The last proposal in my seemingly never ending stack of proposal has finally come. I have taken my time in reviewing and reading each proposal to give them my best effort and full attention. I would say all together each proposal takes me about an hour or two to read through thoroughly, and another two hours to review and score. Spread out over a week this hasn't been such a terrible task. Like Gary has said though, Im glad to be almost done with reading through these since the medical jargon and proposal language is rather dry and hard to sift through sometimes.
This last proposal comes from the Rockingham Memorial Hospital. This proposal also appears very well composed and organized as it follows the RFP guidelines rather exactly. I now understand why this is one of the main requirement of the Ryan White Foundation. These guidelines were put in place to form some sort of standardization of proposals so that they wouldn't have to sift through pages of text to find the information most wanted. I would have expect most organizations to stick to these as closely as possible since they are essentially asking the Ryan White Foundation for money or services, but I digress.
This proposal had one of the highest budgets but im assuming this is because it is such a large entity in itself being a Hospital. I do not have the background knowledge to understand how much of a budget is too much or how much is reasonable so this part of the scoring sheet, I brought this concern up to Gary early in the volunteering period and he said that the budget is rather ambiguous since they hardly ever give the amount asked for. Based on its following of the guidelines, I scored this proposal the highest out of all of the plans. I will take the stack of review sheet and proposals into Gary tomorrow and discuss my experience with him.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Valley Aids Website Suggestions
Since talking to Gary I had been contemplating the task he had asked of me for the summer of helping the Valley Aids Network redesign their website. Obviously, I could not stay for the summer and help them, plus staying over the summer to volunteer would be above and beyond the scope of this project. Before I completely threw out the idea, I told myself I would look at their website and come up with some ideas or suggestions and compose them in an email and possibly send it along to the VAN. I figured anything could help, and having an outside "consultant" may prove beneficial to them once they began their website design.
My first reaction when reviewing this website was that the "half book" style theme they have going on is rather appealing and takes away from the credibility of the website as a whole. They would be better off making the page full spread throughout the screen rather then limit the information to the left portion. AS for the wealth of information I believe the site does a great job of including all the necessary information that audiences would want from this site. I think that a consistent theme with a nice neutral color scheme would be more appealing however and would give the organization the "professional" credibility they are looking for. I recommended that they include some pictures of past events or of volunteers doing work to show a "humanistic side" to the organization. I backed this up by saying that audience would rather associate organizations to actual people rather than seeing the organization as an "entity", this would make VAN much more friendly and approachable.
I included a couple more desoign ideas and drafted this email. I made sure my tone just right so I didnt come off as "cocky" but more as a suggestive volunteer. I outlined some of my previous knowledge in web design and technical comm so that I would have some credibility sent it into the VAN organization. I have yet to hear back form anyone, but Im hoping they atleast saw my email and were thankful for some of the suggestions I laid out.
Proposal #4 - Valley Aids Network
So far I have read and reviewed 3 proposals filled with medical lingo, discussing the impact and need of special programs that can hep the community of Harrisonburg. At the beginning, I was nervous and felt rather "out of place" reviewing this material since, in my eyes, this was very important information. But after getting my feet wet in with this process I have falling into a groove of sorts and have a better understanding and feel much more comfortable looking for and finding specific information and evaluating it based off the other proposals I have seen.
This next proposal was sent in from the Valley Aids Network, the same organization that is looking for someone to help with their website. Their proposal right off the back appeared very organized and was following the RFP guidelines rather exactly. After reading through their work plan and organizational structure I became interested in their involvement with the Ryan Whtie Foundation since their were several mentions of the organization within their plan. Turns out the VAN was actually formed through a grant by the RWF a few decades ago. I found this very interesting, seeing the grants of the RWF forming such an organization that has such an impact on the community and the fact that they are still applying for grants through RWF in efforts to grow and make things better.
This proposal highlights specific community areas that are in dire need of resources, but the VAN appears (at this time) to not have enough allocated resources to meet these needs. They want to establish new outreach areas that could include mediation centers and family health centers to educate and inform mainly lower class families of the HIV/AIDS awareness. This proposal has gotten one of my highest review scores based on its wealth of information and strict following of the RFP guidelines.
This next proposal was sent in from the Valley Aids Network, the same organization that is looking for someone to help with their website. Their proposal right off the back appeared very organized and was following the RFP guidelines rather exactly. After reading through their work plan and organizational structure I became interested in their involvement with the Ryan Whtie Foundation since their were several mentions of the organization within their plan. Turns out the VAN was actually formed through a grant by the RWF a few decades ago. I found this very interesting, seeing the grants of the RWF forming such an organization that has such an impact on the community and the fact that they are still applying for grants through RWF in efforts to grow and make things better.
This proposal highlights specific community areas that are in dire need of resources, but the VAN appears (at this time) to not have enough allocated resources to meet these needs. They want to establish new outreach areas that could include mediation centers and family health centers to educate and inform mainly lower class families of the HIV/AIDS awareness. This proposal has gotten one of my highest review scores based on its wealth of information and strict following of the RFP guidelines.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Evaluation Sheet
For each proposal I am to read and review and score each on a specific "scoring sheet" provided by the Ryan White Foundation. The first section is scoring the Narrative portion of each proposal (all together this section is worth 30 points). I judge each narrative based on how concise and clear each narrative is at describing the capabilities of the proposal to satisfy the requirements set forth by the RWF. This includes the activities, accomplishments, coordination with other agencies, and a specific quality improvement plan. This section should show the effectiveness of the project.
The next section for scoring is entitled "provision for effective evaluation of the program work plan". This section is worth 20 of the total points and judges the technical soundness and feasibility of the work plan introduced throughout the proposal.
The next section is the Budget and Budget Narrative and is worth another 20 points. The section is meant to show the cost effectiveness of the proposed work plan. This section should include the number of people the plan will serve, the feasibility and cost effectiveness of the plan, and it should remain consistent with the budget.
The next section shows the geographic impact if the proposal. This section evaluates the adequate evaluation of need by the community, available services, current and projected consumers receiving these services, and the number of cases this work will solve.
The last section to score is that the proposal includes collaboration with other agencies. this section is specifically important since it must include the evidence of collaboration and include a quality improvement plan.
Following this scoring sheet not only provides the RWF a basic knowledge of that each proposal meets their requirements but also provides me (the evaluator) specific aspects to look for and has given me a better understanding on the structure of these documents.
The next section for scoring is entitled "provision for effective evaluation of the program work plan". This section is worth 20 of the total points and judges the technical soundness and feasibility of the work plan introduced throughout the proposal.
The next section is the Budget and Budget Narrative and is worth another 20 points. The section is meant to show the cost effectiveness of the proposed work plan. This section should include the number of people the plan will serve, the feasibility and cost effectiveness of the plan, and it should remain consistent with the budget.
The next section shows the geographic impact if the proposal. This section evaluates the adequate evaluation of need by the community, available services, current and projected consumers receiving these services, and the number of cases this work will solve.
The last section to score is that the proposal includes collaboration with other agencies. this section is specifically important since it must include the evidence of collaboration and include a quality improvement plan.
Following this scoring sheet not only provides the RWF a basic knowledge of that each proposal meets their requirements but also provides me (the evaluator) specific aspects to look for and has given me a better understanding on the structure of these documents.
More work you say??
Gary emailed me today and asked if I would come in and speak with him about some more potential volunteer work. I was hesitant to email him aback and tell him I'd be glad to take on more work in fear of becoming overwhelmed or taking on too much for the scope of this project. I ended up emailing him back at the end of the day and set up a meeting with him later int he week. When we did meet, I left on my lunch break and had about 30 minutes to discuss this upcoming volunteer work with him. I walked in and caught Gary on a phone call (as usual), he motioned for me to sit and I waited for a good 10 minutes before he hung up and was ready to talk. He started to tell me about the organization called the Valley Aids Network. The VAN was set up based off a grant from the Ryan White Foundation back in 1989 and allows for "greater access and collaboration opportunities to a wealth of community health, human services, education and other agencies and organizations in the area. This increased visibility and recognition in the community enables VAN to enlist additional services and assistance for our clients". The Van does this by setting up different services and events meant to screen and educate people for HIV/AIDS.
Gary then went on o mention that they would like some help redesigning their website. He asked if I had the background knowledge to help, where I agreed saying I did in fact have the background and I'd love to help. He then went on to ask if I could do it over the summer, since that is when they would have the greatest need for volunteers and that is around the time they wanted to change up their website. Unfortunately, I told him I wont be around during the summer but Id be glad to email them and ask if I could help remotely or simply just give them some ideas over email. He said that would be great and gave me a contact person. We'll see if I end up working for two organizations at once, hope I didn't get myself into too much work..
Gary then went on o mention that they would like some help redesigning their website. He asked if I had the background knowledge to help, where I agreed saying I did in fact have the background and I'd love to help. He then went on to ask if I could do it over the summer, since that is when they would have the greatest need for volunteers and that is around the time they wanted to change up their website. Unfortunately, I told him I wont be around during the summer but Id be glad to email them and ask if I could help remotely or simply just give them some ideas over email. He said that would be great and gave me a contact person. We'll see if I end up working for two organizations at once, hope I didn't get myself into too much work..
Proposal #3
After meeting with Gary, I moved on to reviewing the 3rd proposal. This proposal was noticeably smaller than all of the other proposals int he stack I had. Unlike most of the others this one was mearly stapled together with roughly 15 pages attached together versus the other proposals which included 60+ pages categorized in 3 ring binders This proposal was also from the other the University of Virginia Health Center, I had reviewed a proposal earlier from the same organization. My first thought was that this proposal was coming from the same organization but was just addressing a smaller issue or asking for less from from the Ryan White Foundation that the previous proposal (hence the short length).
After reading through this document, I soon resized that the reason why this proposal had not "looked" like the other was because they simply did not follow the guidelines set out by the Ryan White Foundation. There was no Table of Contents, it was missing a few attachments meant to discuss the budget and allocation of resources just to name a few of its missing items.
Although the proposal document itself discussed fully the scope of what the project entailed, my job was to review the proposal based off the guidelines. My initial reaction was mixed since I did not feel like I should give it a terrible review based on they fact that it just did not follow the guidelines. So I made sure I was as detailed as I could when filling out he review sheet. I focused on the strenghts of the proposal and highlighted what it did right before concentrating on its missing pieces. I felt that although the guidelines were not followed, the proposal deserved a full review and should be graded on the content it DOES have rather than what it doesn't. We will see how the RWF feels about it later.
After reading through this document, I soon resized that the reason why this proposal had not "looked" like the other was because they simply did not follow the guidelines set out by the Ryan White Foundation. There was no Table of Contents, it was missing a few attachments meant to discuss the budget and allocation of resources just to name a few of its missing items.
Although the proposal document itself discussed fully the scope of what the project entailed, my job was to review the proposal based off the guidelines. My initial reaction was mixed since I did not feel like I should give it a terrible review based on they fact that it just did not follow the guidelines. So I made sure I was as detailed as I could when filling out he review sheet. I focused on the strenghts of the proposal and highlighted what it did right before concentrating on its missing pieces. I felt that although the guidelines were not followed, the proposal deserved a full review and should be graded on the content it DOES have rather than what it doesn't. We will see how the RWF feels about it later.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Meeting with Gary
Today, I decided to go meet with Gary and discuss how to better review these proposals to meet a satisfactory level of comprehension. After sending a few emails back and forth I was able to nail down a good time for both of us to meet (Gary is a very busy guy, since he volunteers his time to many different organizations). I got in my car and drove to the IIHHS building after work and found Gary typing away on his computer. I sat down and began to describe the situation I was having with the RFP and the proposals. I began by saying that I was having a hard time filling out the review form since I was feeling like the material was often "over my head" and I was missing a lot of context. I then told him how some proposals do not lay out the information in an easy to read manner and that I find myself getting lost often and searching for information that I'm not even sure its there.
After I was done with my talking, Gary smiled and looked at me saying "these things give me a headache!". Immediately, he made me feel like I was in the same boat as him in regards to these proposals. He went on to say how not all the proposals are the same and that many of the organizations don't bother even following the guidelines or they often ask for too much money. He then went on to say, he didn't expect me to give him "concrete evidence" of most of the guidelines, but he mainly wanted me to familiarize myself with proposal formats and look for missing or sloppy work. He wants me to use my WRTC background and look for easy to read layouts, and general "sticking to the guidelines". As I left his office I felt much more confident and willing to review more proposals and use my WRTC skills
to give a fresh perspective.
After I was done with my talking, Gary smiled and looked at me saying "these things give me a headache!". Immediately, he made me feel like I was in the same boat as him in regards to these proposals. He went on to say how not all the proposals are the same and that many of the organizations don't bother even following the guidelines or they often ask for too much money. He then went on to say, he didn't expect me to give him "concrete evidence" of most of the guidelines, but he mainly wanted me to familiarize myself with proposal formats and look for missing or sloppy work. He wants me to use my WRTC background and look for easy to read layouts, and general "sticking to the guidelines". As I left his office I felt much more confident and willing to review more proposals and use my WRTC skills
to give a fresh perspective.
RFP Guidelines
In this post I want to go over the guidelines that I follow when reviewing and reading the various proposals for the Ryan White Foundation. The first aspect I consider is the scope and purpose of the proposal at hand. The purpose of the Ryan White Foundation's request for proposals (RFP) is to solicit subcontractors to provide services to people with HIV who fall within the income eligibility guidelines in the Northwest Region of Virginia.
These eligibility guidelines are as follows, eligible applicants are any agency or organization, government, or entities that provide direct services to people with HIV/AIDS. Eligible consumers must reside in Virginia and are HIV positive individuals, whose documented gross income is 300% or less than the Federal poverty level, who are without health insurance, whose health insurance does not cover the service, and/or whose health insurance has co-payments for covered services. This is a rather hard sort of issue to sift through and find if not stated directly, so I often find it trouble some to review this basic guideline.
I find that most often when trying to follow these guidelines I am often "over my head" in information and am not contributing to the review quite the same aspects other people are contributing because of my lack of background knowledge. I will meet with Gary later to discuss this before moving on with the other reviews of the proposals.
These eligibility guidelines are as follows, eligible applicants are any agency or organization, government, or entities that provide direct services to people with HIV/AIDS. Eligible consumers must reside in Virginia and are HIV positive individuals, whose documented gross income is 300% or less than the Federal poverty level, who are without health insurance, whose health insurance does not cover the service, and/or whose health insurance has co-payments for covered services. This is a rather hard sort of issue to sift through and find if not stated directly, so I often find it trouble some to review this basic guideline.
I find that most often when trying to follow these guidelines I am often "over my head" in information and am not contributing to the review quite the same aspects other people are contributing because of my lack of background knowledge. I will meet with Gary later to discuss this before moving on with the other reviews of the proposals.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Proposal #2
The following week, I had planned on reviewing the next portfolio. This proposal was compiled by the Valley Aid Network and was of equal length and size of the previously review proposal. Since I felt like I was a little bit over my head in material that i didn't understand when reviewing the last proposal, I decided to dedicate more time to reading this one before I went on to review and rate the actual proposal itself. The was I did this was, I went through the proposal reading for information that would stick out to me, specifics like budgets and allocation of funds. I opened up a notebook and jotted down the "key features" that I deemed important so that when I go back to review, I would remember what stood out to me right off the back. I also felt like I did not compare the first proposal to the RFP guidelines as closely as I should have, this could have also been a reason for my lack of understanding. For this go around, I opened up the guidelines on my laptop and later in the week actually went through and checked off certain aspects of the guidelines that the proposal fulfilled. After finishing reviewing this proposal, I believe I allocated enough time and effort into fully understanding the scope of the proposal and was able to more accurately analyze and see whether or not this proposal would be a suitable fit for what the Ryan White Foundation was looking to fund. I will treat the rest of the proposals this way as well, it may take longer but since I was given no real deadline, I do not foresee this being an issue.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Proposal #1
The first proposal I was given was very large in size. It came packed within a large 3 ring binder. My first thought when thinking about how to tackle this "beast" of a report was to just read it through once and then fill out the evaluation sheet. A few pages into the proposal itself, I realized this may not be the right course of action. The report had been written with a specific purpose in mind following a set of guidelines set forth by the Ryan White Foundation, It was up to the the organization writing the report how closely they would stick to the guidelines.
The University of Virginia Health System was the organization who wrote this first proposal and it was very obvious this wasn't their first time working with this foundation. Their proposal was to the "T", exactly what the RWF was looking for in terms of guidelines. All the sections outlined by the RWF were address and followed by the UVA Health System, this made it very easy to grade and review. After spending a few hours checking off items and highlighting important information, I was ready to start filling out the review sheet. For the most part, I am able to answer and review nearly every aspect of the review sheet but, some sections are above my level of involvement within the organization and I was not able to answer fully (Such as: Does this budget seem realistic based on the needs of the Ryan White Foundation?) I graded the proposal and placed the review sheet within the binder. After I take this one back to Gary, I will pick up another and begin on another one. So far, I'm liking this process. I feel involved in something much bigger than me...pretty cool feeling.
The University of Virginia Health System was the organization who wrote this first proposal and it was very obvious this wasn't their first time working with this foundation. Their proposal was to the "T", exactly what the RWF was looking for in terms of guidelines. All the sections outlined by the RWF were address and followed by the UVA Health System, this made it very easy to grade and review. After spending a few hours checking off items and highlighting important information, I was ready to start filling out the review sheet. For the most part, I am able to answer and review nearly every aspect of the review sheet but, some sections are above my level of involvement within the organization and I was not able to answer fully (Such as: Does this budget seem realistic based on the needs of the Ryan White Foundation?) I graded the proposal and placed the review sheet within the binder. After I take this one back to Gary, I will pick up another and begin on another one. So far, I'm liking this process. I feel involved in something much bigger than me...pretty cool feeling.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Day 1
My first experience working with the Ryan White foundation was an interesting one. After several attempts to meet with Gary Race, my supervisor, I finally just decided to go by his office in IIHHS. Walking into his office was a bit awkward, since we had never met before but I introduced myself anyways and asked about the proposals. He pointed to a stack of binders and papers and said "have at it", printed me off a bunch of evaluation sheets, and explained that he wanted me to read the proposals and evaluate them based on the RFP guidelines. I decided to tackle this pile one proposal at a time (since they were about 100 pages in length) and took the stack with me to my car and left. My next post will talk about my first experience reviewing and reading a medical related proposal.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Ryan White Foundation
This blog will be the place where I will discuss and reflect upon my experiences working with the Ryan White Foundation. The Ryan White Foundation provides HIV-related services in the United States for those who do not have sufficient health care coverage or financial resources for coping with HIV disease. The program fills gaps in care not met by other payers. It is named after a young boy who suffered from HIV and was expelled from school because of the public's' misunderstanding of the disease. He became the poster child for AIDS/HIV because of the discrimination he faced at such a young age.
My contribution to the foundation will be that of a grant editor. Several grants have been submitted for approval and the review process begins around March 15th. My role will be to read through the grants and make sure they fall in line with the RFP guidelines set forth by the foundation. I will begin reviewing these grants tomorrow and will be writing another post soon after.
My contribution to the foundation will be that of a grant editor. Several grants have been submitted for approval and the review process begins around March 15th. My role will be to read through the grants and make sure they fall in line with the RFP guidelines set forth by the foundation. I will begin reviewing these grants tomorrow and will be writing another post soon after.
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