2003 Performance Measurement, Evaluation and Auditing Forum for Grants Programs
Cutting-Edge Update on Developing Performance Measures and Evaluation Strategies to Improve Effectiveness Among Grantees

The Performance Institute
May 7-9, 2003

Innovations in Performance Measures and Evaluation Strategies from Diverse and Model Grants Programs: Turn Accountability Standards into an Effective Tool for Ongoing Organizational Improvement:

● Design
Tailored Performance Measures & Evaluation Strategies for Grant Searching, Writing and Awarding

● Measure
Intangible Outcomes and Cautiously Award Your Grants

● Learn
How to Improve Grant Results by Using Performance Indicators and Outcome Measures in Grant Announcements, Proposal Budgets and Accounting Reports

● Increase
Knowledge of New Audit Standards and Compliance with OMB Circulars, GAO Standards and Federal Agency Regulations

● Survive
Budget Crunches while Developing Monitoring Procedures to Improve the Performance and Accountability of Your Grantees

 

Dear Grant Program Manager,

 

As the nation increasingly turns to government agencies and foundations to support important causes through grants, our community will be under increasing pressure to measure, evaluate and improve the results of our grant programs.

 

To equip you with the latest practices for meeting this challenge, you are invited to join us for the “2003 Performance Measures, Evaluation and Auditing Conference for Grant Programs” at The Performance Institute, in Arlington, VA, May 7 - 9, 2003.  

 

Measure and Report Outcomes

Whether you are trying to comply with new reporting requirements or trying to develop and communicate your own performance outcomes, you must first incorporate a framework for embedding performance measures into your grant announcements, proposals, budgets, and accounting procedures. 

 

Utilize New Evaluation Tools

Implement best practices and leading innovations for designing evaluation criteria that will assist grantees in improving their performance as part of the evaluation process. 

 

Enhance Accountability for Results

“2003 Performance Measures, Evaluation and Auditing Conference for Grant Programs” is your opportunity to improve management skills for getting the most profitable results and communicating the outcomes of private and government grants.

 

Augment Grantee Performance

Maximize the value of the relationship between funder and grantee through implementing best practices in designing, measuring, evaluating, and reporting on grantee performance.  We have gathered together leaders in the field of evaluating and measuring performance of grants programs to give you the tools to account for grant dollars and help grantees improve their services.

 

Space will be limited, so register yourself and your colleagues today by calling 703-894-0481. I look forward to meeting you this spring!

 

 

Best Regards,

 

Luisa Córdoba

Director of Educational Services

Agenda & Speaking Faculty:

Day One:  May 7, 2003
8:00  Registration and Continental Breakfast

8:30 Keynote: Leading Strategies in Performance & Evaluation: Innovations for Funders and Grant Program Managers 

Kick-off this Conference with an updated session on trends in grant performance and evaluation strategies. Whether you are a funder or a grantee, these changing times require SHARPER and more conclusive performance & reporting to ensure the continuity of the programs, and to fulfill a mission which has been stated in your proposal.
Collete Thayer, Fannie Mae Foundation* 

9:15     Leadership Panel: News, Mandates, and State-of-the-Practice for Evaluation, Performance Measurement, and Auditing in Grants Programs

 

  • Best practices for evaluation tools and strategies
  • Updates on government performance regulations
  • Future directions in performance measures and outcomes for grants programs.
  • Addressing capacity building and strengthening the community served

 

Tracey Rutnik, Association of Baltimore Area Grantmakers (ABAG)

Jayme Sokolow PhD, The Development Source

 

10:15   Break 

 

10:30   Comprehensive Framework for Performance Measures and Evaluation for Grants (Lessons for Funders and their Grantees)

  • Develop a framework for measuring the performance of grants programs: designing, implementing and effectively using performance indicators
  • Master best practices in performance measurements from leading programs, grants and partnerships
  • Utilize logic modeling: linking end outcomes to specific grant program activities

 

Carl DeMaio, The Performance Institute

 

11:45   Networking Luncheon 

 

PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT AND CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS

 

12:45   Designing Performance Measures and Including Them in RFP´s and/or Grant Applications

 

Get an experienced view of the RFP process, the anatomy of a typical outcome-based RFP and its activities.

 

Learn how to:

  • Design performance measures as part of the RFP
  • Educate potential grantees of the role of performance measures in tracking outcomes and improving service
  • Develop RFP’s to measure appropriate outcomes
  • Communicate how to measure appropriate outcomes

 

Kathleen Kendrick, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality AHRQ, Department of Health and Human Services

 

1:30     Assisting Grantees with Implementing Effective Performance Measures

 

·        Best practices for helping grantees establish effective performance measures

·        How grantees can link performance measures and outcomes to budgeting and staffing processes

·        Measuring, evaluating, and realigning: making performance measurement and evaluation part of everyday functioning and improvement

 

Jayme Sokolow PhD, The Development Source

 

2:30     Break 

 

2:45     Writing Effective Grant Proposals with an Eye Towards Performance, Auditing and Evaluation Issues

 

Writing a performance-based proposal involves a strategic process of planning and of research on, outreach to, and cultivation of potential grantors or gift donors.

 

Examine grant proposal examples and engage in facilitated exercises that will help you build skills for proposal writing.

 

  • Understand the components of a performance-based proposal
  • Identify your strategic program needs
  • Identify key components of a proposal
  • Gain tips for making your proposal more relevant, concise, and informative

 

Jeffrey Lischin, Community Consulting Services

 

4:45     Adjourn          

 

Day Two: May 8, 2003

8:00     Continental Breakfast

EVALUATION STRATEGIES

 

8:30     Making Evaluation Part of the Application Process

 

  • Best practices for helping grantees establish effective performance measures for the type of evaluation process more agreeable with their programs.
  • How grantees can link performance measures and outcomes to budgeting and staffing processes
  • Measuring, Evaluating, and Realigning: Making Performance Measurement and Evaluation Part of Everyday Functioning and Improvement

 

Blanca Rodriguez, Grants Policy and Oversight, Department of Education

 

9:30     Evaluation Revisited: Using Third Party Evaluators to Assess Grantee Performance

  • Develop a value added approach to using third party evaluators
  • Balance the need for an expert evaluator with the need to incorporate evaluation Into capacity building for grantees
  • Best practices for getting input from all of your stakeholders during the evaluation process
  • Choosing the right evaluator for your needs

 

Bianca Norris, Grants Coordinator, ASPH*  

 

10:30   Break 

 

10:45   Hard-To-Measure Outcomes: Addressing Capacity Building and Strengthening the Community Served

 

The contemporary view of capacity-building goes beyond the conventional perception of fulfilling the operative mission in an effective manner. The central concerns of grant programs management - to manage change, to resolve conflict, to manage institutional pluralism, to enhance coordination, to foster communication, and to ensure that data and information are shared - require a broad and holistic view of capacity development. This definition covers both institutional and community-based capacity-building.

 

 Join this facilitated discussion on how to ensure: 

·        Your outcomes aid in the building of organizational capacity

·        Understanding of the role evaluation plays in organizational capacity building

·        Funders work with grantees to use evaluation as an ongoing management tool

 Tracey Rutnik, Association of Baltimore Area Grantmakers (ABAG)  

11:45   Networking Luncheon


1:00     Application Workshop

 

Designing and Implementing Performance Measurements and Evaluation Strategies Using the “Logic Model” Approach

 

Case Studies from: Public Health, Social Services and Research Grants Mission Areas

 

  • Identify stakeholders for grants programs
  • Identify strategic goals, objectives and performance measures at the funder’s level
  • Cascade goals, objectives and performance measures to the grantee’s level
  • Articulate and include the performance measures in RFP’s, budget & reporting formats, and the close out process

 

Carl DeMaio, Reason Public Policy Institute, Performance Institute 

 

4:15 Adjourn 

 

Day Three: MAY 9, 2003

           

POST-CONFERENCE WORKSHOP FOR GRANT RECIPIENTS:  

8:00           Continental Breakfast

8:30 Application Workshop B: Best Practices and Lessons Learned in Preparing for an Audit

If you are covered by:

·        OMB´s  Circular A-110 (Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants and Cooperative Agreements With Institutions of Higher Education, Hospitals and Other Nonprofit Organizations)

·        OMB´s  Circular A-133 (Audits of States, Local Governments, and Non-Profit Organizations)

If your funding is provided by:

·        a small private fund

·        an organization providing grants in a particular subject area

·        a national foundation

This definite and comprehensive workshop guides you through all the steps recipients and grantors must follow to ensure government-wide compliance for federal and private grants audits.

From submitting grant proposals to setting up financial risk assessments for payment and reporting and the final audit itself, this workshop covers every stage of the grants auditing and reporting cycle

Updates On:

·        Complying with the legal, private and management processes for an effective and efficient audit

·        Performing total risk assessments

·        Increasing your capacity building power

·        Developing an effective internal and external communication process for your audit

 

Olga Polemitou, Aristion Consulting

12:00 Adjourn

 

 

Exhibiting and Sponsorship Information:

To learn more about sponsorship opportunities at The Performance Institute and customized in-house training sessions or other educational seminars and conferences, please contact James Simpson at 703-894-0481 or [email protected].

Hotel Information:
The “2003 Performance Measurement, Evaluation and Auditing Forum for Grant Programs” will be held at The Performance Institute in Arlington, VA. A limited number of rooms have been reserved for you at the Hilton Garden Inn in Arlington, VA. Please contact the hotel at 703-528-4444 and be sure to ask for the Performance Institute discount rate of $142 per night. The Hilton Garden Inn will ensure that your conference experience is not only educational but also comfortable and enjoyable in every aspect. For additional information on accommodations and area attractions, please visit the hotel’s website at http://www.hilton.com/

Hilton Garden Inn
1333 Courthouse Road
Arlington, VA  22201
Tel: 703-528-4444
Fax: 703-528-4933
 Hilton Garden Inn


Tuition:
The fees to attend the conference on 2003 Performance Measures, Evaluation and Auditing Forum for Grant Programs are as follows:

Forum AND post-conference Workshop: $1295
Forum Only: $995

Group Discounts:
Group discounts are available. Contact James Simpson at the Performance Institute at 703-894-0481 for more information about group discounts.

*Administrative Note:
A 10% cancellation fee on registration will be charges for cancellations received less than three weeks from the date of the conference. As speakers are confirmed 6 months before the event, some speaker changes or topic changes may occur in the program. The Performance Institute is not responsible for speaker changes, but will work to ensure a comparable speaker is located to participate in the program.