Video 15: Organizational Capacity

Organizational Capacity: Organization Structure, Staffing, Partnerships, Contracts, and Consultants, and Oversight of Federal Funds

This section of the application demonstrate that the key staff and management have the expertise, knowledge, and credentials relative to assigned roles. Describe how the applicant organization has a connection to the community with the ability to implement the project with an efficient structure to oversee federal funds, partners, and the delivery of project objectives. In reaching their conclusions, reviewers will consider the degree to which the following narrative elements are well thought out, well designed, and well described.

This is video 15 of the 2021 Pre-Application Training Videos developed by the Administration for Native Americans Regional Training and Technical Assistance Centers. I'm your trainer today. My name is Drena McIntyre and I am with the Alaska Region Training and Technical Assistance Center. The Alaska Region Training and Technical Assistance Center provides free training and technical assistance to the 227 tribes and Native nonprofits located in Alaska. You can reach us www.anaalaska.org or call 800-948-3158. This video series is designed by ANA to introduce you to the basic concepts for preparing a 2021 ANA grant application to support your community-based project. There are 16 videos in this series and we recommend that you take them in sequence. This is video 15 of pre-application training. Organizational capacity including organization structure, partnerships, contracts, consultants, and oversight of federal funds, also included is bonus points and project summary. Under organizational capacity, your application needs to clearly document a staffing and organizational structure that will support full implementation upon receipt of award including identification of a project investigator or project director, project staff, and timeframe and strategy for filling vacant positions. Through resumes, curricula vitae, or other evidence, the application will document that the combined knowledge, experience, and capabilities of the proposed PI/PD, key project staff, and key partners is sufficient to carry out and manage the proposed project. You can get up to 12 points for this section. So to demonstrate, your organization's makeup, it's good just to use a simple organizational chart and layout and make sure you include your tribal council and also show where you're funded. Any funded project staff will fall within the organization. Make sure you always connect to the board of directors or tribal council. This is a simple table that you can use to grid out the key staff that will be involved with the project and you can list here key staff position, list the person if identified for the position, so if you already have someone in mind, what the qualifications are, what the roles and responsibilities for the position are, make sure you attach their resume or vitae and what their expected hire date would be if the position is vacant. You would also do the same for key partners. You would list your key partners, what their qualifications are to do the work, what their roles and responsibilities are. The attachment would include their scope of work. So on pages 101 and 102 of the manual, it discusses key staff and partnerships. Remember that you need to identify your key staff positions including individuals already identified if applicable and then also you would need to identify your key partners and their roles in the project. And you can use this table to fill in for all your key staff and then another for your key partners. Also under organizational capacity, your application should detail a plan to ensure the effective management over and coordination of activities by any partners, contractors, subcontractors, or consultants including third-party agreements or contracts where applicable. Make sure that you attach those agreements or contracts in your appendices of your application. Also as requested in section 4.2 in the project description plan for oversight of federal funds, award funds, and activities, your application needs to describe a plan for the proper oversight of federal award funds, including the identification of staff and internal controls for financial management, demonstrated knowledge or experience in following federal cost principles, proper and timely disbursement of funds, and accurate accounting practices. And when you're discussing the proper oversight of federal funds, make sure that you describe financial internal controls of your organization and policies and procedures. And they should always align with both 2 CFR Part 200 and 45 CFR Part 75 of which ANA operates under. And these are federal dollars so you need to make sure that you align with them. You need to identify those financial staff, contractors, and their experience. Attach their resumes, job descriptions, statements of their qualifications. Also list experience successfully managing other federal grants and cite any recent clean audits if applicable. So this year, ANA is offering bonus points for SEDS projects for economic development. And if your proposed project addresses one or more of the legislative economic priority areas, such as the development of a tribal code, I'm gonna start this one again. Jesse, I'm kinda tongue tied. I'm not sure why, but anyway, okay, start over. For SEDS projects that are bonus points this year, specifically for economic development, if your proposed project addresses one or more of the legislative economic priority areas, such as the development of a tribal code or court system for purposes of economic development including commercial codes, training court personnel, and the development of non-profit subsidiaries or other tribal business structures, or the development of a Native community development financial institution, a CDFI, including training and administrative expenses, or the development of a tribal master plan for community and economic development and infrastructure. If your application proposes a legislative priority project, you need to make sure and include that your project goal, all your objectives and indicators are reflected in the project's framework, project approach, objective work plan, and outcome tracker. Reviewers should provide 10 points if all of these elements are included in the application to address one or more of the economic development priority areas. So it's important to note here that you need to reflect that proposed legislative priority is woven into all parts of your project for you to get the full 10 points. It's either zero or 10 points. Another possibility for bonus points under SEDS is the Native American community priority area bonus points. If your proposed project addresses one or more priority areas as referenced in section one, they include Native veterans, emergency preparedness and response, or missing and murdered Native Americans. Reviewers can provide five points if the application demonstrates a strategic approach to address or more of these priority areas as evidenced in your goal, objectives, and indicators. In addition, to receive bonus points for Native veterans priority area, Native veterans must be included as the target population either as participants or beneficiaries. Again, this is an all or nothing. If you have it and you've reflected it effectively throughout the body of your project, you will get the five points. If not, it'll be zero. For your project abstract or summary, this is the document that everybody sees on the ANA website describing your project. So you want this to be a very clear, concise, powerful statement about the work of this project. It should be no more than one page, single-spaced. It should serve as a very concise summary of your project plan, including needs to be addressed, proposed services, and the populations to be served. And at the top of your page, include the project title, the applicant name, address, contact information, including a website address if applicable. For more information about project abstract or summary, you can go to page 132 and 133 of the manual and make sure you include the required information at the top of the page, summarize your framework and approach to achieving your objectives. And again, remember, that the format is one page, single-space, 12 point Times New Roman font with one inch margins. And you've already written most of it because you've described your framework already. So it's always a great idea to do this last. The Alaska Region Training and Technical Assistance Center is here to answer any of your questions. We offer 16 hours of free pre-application review for any application that is at least 75% complete. We provide tips and resources to help you complete your application. If you want to request technical assistance, please go to www.anaalaska.org, click on technical assistance at the top of the page, then click on request TA and someone will get back to you quickly. You can also call 809-948-3158.

Up next

Video 16: Submitting the Application to ANA

Submitting the Application to ANA

Training episodes

Video 1: Brief Introduction to ANA and New Funding Opportunities

Video 2: How to Build your ANA Application

Video 3: Long-Term Community Goal

Video 4: Current Community Condition

Video 5: Project Goals

Video 6: TTIP Objectives

Video 7: Outcomes, Indicators, and Outputs

Video 8: Outcome Tracker & Outcome Tracking Strategy

Video 9: Objective Work Plan

Video 10: Budget

Video 11: Community-Based Strategy

Video 12: Readiness and Implementation Strategy

Video 13: Contingency Plans

Video 14: Sustainability Plans

Video 15: Organizational Capacity

Video 16: Submitting the Application to ANA

Video 15: Organizational Capacity

Organizational Capacity: Organization Structure, Staffing, Partnerships, Contracts, and Consultants, and Oversight of Federal Funds

Up next

Video 16: Submitting the Application to ANA

Training episodes

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