EDA Customer Satisfaction Survey 2015 (Applicant)

APPLICANT PROCESS SURVEY

General Information

This survey is designed to gather feedback on customer satisfaction related to applying to EDA and launching a project. Your feedback will help EDA improve its customer service to better serve communities like yours in the future.

1. Which competitions have you applied for in the past year? (Check all that apply) [Review Note: This list will be updated each year to reflect those Funding Opportunities launched within the previous year.]

• FY 2015 Economic Development Assistance Programs (this includes applications for Economic Adjustment Assistance or Public Works)

• The Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization (POWER) Implementation Grants

• Planning Program and Local Technical Assistance Program (this includes applications for Planning grants under the POWER initiative)

• Accelerating Industry-Led Regional Partnerships for Talent Development

• FY 2014 Regional Innovation Grants

2. How did your organization learn about EDA? (Check all that apply)

• EDA website

• Interaction with EDA staff

• Members of the United States Congress or their staff

• State, Local or Indian Tribe Officials

• EDA-funded Economic Development District

• www.Grants.gov

• Other regional planning organization

• Other (Please Specify.) _________________________

Application Submission Feedback

3. Did you contact EDA staff prior to submitting your most recent application?

• Yes

• _No

If yes and you recall, identify who you worked with either by name or function (e.g. Economic Development Representative, Regional Director or Other Staff):

________________________________________________________________

4. Using a 5-point scale in the table below, identify how satisfied or dissatisfied you were with the following elements related to your contact with EDA staff as part of application submission:

[Note: This is part of a skip pattern - Question 4 only appears if the answer to Question 3 was ‘yes.’ Otherwise, the next question, a respondent would see is Question 5.]

Application submission	Very dissatisfied	Dissatisfied	Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied	Satisfied	Very satisfied
Clarity of information conveyed by staff
Consistency of staff information with Federal Funding Opportunity Notice
Timeliness of response by staff

Application Results Feedback

5. After you submitted your application, when did you first receive a communication (email, call etc.) from EDA about your application? ____________ (Enter amount of time)

6. From the time you submitted your application approximately how long did it take to receive an award or denial notification from EDA?

• N/A, _{application status is unknown at this point in time}

• N/A_{, we withdrew our application}

• _____ (Enter amount of time)

7. Upon finding out the results of your application, did you contact EDA staff?

• Yes

• _No

• _{N/A, application status is unknown at this point in time}

• _{N/A, we withdrew our application}

If yes and you recall, identify who you worked with either by name or function:

________________________________________________________________

8. Using a 5-point scale in the table below, identify how satisfied or dissatisfied you were with the following elements related to feedback on your application:

[Note Question 8 only appears if the answer to Question 7 is Yes –otherwise this is part of a skip pattern]

Contact with EDA Staff – Application feedback	Very dissatisfied	Dissatisfied	Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied	Satisfied	Very satisfied
Clarity of information conveyed
Helpfulness of information conveyed
Timeliness of response

9. Was your application successful?

• Yes

• _No

[Note, if No, skip to Question 16]

Feedback on Launching Your Project

10. From when you received your award from EDA, how long was it (or has it been) until your project kick-off meeting?

    • ___________ (enter amount of time)

    • N/A ( no(no kick-off meeting required or not yet scheduled.)

11. Using a 5-point scale in the table below, identify how satisfied or dissatisfied you were with the following elements related to the kick-off meeting:

[Note Question 11 only appears if the answer to Question 10 is not “N/A” –otherwise this is part of a skip pattern]

Contact with EDA Staff – Project Kick-Off Meeting	Very dissatisfied	Dissatisfied	Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied	Satisfied	Very satisfied
Clarity of information conveyed
Helpfulness of information conveyed
Extent of information conveyed

Other comments about Project Kick-Off Meetings: _____________________________

12. Since receiving an award from EDA, has your organization launched its project activities?

    • Yes

    • _No

13. From when you received your award from EDA, how long was it or has it been prior to launching project activities ___________ (enter amount of time)

14. In order to begin project activities, apart from your kick-off meeting, did or have you contacted EDA staff?

• Yes

• _No

If yes and you recall, identify who you worked with either by function or name:

________________________________________________________________

15. Using a 5-point scale in the table below, identify how satisfied or dissatisfied you were with the following elements related to your contact with EDA staff related to launching your project activities:

[Note Question 15 only appears if the answer to Question 14 is Yes –otherwise this is part of a skip pattern]

Contact with EDA Staff – Launching Project Activities	Very dissatisfied	Dissatisfied	Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied	Satisfied	Very satisfied
Clarity of information conveyed
Helpfulness of information conveyed
Timeliness of response

Overall Satisfaction

16. How likely are you to apply to EDA for a grant in the future?

• Not at all likely

• Not likely

• Unsure

• Likely to apply

• _{Will definitely apply}

17. Compared to your application experience with other Federal government agencies, please indicate whether your experience with EDA was better, worse, or about the same for the factors listed below.

    Factor / Rank	Much worse	Worse	About the same	Better	Much better	N/A
    Clarity of requirements as specified in the Federal Funding Opportunity Notice
    Clarity of requirements as specified in the application forms
    Ease of application process
    Overall satisfaction with application process
    Quality of information provided by staff
    Timeliness and accessibility of staff

18. Other comments (such as why you would or would not consider applying to EDA in the future, more information about your interaction with EDA staff or how EDA compares in your experience to applying to federal grant programs)

19. What recommendations would your organization make to EDA to improve the application process?

Demographic

20. Please identify what type of entity you represent:

• EDA funded Economic Development District (EDD)

• Other regional economic development organization

• State government

• Local government

• Indian Tribe

• Institution of higher education

• _{Nonprofit organization}

• _{Other (please specify): ________________________}

21. Which type of geographic area does your organization represent, primarily?

• Rural

• _Urban

1. If EDA has follow-up questions about your survey responses, may we contact you?

(If so, fill in fields)

Name ________________________________________

Title ________________________________________

Organization ________________________________________

E-mail address ________________________________________

Phone number ________________________________________

_{Street address} ________________________________________

_City ________________________________________

_State ________________________________________

_{ZIP code} ________________________________________

Thank you for taking the time to complete this survey. The responses you provided will permit EDA to continuously improve its customer service and application process.

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