Facebook 
RSS FeedTracks to Success
Notes from a Federal Reviewer
by Sandra Jewell, Grant Writing Consultant and Writer
The Award Process Begins – Part 1
"The agency is a beehive of activity as the RFA heads to press."
Introduction
I was a professional staff member for an agency of the Department of Health and Human Services, which, like other government agencies, has a budget that primarily funds a myriad of grants and cooperative agreements. During the 20 plus years I was there, I spent a lot of time reviewing the grant and cooperative agreement proposals that arrived with high hopes for funding.
We who were part of this process were always dismayed by the amount of effort that went into the sometimes overwhelming numbers of responses we received, and the comparatively few that we could support with our always too-limited funding capacity. After serving on numerous review and ranking panels, and evaluating countless applications, I became adept at quickly and accurately predicting which would get the green light from reviewers.
This article is for all who have ever wondered what happens after your best efforts have left your control and arrived at the funding agency as a response to an RFA. It's for those who were sure their application would receive funding that never came. And it's for every great idea that fell short in the review process.
Although procedures vary somewhat among agencies, depending on the agency and on the problem addressed by the RFA, the review process is guided by regulation and is fundamentally the same everywhere.
Beginning the Process
The federal fiscal year begins anew and, ideally, budgeted on October 1. This is when each government division and branch that has been allotted funds for predetermined projects can officially begin the process of creating an RFA.
The draft RFA is written and rewritten by staff until all the components are buffed to a high gloss, then it proceeds up the chain getting approval and sign off at every step. Everyone involved is keenly aware of the impact of an official statement from a federal agency and every public release is vetted numerous times by a variety of personnel.
The final version of the RFA makes it to the Federal Register and Grants.gov, notifying the world of grant or cooperative agreement money available for specific project areas.
There are generally restrictions on eligible responders. Applications are solicited from entities or jurisdictions believed to have the capacity to engage the specified activities of interest to the agency that developed the RFA. For example, if an RFA from the Department of Education will accept applications only from school districts of a certain size, that restriction will be clearly stated and strictly observed by the funder. In fact, the fastest way to have an application disqualified is to ignore any of the stated requisites outlined in the RFA.
The final date for submitting proposals is usually about 60 days after the publication of the RFA, but can vary by a month or more. Hard copy applications are accepted after the due date only if the sender can provide a FedEx, USPS or other receipt showing that it was mailed on time. With the advent of online submissions, the occasional late arrival is quickly vanishing.
Because federal grants often offer substantial funding, the competition can be intense no matter how few awards are anticipated. A Health and Human Services RFA directed at medical schools, for example, could generate one or more responses from every one of the 160 in the U.S. even though there may be no possibility of funding more than a few. The division or branch sponsoring the RFA often has no initial idea of the number of responses that it will receive, but their estimate improves as interested potential applicants contact the agency, often for more information or clarification.
Applications arrive at the agency at a central location, usually a grants management office, and receive their first vetting. This office looks only for basic compliance, such as signatures in the right places and the inclusion of the correct forms, and then forwards the packet to the branch responsible for funding the RFA.
That branch then distributes the applications to reviewers who have been solicited in advance, along with the review schedule, a copy of the RFA, scoring sheets with the points attributable to each section, sign-off sheets for declaring a conflict of interest if one exists, and anything else deemed important to that particular review.
Copyright 2009 by Sandra Jewell
All Rights Reserved
Sandra Jewell is a former employee of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services where she was an award winning biostatistician, analyst, and writer. She is currently a freelance grant writer and author living in Atlanta, Georgia. Sandra can be reached at WrittenMagic.SEJ@gmail.com or at www.WrittenMagic.net.
Other articles in this series:
Main Page
Part 1 – The Award Process Begins
Part 2 – The Objective (Peer) Review
Part 3 – Evaluation
Part 4 – Submit and Wait
This Tracks to Success article was edited by Julie Kaufman. If you have any questions, comments, suggestions, useful tips, or are interested in writing a series for us, please email our Research team, or call our toll-free number: 877-784-7268.