attend an orientation meeting to review the MOA and address any outstanding questions or items.

Now that you have an understanding of the key elements that make up your review and selection process, it’s time to decide who will conduct the review and implement the process.

Part Two: Recruit and train your reviewers
Organizations often initially look for reviewers among other staff members within their organization. However, you may want (and need) to consider inviting your organization’s or your project partners’ board members, volunteers, even funders and clients to sit on the review committee. Reviewers should be familiar with faith and community-based organizations and the project purpose in general.

If you have trouble enlisting reviewers, you may want to expand your recruitment to include community leaders, social service personnel and/or faith and religious leaders. You can estimate the number of reviewers you will need by the amount of letters of intent or calls of interest made by potential applicants.

For their review process, Associated Black Charities formed eight teams of three community volunteer reviewers each to review more than 130 applications. Following a group orientation session, reviewers were given proposals to review independently (no more than 12 per reviewer). Afterward, they reconvened in their review groups to identify the top five choices to recommend to Associated Black Charities’ leadership. ²¹

Additionally, it is essential to avoid conflicts of interest among your reviewers and the organizations applying for the sub-awards. For example, it would be improper for an employee, an officer, an "acting officer" and/or an immediate past president/chairperson of an applicant organization to be a reviewer on that application. See the Confidentiality and Conflict of Interest Form used by Associated Black Charities provided in the Appendix.

To maintain consistency and standards throughout the review, provide an orientation training on the process to all reviewers at one time so that they may meet each other, learn from each others’ questions and discuss the process. At a minimum, the training should consist of four areas: 1) background on your organization and the project; 2) information on the sub-award plan; 3) information on the review and selection process; and 4) information concerning the announcements. You may want to allow two hours or more for training.

Orientation Training for Reviewers Area of Training Possible Topics Background on Organization and Project Brief background on your mission, activities, and outcomes Brief background on the project, including project description and goals, anticipated outcomes, amount of award that your organization received Background on Sub-Award Plan Purpose and goal of sub-award plan Description of targeted organizations Description of types of awards and award amounts Review Process Role of reviewers and anticipated time commitment Purpose of review Standards of Conduct: Conflict of Interest, Confidentiality (May use form outlining confidentiality and conflict of interest issues for reviewers to sign.) 22 Application form Criteria for eligibility Evaluation process Scoring (listed on application; also provide rating sheet) On-site visit protocol (if necessary) Selection process Schedule for process (meeting dates and times) Announcement When announcements are anticipated How announcements will be made What will be offered to applicants not receiving awards

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Step 1: Soliciting Applications | Step 3: Distributing Funds and Monitoring Sub-Awardees