Grant Writing Program Evaluation and Reporting 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A grant's 'performance measurement framework' typically includes all of the following EXCEPT:
- Indicators
- Baselines
- Targets
- Staff performance reviews (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Staff performance reviews
Performance measurement frameworks focus on program outcomes (indicators, baselines, targets) not on internal HR processes like staff reviews.
Question 2: Which statement about 'baseline data' in grant reporting is correct?
- Baseline data is collected after the program ends to compare with pre-program records
- Baseline data establishes the starting point before intervention to enable change measurement (Correct answer)
- Baseline data is optional for programs serving fewer than 50 participants
- Baseline data only applies to financial reporting, not outcomes reporting
Correct answer: Baseline data establishes the starting point before intervention to enable change measurement
Baseline data captures the pre-program status of participants or communities, making it possible to measure how much change occurred.
Question 3: Under OMB's Uniform Guidance, a grantee's performance reports must be submitted:
- Only at grant closeout
- At least annually, unless the funder requires more frequent reporting (Correct answer)
- Every two years for multi-year grants
- Only when significant program changes occur
Correct answer: At least annually, unless the funder requires more frequent reporting
2 CFR Part 200 requires performance reports at least annually, though many federal agencies require quarterly reports.
Question 4: A program serving English-language learners wants to collect valid survey data. The most appropriate action is to:
- Require all participants to complete surveys in English only
- Translate and culturally adapt surveys into participants' primary languages (Correct answer)
- Use only observational methods to avoid language barriers
- Reduce the survey to a single yes/no question
Correct answer: Translate and culturally adapt surveys into participants' primary languages
Culturally and linguistically adapted instruments ensure data validity and equity for participants who are not English-proficient.
Question 5: The 'attribution problem' in program evaluation refers to the challenge of:
- Giving proper credit to co-investigators in reports
- Proving that observed changes were caused by the program rather than other factors (Correct answer)
- Assigning costs accurately to program budget categories
- Documenting which staff member collected each data point
Correct answer: Proving that observed changes were caused by the program rather than other factors
Attribution is the difficulty of isolating program effects from external influences, making causal claims difficult without a control group.
Question 6: When a funder's RFP specifies a '15% indirect cost rate cap,' a grantee with a negotiated rate of 25% should:
- Automatically use 25% since their negotiated rate supersedes the cap
- Use 15% as the allowable rate for this grant, absorbing the remaining 10%
- Decline to apply because the rates are incompatible
- Request a waiver before the application deadline if the gap creates a hardship (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Request a waiver before the application deadline if the gap creates a hardship
When a funder caps indirect costs below a grantee's negotiated rate, the grantee may request a waiver or must absorb the difference; simply using the higher rate is not permitted.
Question 7: A 'utilization-focused evaluation' approach prioritizes:
- Academic rigor above all other considerations
- Designing evaluation so findings will actually be used by decision-makers (Correct answer)
- Using only quantitative methods for objectivity
- Minimizing evaluation costs as the primary goal
Correct answer: Designing evaluation so findings will actually be used by decision-makers
Utilization-focused evaluation, developed by Michael Quinn Patton, designs the entire evaluation around how, by whom, and for what purpose findings will be used.
Grant Writing Program Evaluation and Reporting 5
A grant's 'performance measurement framework' typically includes all of the following EXCEPT: