Presenter: Eulas Dortch, Director

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• Presenter Eulas Dortch, Director
• Division of Independent Review
• Office of Federal Assistance Management
• edortch_at_hrsa.gov

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Office of Federal Assistance Management
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OFAM Organizational Chart
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DIR Organizational Chart
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Responsibility of DIR

• Plan, direct, and carry out HRSAs independent
  review process of applications for discretionary
  grants and cooperative agreements

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Types of Review

• Face-to-face meeting
• Teleconference
• Field reader review

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Grant Reviewer Selection

• Reviewer expertise / specialty/education/experienc
  e
• Health professions training
• HIV / AIDS
• Maternal and child health
• Organ transplantation
• Primary care for underserved people
• Rural health

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Grant Reviewer Selection (continued)

• Representation by
• Race / ethnicity
• Gender
• Geographic locale
• Program collaboration

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Reviewer Requirements

• Avoid conflict of interest
• Maintain confidentiality

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What Constitutes a Conflict?

• The reviewer is a consultant on any application
• The reviewer or their immediate family member
• Serves as an officer, director, trustee, partner
  or employee of an applicant
• Is negotiating employment with an applicant
• Has a financial interest in the application
• Has a known close friendship or relationship with
  key applicant staff

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Reviewer Confidentiality

• No discussion outside meeting rooms
• All results are confidential
• All application materials papers are destroyed
• Confidentiality exists at all times before,
  during, and after the meeting

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Objective Application Evaluation by Reviewer

• Evaluate each application on its own merit
• No outside information
• Avoid personal bias

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Roles and Responsibilities
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Reviewer

• Read and be thoroughly familiar with Program
  guidance
• Read and be thoroughly familiar with assigned
  applications
• Develop preliminary statements of strengths and
  weaknesses for each assigned application

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Reviewer (continued)

• Participate in open panel discussion
• Develop consensus of strengths and weaknesses
  with panel members
• Score all applications against published review
  criteria

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Chairperson

• Facilitate the review panel meeting
• Keep the discussion focused and on the specifics
• Listen to each reviewers presentation for
  completeness and consistency
• Act as timekeeper

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Chairperson (continued)

• Minimize redundant or circular discussion
• Facilitate budget discussions
• Obtain a general level of consensus
• Certify review results

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HRSA Staff Roles Responsibilities

• DIR Review Administrator
• Guide, oversee, and certify the integrity of the
  objective review process
• Program Office / Project Officers
• Provide orientation of program guidance
• Respond to specific technical and programmatic
  issues raised by reviewers
• Grants Management Office
• Respond to fiscal/budget issues related to the
  application

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DIR Products

• Rank Order List
• - List of Applicant Scores, in Rank Order,
• from Highest to Lowest
• - Rank is Established by Scoring Criteria,
• plus Priority Points and Funding
• Preferences (if any)

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DIR Products

• Summary Statement
• - Developed and edited by the panel
• - Reflects the panels consensus
• - Gives examples, where appropriate
  (including page numbers)
• - Goal is to provide constructive feedback

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Funding Priorities and Preferences

• Funding Priorities
• Factors that cause a grant application to receive
  a fixed amount of extra rating points
• Funding Preference
• Any objective factors that would be used to place
  a grant application ahead of others without the
  preference on the rank order list

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Be A Grant Reviewer

• https//grants.hrsa.gov/webReview/

Presenter Eulas Dortch, Director Division of
Independent Review Office of Federal Assistance
Management edortch_at_hrsa.gov