What happens with my grant application? How are grant applications assessed? What do assessors look for in a grant application?
These are just some of the questions, participants asked government grant assessors in the recent ACTCOSS grant writing workshops.
Experienced panel members have assessed hundreds if not thousands of grant applications and here are their top tips for effective grant applications
- Ensure your paperwork is in order - if you have an outstanding acquittal for an existing grant, we may not consider your application.
- Respond clearly to all elements outlined in the grant descriptor/assessment criteria:
- Be clear on your purpose – how will you use this grant, and for what community outcome/s? Do not assume the assessment team are familiar with your organisation and the services you provide. They most likely are not.
- Be specific about who you are targeting or reaching with your program, service, or initiative.
- Include a budget (and make sure it adds up). Consider and factor in hourly rates for service delivery as well as overhead costs. Provide a detailed breakdown of costings so they can be appropriately assessed and compared.
- Provide options - what could go ahead with a partial grant (such as a lower service volume/different service model etc)?
- Include ‘in-kind’ support – organisational investment or volunteer hours
- Describe and show evidence of previous service delivery, but keep it brief – extract key paragraphs and provide reference links; don’t attach lengthy research papers.
- Align to the ACT Wellbeing Framework – how will your program, service or initiative, and the outcomes that you seek to achieve support community wellbeing?
- Get a sense check – send your application to someone who can review it – is your plan, purpose and experience clear to them?
- Get feedback – while decisions cannot be appealed, you can contact the panel chair to discuss your grant application.
What’s the grant assessment process?
Assessing grants is not a tick and flick exercise.
Government representatives thoroughly consider grant applications with appreciation for the time and expertise that non-government organisations have invested to present initiatives for investment.
Typically, the government agency will establish a ‘grants panel’ of three (3) to five (5) senior government officers, and in some cases other appropriate representatives. One person will serve as ‘panel chair’.
The grants panel members receive a list of all the organisations that have made an application and they assess if there are any compliance concerns or conflicts of interest – before looking at any applications. The panel chair provides the recommendations to the delegate who makes the grants decisions. This delegate is always an executive government officer (not a Minister). When approved the grants are issued to organisations.
Find out more: understand the investment pathways
; understand the invest phase; procurements vs grants factsheet
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Page updated: 28 Feb 2024
