What work does an evaluator do on a proposal before it's submitted?
The work an evaluator does on a proposal before it's submitted starts with the project itself and ends with the evaluation section and its budget.
- Aligning the project. An evaluator can make sure your goals, objectives, activities, and outcomes are all in line, and that they're presented in a way reviewers expect. An evaluator can also help build a logic model if your solicitation asks for one. What's a logic model, and does my proposal really need one? explains what one does.
- Designing the evaluation plan. The evaluator develops a plan that measures the right things to tell the story of your project: how it's being carried out, what's going well, where there are challenges, how you've had to adjust (if needed), what could be improved, and what the program's impact is.
- Building the budget. In developing that scope of work, the evaluator also develops the evaluation budget, so the two match. How much of my grant budget should go to evaluation? covers how the number is set.
- Writing. When you agree to work together if the project is funded, the evaluator can write the evaluation section of the proposal. Depending on the funder, you may also need a biosketch, resume, or letter of commitment from the evaluator, which they'll provide.
What the evaluation section has to contain is its own question, answered in What should the evaluation section of my grant proposal include?
What does it tell reviewers when an evaluator is named in the proposal?
When an evaluator is named in the proposal, it tells reviewers that the team has taken the evaluation seriously, has an evaluation plan in line with its goals, and has an evaluation budget in line with the scope. The opposite signal matters too. A proposal that promises a large scope of work and budgets too little for it suggests to reviewers that the team may not be able to carry out the evaluation, which can make them less sure about the project overall.
Whether you can formally name an evaluator before the award depends on your funder and your institution's procurement rules, and naming an evaluator isn't the same as involving one. Do I need to name an external evaluator before my grant is funded? covers both.
How early should I bring an evaluator in?
Bring an evaluator in early enough to agree on the scope and the budget together, before either is fixed in the proposal. If an evaluator joins only days before the deadline, there may not be time to agree on the scope and the budget, and that planning won't show in the proposal.
The proposal stage is also your chance to get to know the person you'll work with for the life of the grant. You'll work with this evaluator for the next three, four, or five years, or however long the funding period is. You want someone you have a good relationship with, who supports your work, and who you can trust to give you honest feedback on your program.
What should I send an evaluator to get started?
To get started, send an evaluator these materials:
- the solicitation
- your project description or draft narrative
- your goals and planned activities
- any logic model you have
- the submission deadline
The draft doesn't need to be finished. Sending it early leaves time to agree on the scope and the budget before the deadline. If you don't have an evaluator to send them to yet, How do I find an external evaluator for my federal grant? covers finding one.
The Grantibly perspective
Lauren's perspective
At Grantibly, we work with project teams during proposal development whenever possible so the evaluation questions, methods, timeline, and budget are designed by the people who will actually conduct the evaluation.
That work starts with the question the evaluation needs to answer. Once we know what a project needs to learn, we can determine what evidence would answer that question and the best way to collect it. Sometimes that's a survey. Sometimes it's interviews, focus groups, institutional data, participation records, or a combination.
We also help project teams distinguish between what they need to know to evaluate the project well and what would be interesting to study. Both can be worthwhile. They simply may not belong in the same scope of work, and the proposal stage is the right time to decide.
