Form 040 HHS OCS CED Survey

Dept of HHS ACF CED

Community Economic Development

Grantee Satisfaction Survey

CED Grantees

Introduction

The Community Economic Development (CED) program staff within the Office for Community Services (OCS) would like to hear from its partners – the grantees who administer CED projects throughout the nation – to understand how we can better work with you to operate the program. We ask for your participation in this survey to help improve CED staff effectiveness as your partner and service provider.

This anonymous survey will take approximately 10 minutes to complete. Your response is confidential. CFI Group, a third-party research and consulting firm, is administering the survey. This survey is authorized by Office of Management and Budget Control No. 1090-0007, which expires September 30, 2021, and your participation is voluntary.

Program Information

PI1. How did you find out about the CED Program? (select all that apply)

1. Another CED grantee or sub-grantee

2. Grants.gov

3. ACF website: www.acf.gov/funding opportunities

4. Another organization

5. A conference

6. Other (please specify)

PI2. How many times has your organization applied for a Community Economic Development grant over the past three years?

PI3. How many CED grants has your organization been awarded over the past three years?

Application Process

Please think about your most recent experience with the application process for the Community Economic Development Program.

Using a scale from 1 to 10, where 1 is poor and 10 is excellent; please rate the application process on the following.

AP1. Clarity of written guidelines and instructions on applying for a grant

AP2. Clarity of the grant award criteria

AP3. Ease of reaching the OCS Help Desk (ocsgrants@acf.hhs.gov) to address questions/issues about the application process

AP4. Usefulness of the guidance provided by the OCS Help Desk

AP5. What specific challenges, if any, do you have in addressing the criteria detailed in the grant application? (Open-ended)

Award Process

Please think about your most recent experience with the award process for the Community Economic Development Program.

Using a scale from 1 to 10, where 1 is poor and 10 is excellent; please rate the award process on the following.

AWP1. Timeliness of grant award information

AWP2. Ease of understanding the terms and conditions of your CED grant

AWP3. Ease of understanding funding restrictions

AWP4. Ease of addressing/resolving funding restrictions discussed in the Notice of Award

AWP5. Ease of reaching a government specialist to address questions/issues about the award

Accessing Grant Funds

Now think about the process for accessing or “drawing down” the federal CED grant funds from the Payment Management System. Using a scale from 1 to 10, where 1 means poor and 10 means excellent, please rate the following.

AG1. Clarity of the process for accessing funds

AG2. Ease of using the Payment Management System

AG3. Timeliness of funds being available after a request is submitted

AG4. Responsiveness of Grant Management Specialists to questions such as post-award amendments, restrictions, and technical assistance

AG5. Timeliness of resolution of problems

Training

Think about the on-going training (i.e. webinars, conferences, and online resources at acf.hhs.gov/OCS/programs/CED) available for the CED Program. Please rate the following using a scale from 1 to 10, where 1 means poor and 10 means excellent.

T1. Availability of information about training provided by CED

T2. Quality of training provided

T3. Program knowledge of trainers

T4. Usefulness of online resources (tools, templates, and videos)

T5. Ease of finding the training you need online

Technical Assistance

Think about the technical assistance (TA phone calls and capacity-building visits dealing with specific grantee challenges) available for CED grantees. Please rate the following using a scale from 1 to 10, where 1 means poor and 10 means excellent.

TA1. Availability of technical assistance

TA2. Quality of technical assistance

TA3. Knowledge of the technical assistance provider(s)

TA4. Usefulness of the technical assistance provided in helping you make program improvements

Think about what training and technical assistance would be useful to you in the future, whether you’ve received any training or technical assistance from CED in the past.

TA5. What type of training and technical assistance would you want more frequently? (Choose two)

1. Webinars

2. One-on-One assistance

3. Peer-to-Peer assistance

4. In-person group meeting

5. Other (please specify)

TA6. What topics for training and technical assistance do you most need? (Open-ended)

Customer Service - CED Program Specialists

Think about your interactions with the CED Program Specialist(s). Please rate the following using a scale from 1 to 10, where 1 is poor and 10 is excellent.

CS1. Ability to reach an OCS Program Specialist(s)

CS2. Timeliness of follow-up provided

CS3. Thoroughness of the follow-up

CS4. Accuracy of the follow-up

CS5. How can CED make the semi-annual check-in calls with your Program Specialist more useful to you? (Open-ended)

Grant Monitoring and Corrective Action

Please think about the CED monitoring activities as it relates to the following areas. Using a scale from 1 to 10, where 1 is poor and 10 is excellent, please rate the following.

GM1. Usefulness of the monitoring visit

GM2. Clarity of feedback provided in the monitoring report

GM3. Usefulness of feedback provided in the monitoring report

GM4. Timeliness of feedback provided in the monitoring report

GM5. Clarity of the assistance provided in the development of any corrective action plan

GM6. What suggestions do you have for how CED could improve its monitoring process? (Open-ended)

On-Line Data Collection (OLDC)

Think about your use of the On-Line Data Collection system for your Program Performance Reporting. Please rate the following using a scale from 1 to 10, where 1 is poor and 10 is excellent.

OL1. Ease of use

OL2. Accessibility (user account access)

OL3. Convenience of the OLDC system

OL4. Effectiveness of the OLDC system in making reporting less time-consuming

OL5. Training on how and when to use the OLDC system

OL6. What specific challenges, if any, do you have with using OLDC? (Open-ended)

Satisfaction

Think about all your experiences with the CED Program over the past year.

SAT1. Using a scale from 1 to 10, where 1 means very dissatisfied and 10 means very satisfied, please rate your overall satisfaction with the Community Economic Development Program.

SAT2. Now, think about your expectations for the CED Program and how well it met your expectations. Please rate how well the CED Program met your expectations using a scale from 1 to 10, where 1 means falls short of your expectations and 10 means exceeds your expectations.

SAT3. Now, forget about the CED Program for a minute and think about the ideal grant providing organization. How well does the CED Program compare to that ideal?

Please use a scale from 1 to 10, where 1 means very far from the ideal and 10 means very close to the ideal.

SAT4. NOTE IF ANY OF ABOVE SCORES ARE LESS THAN 6, “What was the reason for your rating?”

Outcome Behaviors

OB1. How likely are you to apply for a grant from the CED Program in the future? Please indicate how likely you are on a scale from 1 to 10, where 1 means not very likely and 10 means very likely?

If less than 5, ask “why not?”

OB2. How confident are you that the CED Program is fulfilling its mission of addressing the economic needs of low-income individuals and families through the creation of sustainable business development and employment opportunities.  Please use a scale from 1 to 10, where 1 means not very confident and 10 means very confident.

OB3. How willing would you be to recommend other organizations apply for funds from CED to implement a CED project if you were asked to? Please use a scale from 1 to 10, where 1 means not very willing and 10 means very willing.

OB4. What is the biggest challenge you face in implementing your CED Grant? (Open-ended)

OB5. Please share any additional feedback you have regarding the CED Program. (Open-ended)

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