2007 CONFERENCE

May 7, 2007 in Atlantic City

Developing Connections

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Seminar #10

Peer Review Process

The application review is the single most important component in the overall review process in deciding whether your proposal will be among those that are funded or those that are not. Fundamentally, the peer review process interjects an evaluation of a proposal by a panel of peers as the first point in the federal decision-making process. These peer reviewers are selected by the program officers based on their professional experience and areas of expertise. The Project Officer in the federal department has not read any of the proposals and must rely solely on the quality of the reviewers’ strengths and weaknesses statements as an accurate portrayal of the quality of the proposals.

Once the peer review process is completed, project officers within the funding agency will take that information and use it as the primary input into deciding who gets funded and who does not. In some instances (usually specified in the RFP), other issues such as geographic representation, alignment with competitive priorities, or other inputs will be taken into consideration in the final judgment of funding, but the results of the peer review always count the most in funding decisions. 

Workshop objectives

Stacey Abate

Since becoming a grants professional in 1997, Stacey E. Abate has raised over $18 million from all types of foundations and government agencies. She began consulting in New Jersey in 2000. Current clients include large health care systems, small human service agencies, and individual schools. She is also a frequent grant reviewer for various departments of the federal government.