QUESTION
What is the process for organizations to appeal funding decisions and receive feedback on their applications?
3:16:30
·
3 min
The commissioner explains that organizations have opportunities to speak with program officers and receive feedback on how to submit more competitive applications.
- The applications go through a peer review panel process where the quality of the program proposal is heavily weighted
- For large organizations that previously received multi-year funding, their baseline would be set as an average of prior years, with half that amount provided to sustain them during an appeal
- The goal is to avoid zeroing out major organizations while they go through the appeals process
- The program quality portion of the application scoring has been increased from 15% to 30% weighting
Gale A. Brewer
3:16:30
I know it's like, and I really appreciate your participation.
3:16:34
So on the CDF, I know we're concentrate on that.
3:16:38
So I appreciate the new system having set through many of the panels myself over the years.
3:16:44
It's really instructive as to what is out there.
3:16:47
And, you know, you gotta be the applications very seriously, and I think it would be helpful to have somebody from the city council there.
3:16:56
We have to make sure give us enough time to get people to show up and Mhmm.
3:17:00
Does mean a staff person is out for that day, particularly Manhattan because we have more than any other borough, but I appreciate that.
3:17:07
Obviously, the one that got cut that hurt me the most was young people's chorus.
3:17:11
They had a 118,000 zeroed out.
3:17:13
And when they went for the review to to try to amend that.
3:17:19
Like, they were at got 265.
3:17:22
So, I guess, what I wanna know is how they wanted to have a minimum of three rounds in order to have a more substantial eyes on the price, or to speak, because they felt that they didn't get enough from what was considered, and they want and they do wanna have counsel staff, and I appreciate that.
3:17:41
How would their situation, obviously not a tiny organization, obviously a community of color led organization, obviously an organization, that is internationally known.
3:17:53
How would the process be different for them than what they experienced was which was to get zeroed out until they appealed, and even then they didn't get very much.
3:18:02
How would it be different?
Laurie Cumbo
3:18:04
I would say that they had opportunities to speak with their program officer The program officer can offer them feedback, which was very valuable feedback in terms of how to put forward a more competitive application.
3:18:17
At the end of the day, this is a panel review process.
3:18:20
It is something where your peers are evaluating your application.
3:18:25
And there has to be merit based off of the quality of the application.
3:18:30
You can be an incredible ordinary organization like young people's choruses.
3:18:34
I've seen firsthand.
3:18:36
Our agency has seen firsthand.
3:18:38
They fill Lincoln Center.
3:18:39
They're an incredible organization impacting so many young people, but a large part of how organizations are reviewed is going to be the quality of that application.
3:18:51
We've changed some elements of the application so that this year moving forward.
3:18:56
What I wanted to see out of this application was that The quality of the program is what is weighted and valued far more than any other aspect of the application.
3:19:07
And that's a huge change and a huge significant change in terms of the quality of the program.
3:19:13
And that weight was changed from 15% to 30%.
3:19:18
So that was a change that we wanted to see because I know firsthand that young people's chorus is a phenomenal organization and program.
3:19:26
But the way this process would actually be administered would be an organization like young people's chorus that had received that had received 6 consecutive years of funding if this had been implemented previously, we would have taken an average of those 6 years and would of their baseline funding and would have given them half of that in order to sustain them as they move forward in the process next year.
3:19:54
We don't wanna see incredible organizations like that zeroed out.
3:19:58
And to have to face the challenges of continuing to administer programming within the fiscal year while also being zeroed out.
3:20:06
Puts organizations in quite a quantity.
Gale A. Brewer
3:20:08
I hope it works.
