03 Apr The Value of an Experienced Reviewer by Tracey Diefenbach, GPC

As a grant professional in the field for almost 20 years, I have come to understand and deeply appreciate the value of a helping hand. One of the most valuable helping hands I have seen is proposal reviews, particularly for federal proposals. I have served as a federal grant reviewer and have conducted reviews on a wide variety of funding opportunities spanning many departments, from HS, ED, NSF, and USDA to DOL, HUD, VA, and many more in between. The benefit of having “reviewer eyes” on these proposals prior to submission is invaluable, particularly in this ever-growing, highly competitive environment where every single point counts. An experienced reviewer can really help you “C” the difference (“C” what I did there?) by combing through your proposal with a fine tooth comb, including examining for:

• Clarity: An experienced reviewer knows your audience and the language in the Request for Proposal (RFP) and is looking to ensure your proposal incorporates this language. The reviewer is paying attention to your wording, looking for clear and familiar words that avoid jargon, faulty repetition (you know, eliminating phrases like “each and every” or “over and over”), and redundancy. The reviewer will know where criteria information belongs in your narrative and will ensure that it is addressed in the correct sections and referred to in other necessary sections to avoid any redundancy or confusion.
• Completeness: Experienced reviewers will go through your proposal with a fine-tooth comb comparing it not only to the grant guidelines and instructions, but to the scoring criteria often using a rubric. They are looking for very detailed, informative writing free of gaps or gray areas that can raise red flags. Better yet, if a gap is found, the reviewer will not only point it out but prompt the writer with further questions and even examples to address missing content or strengthen existing information. In serving on review panels, we often have to pull out “nuggets” of information as evidence that the applicant met the criteria. A good reviewer will ensure you have those nuggets to make your proposal complete.
• Consistency and Flow Flaws: You can be the best writer in the world. But when you are knee deep in defining the project activities on page 20, you may have forgotten how activity X aligns with a key data point in your needs section. An experienced reviewer will catch this as they read your proposal section-by-section looking for alignment and consistency throughout.
• Correctness: Did you follow the guidelines? Bear with me here. Yes, we are grant professionals who are trained to follow guidelines, but you better believe mistakes can and do happen. Like that one time you inserted the school district data table and it slightly threw off your margins or somehow magically changed the spacing of your next paragraph! A change so small that you might not even notice it. But guess what? Your reviewer caught it! The reviewer who has read every detail of the RFP, knows the formatting guidelines, structure of sections – all that and more.

Bottom line: Experienced reviewers make sure your proposal is clear, complete, consistent, and correct so you can secure every point possible to rise above the competition. So, as you scroll through the latest e-blast from grants.gov or anticipate the release of an RFP, consider using an external, expert helping hand to take your proposals to the next level.

AGS offers comprehensive reviewing services from experienced reviewers to ensure error-free, highly competitive proposals. These services can include creating a detailed grant rubric, rigorous evaluation and assessment of a proposal, and individualized feedback and suggestions for improvement. If you are interested, Tracey Diefenbach, MA, GPC, Assistant Director, will be happy to talk about external reviews and provide you with a quote for grant services.

Competency #7: Knowledge of practices and services that raise the level of professionalism of grant developers.

Skill 7.1: Identify advantages of participating in continuing education and various grant review processes.

Skill 7.2: Identify advantages of participating in professional organizations that offer grant developers growth opportunities and advance the profession.

Skill 7.3: Identify strategies that grant developers use in building social capital to benefit their communities and society at large.