AGS Training

Federal Grants - External Evaluators: What is Required and What to do When it is Required
Session 7 of the Federal Grants Series

Many, but not all, federal grants require project evaluation to be completed by someone other than the project director. The reason for this requirement is that these evaluators have less of an economic stake in the success or failure of a program and therefore are better positioned to provide an unbiased eye with which to conduct a program evaluation. This session will examine federal language and insights on some specific departments’ intent regarding how “external” an evaluator must be, what services the funder typically requires from the evaluator, how to find high-quality evaluation services, how to select an evaluator for a grant project, guidance on understanding fee structures, and recommendations for navigating issues like timelines, intellectual property, and publication expectations in contracts. 

What you will learn:

• When an evaluator must be outside of the program versus outside of the organization
• What are common evaluation services for federal grants
• Where can quality evaluators be found
• What factors should be considered when selecting an evaluator
• How to align service expectations with cost realities
• How to ensure potentially challenging issues are placed into contracts

The trainers for these sessions are all credentialed grant professionals (GPCs) through the Grant Professional Certification Institute and Approved Trainers with the Grant Professionals Association. 

GPCI Competencies and Skills: 3.8, 4.11

Length: 60 minutes

FEDERAL GRANTS TRAINING SERIES

Most people consider federal grant training to be a more advanced form of grant writing and management. We at Assel Grant Services do a lot of work with federal grants and we believe that federal grants share a lot of characteristics with significant federal grants. That said, there are a lot of nuances unique to federal grants to learn. This professional development series is designed to help nonprofit professionals who have never written a federal grant be as prepared to step through the federal grant pre-award and post-award process for the first time with confidence.

These sessions are designed to support nonprofit professionals before and during their first federal grant. If you don’t tune in before your first opportunity comes out, this series can be managed during a typical six to eight-week federal grant funding cycle.

Session 1: Pursuing Federal Grants
January 26, 2021 | 12:00 PM-1:00 PM CT

Session 2: Federal Find and Fit
February 3, 2021 | 12:00 PM-1:00 PM CT

Session 3: Relationships with Program Officers and Legislators
February 10, 2021| 12:00 PM-1:00 PM CT

Session 4: Federal Grant Registrations and Portals
March 9, 2021 | 12:00 PM-1:00 PM CT

Session 5: Managing the Development of a Federal Grant Proposal
April 7, 2021 | 12:00 PM-1:00 PM CT

Session 6: Evidence-Based Programming
May 5, 2021 | 12:00 PM-1:00 PM CT

Session 7: External Evaluators: When is it Required and What to do When it is Required
June 9, 2021 | 12:00 PM-1:00 PM CT

Session 8: Standard Federal Budget Forms
July 7, 2021 | 12:00 PM-1:00 PM CT

Session 9: Federal Budget Justifications: Reasonable, Allowable, Allocable
July 28, 2021 | 12:00 PM-1:00 PM CT

Session 10: Federal Research Grant Budget Justifications
August 4, 2021 | 12:00 PM-1:00 PM CT

Session 11: Federal Grant Management: Financial Requirements
September 8, 2021| 12:00 PM-1:00 PM CT

Session 12: Federal Grant Management: Non-Financial Requirements
October 6, 2021| 12:00 PM-1:00 PM CT

Session 13: Becoming a Federal Grant Reviewer
December 8, 2021| 12:00 PM-1:00 PM CT

Format:

• Available as one-hour training sessions or bundled as a full series

Cost: $50/session or $600 for the full series