I was gazing through the Federal grants today and it struck me how much evaluation continues to grow in importance as an integral part of the proposal process. With fewer government dollars being spread among an increasing need for services and assistance, the requirement for accountability grows. It is important to make the case for how well your organization will track the use of the funds long before a contract is ever struck. The following is a perfect example of a request asking for evaluation planning from the start in order to best qualify for the grant.

This week’s pick: The Department of Health and Human Services is granting funds for the 2008 Adolescent Family Life (AFL) Demonstration Program (CDFA #93995 and Funding Opportunity # PA-APH-08-021). “These grants are for projects to develop, implement and evaluate a multi-site primary abstinence education program targeting youth ages 12-18, as compared with a multi-site “enriched” program model.” Any public, private or nonprofit organization is eligible to apply and successful applicants will dedicate 20-25% of the Federal portion of the budget for evaluation activities. The award floor is $600,000 with a ceiling of $800,000. Funds are available for 4-5 projects.

The electronic grant application must be submitted by 11:00 am Eastern Time on June 11, 2008; mailed applications by 5:00 pm the same day. The Improve Group would be interested in providing evlaution services and working with organizations interested in applying. We are available to assist in writing the evaluation portion of the grant application. For more information on this grant, click here.