CANAR

Peer reviewing is a process by which the federal government encourages individuals to volunteer in helping different government agencies decide which grants get funded and which ones don’t.

A small group of individuals is selected from a larger group to read grant proposals, and then score them based on a set of assurances/criteria that must be included in every grant proposal. The 121 Program Grants are put through this process as grant applications are submitted for Tribal VR Programs.

We as Tribal VR Directors and Staff (current and former) are qualified to be peer reviewers of 121 grant applications given that we have experience working in Tribal VR. Many individuals across the nation believe that only Tribal VR Staff have the true qualifications needed to be peer reviewers. Tribal VR Staff have a deep understanding of  how Tribal VR programs operate, the ethical challenges involved, and the cultural aspects of day to day activities in the personal and professional lives of their consumers.

Send a current résumé and letter of interest to Tom Finch with a copy to August Martin or Alfreda Reeves via email as an attachment.

Email for Tom Finch: Finch, Tom Tom.Finch@ed.gov

Email for August Martin:  Martin, August August.Martin@ed.gov

Email for Alfreda Reeves:  Reeves, Alfreda Alfreda.Reeves@ed.gov

Tom Finch

Phone: (202)-245-7343 or

Email: Tom.Finch@ed.gov

Tom Finch

Phone: (202)-245-7343 or

Email: Tom.Finch@ed.gov

Attach the letter of interest /cover letter and résumé in an email when applying to become a peer reviewer.

There is no deadline. However, people are encouraged to submit as soon as they can.

The honorarium is $200 and is paid each day that the panel is convened + $200.00 for the preparation fee (when travel is not required). Preparation means that applications are forwarded to the reviewer, they are asked to rate them and to enter the information into the ereader system. The only competition that RSA requires people to come to DC for is the American Indian Vocational Rehabilitation Program. In this instance, transportation, including per diem expenses, plus the honorarium is paid to the peer reviewer.

The résumés that are in the system remain there until they (Tom Finch, Alfreda Reeves and/or August Martin) are informed by the individual that they no longer wish to continue serving as a peer reviewer or there is a call to update the existing system that they presently have.

Competition Managers such as August or Alfreda submit a request to the Peer Review Support Contractor to pull a number of names from the database on a random basis. The names are coded in the database, so for example, if Alfreda or August were to send the request to the contractor, it would be with qualifiers such as experience in American Indian Rehabilitation or familiarity within Indian Country. These qualifiers would then queue the contractor to select individuals with a specific type of experience. The names are then sent back to August or Alfreda for review and then sent to Tom Finch for final review and approval. Once Tom approves those names, they are sent to the contractor and then the contractor contacts those individuals to determine their availability for a peer review.

Unfortunately there is no response that the department sends to an individual that has submitted a résumé and cover letter, expressing an interest in peer reviewing. What Tom suggests is that if somebody has submitted a résumé and cover letter expressing his/her interest to become a peer reviewer, and has not received a call within the course of a year, then the applicant should call his/her Project Officer or Tom directly. What they should tell Tom or their Project Officer is that it has been over a year since they have submitted an application and they have not been called. Then ask if Tom or the Project Officer if RSA can provide an explanation. After that Tom or the Project Officer will follow up to determine if they are in the system and considered to be a live applicant. It is very important that individuals who have applied to become peer reviewers call to check on their application status. In this case, the squeaky wheel gets the grease!  Another thing that Tom and the Project Officers can do is request particular people to be called, even though they are not randomly selected by the contractor, i.e… they can say, “I’m particularly interested in the following individuals… please make sure they are on the list.”

There has not been posted recently. In the past when RSA has considered refreshing the pool of peer reviewers there were announcements that appeared in the federal register soliciting résumés to serve as a peer reviewer. If that is the case in the future (refreshing the pool of peer reviewers) and in reference to the American Indian VR Program, RSA will notify everyone through the list serve and/or the monthly teleconferences that résumés and letters of interest are being requested.

In their letter of interest, individuals should include areas they feel comfortable in reviewing. If individuals are working in 121 Programs, but feel that their experience and training allows them to review Rehabilitation and Long Term Training Grants, Migrant Seasonal Farm Worker Program Grants, Projects with Industry Program Grants, etc…then they need to include that information in their cover letters / letters of interest, which is then attached to their résumé. RSA then codes that information when they send it to the contractor to be included in the peer review database/system.

All applications are submitted to Tom Finch. Tom makes the determination to include individuals in the peer review system. Alfreda and August can only nominate individuals to serve as potential reviewers. Tom has the final approval. He is the one that decides if a person has the qualifications to become a peer reviewer.