45 C.F.R. § 2522. 425 What does the Corporation consider in assessing Program Design?
Title 45 - Public Welfare
In determining the quality of your proposal's program design, the Corporation considers your rationale and approach for the proposed program, member outputs and outcomes, and community outputs and outcomes. (a) Rationale and approach. In evaluating your rationale and approach, the Corporation considers the following criteria: (1) Whether your proposal describes and adequately documents a compelling need within the target community, including a description of how you identified the need; (2) Whether your proposal includes well-designed activities that address the compelling need, with ambitious performance measures, and a plan or system for continuous program self-assessment and improvement; (3) Whether your proposal describes well-defined roles for participants that are aligned with the identified needs and that lead to measurable outputs and outcomes; and (4) The extent to which your proposed program or project: (i) Effectively involves the target community in planning and implementation; (ii) Builds on (without duplicating), or reflects collaboration with, other national and community service programs supported by the Corporation; and (iii) Is designed to be replicated. (b) Member outputs and outcomes. In evaluating how your proposal addresses member outputs and outcomes, the Corporation considers the extent to which your proposal or program: (1) Includes effective and feasible plans for, or evidence of, recruiting, managing, and rewarding diverse members, including those from the target community, and demonstrating member satisfaction; (2) If you are a current grantee, has succeeded in meeting reasonable member enrollment and retention targets in prior grant periods, as determined by the Corporation; (3) Includes effective and feasible plans for, or evidence of, developing, training, and supervising members; (4) Demonstrates well-designed training or service activities that promote and sustain post-service, an ethic of service and civic responsibility, including structured opportunities for members to reflect on and learn from their service; and (5) If you are a current grantee, has met well-defined, performance measures regarding AmeriCorps members, including any applicable national performance measures, and including outputs and outcomes. (c) Community outputs and outcomes. In evaluating whether your proposal adequately addresses community outputs and outcomes, the Corporation considers the extent to which your proposal or program: (1) Is successful in meeting targeted, compelling community needs, or if you are a current grantee, the extent to which your program has met its well-defined, community-based performance measures, including any applicable national performance measures, and including outputs and outcomes, in previous grant cycles, and is continually expanding and increasing its reach and impact in the community; (2) Has an impact in the community that is sustainable beyond the presence of Federal support (For example, if one of your projects is to revitalize a local park, you would meet this criterion by showing that after you have completed your revitalization project, the community will continue its upkeep on its own); (3) Generates and supports volunteers to expand the reach of your program in the community; and (4) Enhances capacity-building of other organizations and institutions important to the community, such as schools, homeland security organizations, neighborhood watch organizations, civic associations, and community organizations, including faith-based organizations. [70 FR 39600, July 8, 2005]
Title 45: Public Welfare
PART 2522—AMERICORPS PARTICIPANTS, PROGRAMS, AND APPLICANTS
Subpart D—Selection of AmeriCorps Programs
§ 2522. 425 What does the Corporation consider in assessing Program Design?
