4 Full assessment

The purpose of full assessment is to examine the application in a structured way in order to be able to score it against specific assessment criteria. Regional advisory panels and country committees will use these scores to decide which applications to fund.

The assessment criteria and associated guidance for core grants programmes appear in the appendix to this manual.

As part of your assessment you will have to examine all aspects of the application very closely. You will review financial information to ensure that the amount requested is reasonable, and you will contact the applicant to discuss various aspects of their application.

This chapter focuses on the general procedures that you must follow in carrying out a full assessment. It discusses your interview with the applicant and analysis of information as methods of considering and supplementing the application. It also considers how to go about recommending variations to the amount of grant requested, and the attachment of terms and conditions to recommendations to fund. It also outlines procedures for passing larger applications for expert assessment.

4.1 Process steps

Step 1: Prepare questions for the interview.

Review the application to determine what you need to know more about to make an informed assessment. Use the assessment criteria and checklists in the programme manual to help prepare a list of questions that will clarify details already given or provide new information.

Remember that you will already know something of the organisation and the project from conducting the first assessment. You should certainly include any questions that arose at that stage.

If the application is part of a custom set, ensure that you have already agreed parameters of what the set will consider with your set colleague(s). See section 6.1 for further guidance.

It should generally take no more than 45 minutes or so to prepare your list of questions, although this may easily increase for more complex applications.

Step 2: Decide whether you need to visit the applicant organisation.

It will not be possible to visit every applicant. However, you can expect to visit a good number of the organisations whose applications you assess at this level, although this may vary on the basis of your caseload and that of your office.

• You must visit all applicants whose projects require substantially large amounts of financial support.
• You must visit re-applicants in the above circumstances, if their application is complex, and if they have requested a large sum to develop an existing project that has not received a monitoring visit. You should also visit them if you have any concerns arising from previous grant management. Please refer to the general guidance about re-applications in chapter 8 and on the intranet.
• You may also decide that you should visit an applicant on the basis of the telephone interview that you conduct with them. If this happens, make sure that you clarify to the applicant (and to yourself) why you need to visit.
• Could you visit another applicant on the same trip?

  The following questions may help you to decide whether to visit an organisation:

• Would a telephone interview hinder the applicant's ability to present their case?
• If the application is for capital funding, do you need to see the premises?
• Is the application very complex? Do you need to discuss it with several people?

See section 4.2 for guidance on interviewing the applicant.

Step 3: Conduct the interview and record the discussion.

You should approach the interview in a structured way, working logically through assessment criteria and particular judgement points. Take notes throughout the interview and write them up as soon as possible afterwards.

Step 4: Score the application and make a recommendation.

1. Refer to the assessment criteria and associated guidance.
2. Consider all the information that you have gathered and award the application a score against each of the assessment criteria in AMI. You must note facts and figures that justify the score that you have given. If you are dealing with a re-application, follow the guidance laid out more fully in chapter 8. In brief, if the application is for a different project, you may only use the information gathered about the previous grant to score criteria relating to the management of the organisation and project. For a development re-application, on the other hand, you should use that information to help you score all criteria.
3. Record a recommendation about whether the application should be funded and justify your recommendation in the assessment summary in AMI. Draw on the arguments you have cited in your scoring. See section 4.6 for further guidance about your recommendation.
4. Follow the procedures described in this chapter for any proposed grant variations or additional terms and conditions.
5. Undertake comparative judgement on custom sets. See section 6.1 and any relevant local guidance.
6. Complete any outstanding coding you need to provide for the organisation and project. See section 4.9 and the coding chapter if the reference manual.
7. If this is a multiple application, forward your full assessment report and the project budget to the relevant multiple applications co-ordinator and await their advice.
8. Sign off your assessment.

Remember that if you identify a conflict of interest at any stage of assessment you must report the fact so that the application can be assigned to another member of staff.

4.2 Contacting the applicant

You are the Board's main contact with the applicant. We hope that applicants will regard the assessment process as a positive experience whether they receive a grant or not. The way that you deal with the applicant during assessment is therefore very important.

Planning

You may wish to consider the following points:

• Spending time planning questions and timing for telephone assessments and visits will save time later.
• Identify the number of evening calls you are likely to have to make.
• It is good practice to call the applicant and ask them to choose a block of time when you can call them back to discuss their application. This will allow them to gather all necessary papers and information.
• Telephone interviews can be changed to visits.
• Ensure that you speak to the person identified on the application form as the main contact. They are responsible for the application.
• Make sure that you have prepared notes and questions for the interview. You should develop an agenda to organise your discussion. Agree this with the applicant so that they can prepare any paperwork they need, but don. t tell them exactly what you are going to ask.
• Agree with the applicant how long any interview should last, especially if you are visiting. This will help applicants to present their case more effectively.
• Find out and agree who will be present at the interview. You might be interested to meet other people involved in the project, such as members of the management committee and service users.

Conducting the interview

• Always leave a contact number and address in the office diary when you make a visit. You may sometimes have to ask a colleague to attend with you. Please refer to any local health and safety procedures and discuss the matter with your manager.
• Always try to make sure that the applicant is as comfortable as possible with the interview. This will help them to make their best case and you to obtain the information that you need.
• Make sure that you explain to the applicant that you are interviewing them in order to assess their application and to provide information to a committee. You should emphasise that you do not decide whether they will receive funding or not. This should help promote clearer and more relaxed communication.
• Ask specific questions. Give the applicant ample opportunity to clarify and add to the details in the application form.
• Never give the applicant feedback . whether positive or negative . on the quality of their application or on the likelihood of funding. This also means that you should not tell them about any grant variation or extra terms and conditions that you may be considering.
• Take notes during the interview to prompt you later. Use a consistent format and write up notes as soon as possible.
• Before you leave or finish the call, summarise the main points and agree them with the applicant. Find out when they will provide you with any further information that you have requested. Remind them that you may have to contact them for more information later.
• Explain that you will now write a report about the visit and that you will use all the information that you have gathered to prepare an assessment for the country committee, which alone has the power to decide which applications will be funded.
• Thank the applicant for their time.
• Remember that you have the right to ask for another appointment if the interview is interrupted or derailed, or if you feel intimidated in any way. Tell the applicant that you will be in touch, and discuss any serious concerns with your manager as soon as you can.

For further information about conducting interviews, see chapter 8.

If you have difficulty contacting the applicant, please refer to the procedures outlined under "Elusive applicants" in chapter 8.

Referees

• Don. t contact the referee unless you believe that they can add further evidence to our report.
• Occasionally it is useful to speak to the referee if you still have doubts about the organisation or the project after your assessment interview. You don. t need the applicant. s permission to contact the referee.
• If you wish to discuss any aspect of a specific application with a third party other than the referee, you must first seek the applicant. s approval to do so.

4.3 Grant variation

Grant variation refers to the difference between the amount of money requested by an applicant and the amount you recommend for funding at the end of full assessment. The Board expects that only a small number of recommendations that are put to and agreed by Committee will involve large changes to amounts of grant requested by the applicant. However, you may sometimes be able to demonstrate that a project could be carried out for less because of over-estimation of some of the costs involved. On the other hand, applicants may have left out or under-estimated some costs. You will have to consider how significant the differences are and the extent to which they suggest poor planning by the applicant.

If you are considering any grant variations, please remember the following:

• You must always score relevant criteria on the basis of the figures provided by the applicant. Even if you wish to recommend a variation, your scores must reflect the original application.
• Do not discuss grant variations with the applicant. Although you should certainly explore any questions or concerns you may have when you interview the applicant, you should never suggest that you are considering varying a figure. This helps to ensure that all applications are treated fairly.
• You must never amend the applicant. s figures where such a variation would change the nature of the project. You should however review your calculations to ensure that you have taken all factors into account and that your figures could fund the project as described on the form and lead to the same benefits.
• Any variation of over 25% must be agreed by your regional manager or country director through upward review (see section 4.8). AMI will automatically request this. All variations must be explained in full and approved by your manager.

Procedure

1. Justify the variation.

   For any variation, you must enter a two- or three-sentence justification in the "Grant variation justification" field in AMI. Bear in mind that the text you enter will appear in committee summaries and in the offer letter to successful applicants.

   Justifications should always explain:

   • why the variation is judged necessary,
   • the exact amount of the variation, and
   • the items that have been included, excluded or changed from the original budget.

   Some examples of grant variation justifications follow:

   "The inflation figures used in the calculations for years 2 and 3 were judged to be excessive. As a result, the increases in salaries, pension costs and general running expenses were reduced by 4% over each of those years."

   "An error in the summation of the total project cost in the original application meant that the total provided was �560 below the true figure. That error has been amended."

2. Follow local procedures for variations of over �1,000.

   If you recommend changes of more than �1,000 you should record the effect of the variation manually in line with country procedures. Your manager will advise you of how your extra report will be recorded.

3. Record the amount of variation in AMI.

   Record your recommended amount in the relevant field of the budget breakdown in AMI. Explain the variation in the "Grant variation" field.

4. Check the application form.

   Ensure that your variation does not in any way conflict with the applicant. s response to the question about what the money is for.

5. Obtain a second opinion or upward review.

   Pass the application wallet containing the assessment report and your record of the effect of the variation to your manager before you sign the application off. Please note that variations of over 25% will be subject to upward review (see section 4.8).

4.4 Terms and conditions of grant

Your office will have copies of our standard terms and conditions, which may however vary slightly between programmes. These apply to almost every grant that the Board makes and may not be altered. The only exceptions involve the Established Church in each of the four countries and the Methodist Church. If you are dealing with applications from any of these, please contact Corporate Policy for advice.

However, you may judge that grants to some projects would need additional terms and conditions attached to ensure that the Board's investment would be secure and in line with good practice. They should only be used to redress minor but significant concerns that you have about otherwise robust project plans, and then only for applications for which you recommend funding.

The criterion should be scored before you consider the application of any further terms and conditions. You should not use additional terms and conditions to support a project or organisation that is essentially weak, even if it is a funding priority. They should only be applied to projects that are basically well-planned and meet programme priorities.

Terms and conditions must not be used to gather additional information that might affect a decision whether to fund. You must not, for instance, use this approach to ask for such information as satisfactory accounts, which you should certainly have seen before scoring and considering the application as a whole.

Use your judgement: inadequate project planning should be reflected in the score given to relevant criteria rather than in additional terms and conditions. You should never hurry an application through if you don. t have all the information you need.

An application is allowed up to three additional terms and conditions. If it seems that you would need to attach any more, you should consider whether the project is viable and in line with the programme priorities. Applications with more than three will therefore not be funded.

If you wish to add a bespoke term and condition, you should submit your proposal to your manager for their agreement before signing off.

4.5 Benefits and tasks

As part of your assessment, you must come to an agreement with the applicant about what the whole project would achieve for beneficiaries, as well as the tasks that they will undertake to achieve them. These concepts are referred to respectively as benefits and tasks. The tasks that you agree with the applicant will form the basis of monitoring through the lifetime of the grant, while the benefits will be used to assess the success of the project as a whole at the end of the grant.

It is important to note that unlike the rest of the assessment process, agreeing benefits and tasks will require you to negotiate with the applicant.

Benefits

Benefits are the expected outputs from the implementation of the project plan, and especially of the tasks described below. You should note that although the Board is also interested in understanding expected and actual outcomes of projects, these are likely to be investigated in the evaluation of project programmes. The benefits that you agree with the applicant will feed much more directly into grant management and monitoring. At the end of a grant, the member of staff managing the grant will score project success on the basis of how far the grant-holder has been able to demonstrate that agreed benefits have been achieved. For this reason benefits must always be observable and wherever possible they should be quantifiable.

You must record between one and six benefits on AMI for all applications that you recommend for funding. The number that you and the applicant choose to agree on is likely to be determined by the complexity of the project in question. You should expect to record at least three benefits for projects that last for more than one year and for large capital projects.

Question C4 on the application form asks how the project will benefit the people who use it. This is a useful starting point for determining what the benefits will be, although you should confirm your understanding of them with the applicant, and ensure that they refer to the project as a whole. You should note that some applicants may answer this question with a series of outcomes, and although these may be useful information for the project summary, the agreed benefits must be based on outputs. Quantifiable benefits are likely to be based on the numbers of people or organisations benefiting from the funded project, as follows:

• number of organisations attending management training courses run by the project
• number of children attending playgroup sessions
• number of people attending a conference
• number of people attending an advice session.

They may also refer to a quantifiable measure of how people have benefited, as follows:

• X number of welfare benefits claimed
• X legal actions avoided.

But quantifiable benefits will not always be able to describe the complete range of project outputs. In some cases . especially if the project is not based on direct service provision . it may in fact be difficult to quantify benefits. If this applies, you should consider what other observable benefits the project will have. Examples of observable benefits include:

• council agreement to set up a consultative forum
• introduction of a new recruitment and selection process to an organisation (as part of a wider capacity-building project).

In general, you are likely to have to include a mix of quantifiable and observable benefits for each project.

Tasks

Tasks may be described as the key activities that the grant-holder will undertake in order to achieve the overall project aims, and so are fundamental to the project plan. They should describe what the project will do year by year to achieve the agreed benefits. As such, they are a central component of the way we monitor compliance with the grant contract, which in turn relies on the project and plan outlined in the application. For these reasons it is important to remember that the tasks agreed should be meaningful and useful both to the Board and to the applicant.

Tasks may vary in size and complexity; a large task may consist of (and so depend on) a number of smaller tasks. For instance, the task "run training session X" will consist of many smaller tasks, such as advertising the session, recruiting a trainer, booking a training room, and sending out course materials.

In order to monitor the grant effectively, the Board is primarily concerned with monitoring larger, top-level tasks. It should become apparent during the assessment process whether the applicant appreciates the range of smaller tasks that the larger task involves.

Question C5 on the application form asks applicants to identify tasks for the first year of the project, but once again you should discuss and agree them. You must record between one and six tasks for the first year of the project on AMI. Please also note that as project plans may vary over later years of the grant, tasks for later stage will have to be confirmed at the beginning of each year of the project. More information about agreeing tasks is available in the grant management manual.

Tasks may be activities that directly affect beneficiaries, as in the following examples:

• run X number of training sessions
• circulate X number of newsletters
• run X number of play sessions
• place X number of volunteers
• offer X number of advice sessions per week/month/year

On the other hand, tasks may not directly affect beneficiaries, but may be activities that significantly improve the way that an organisation or project works, as in the following examples:

• build a building
• employ a development worker
• write a development strategy
• buy a minibus
• advertise the service

Once again, you may find it more useful to include a mix of the two types of task.

Benefits, tasks and the project summary

Agreed benefits and tasks should closely reflect the overall aim of the project, which should in turn be summarised in the project summary that you have entered into the system during first assessment (see section 3.4).

You might look at the project summary again and consider how it reports the following:

• what the need is
• how the project proposes to meet that need (tasks and resources)
• how the project will benefit the people and/or organisations who use it.

Outputs, outcomes, benefits and tasks

Many staff and applicants are likely to have considered projects in terms of outputs and outcomes. You should note that these concepts differ from the benefits and tasks discussed above. In general terms, however, outputs may relate closely to "benefits" as described above. Outcomes generally refer to the difference that the project is likely to make. As such, they will be closely linked to the overall aim of the project as described in the project summary.

4.6 Making a recommendation

There are some fundamental questions that you should consider when deciding whether to recommend funding:

• Do the project aims match the programme priorities?
• Are the organisation and project within policy?
• Can and will the organisation deliver the project. s benefits?

The process of full assessment will have deepened and extended what you knew at first assessment. You should now consider the first assessment checks again to ensure that the organisation and the project are within policy. See section 3.7.

Assessment summary

The assessment summary should make an overall case for or against funding the project applied for. It should be related to the Board. s policies and criteria, and must rely only on evidence gathered during the assessment process. Please note the following:

• Assume that everything you write will be read by the committee and that it may be read by the applicant.
• Identify the key factors that have drawn you to your conclusion, and provide evidence to back up your case. This will help the committee to make an informed decision.
• If there are other factors that have influenced your decision but that have not been mentioned elsewhere in your report, mention them here. Once again, make sure that you have evidence to back this up.
• If you are dealing with a re-application involving a project that we have previously funded, make sure that you mention the fact in your assessment summary. If there have previously been problems with the project but you are recommending it for funding, ensure that you identify the problems as well as how they have been or will be resolved.
• If you are not recommending the application for funding, insert a reject reason from those available. Remember that first assessment reject reasons (see section 3.5) take priority over full assessment reject reasons (listed in appendix 2). Ensure that the reject reason matches the information in your assessment summary.
• Even if you. re not recommending funding, ensure that you mention any positive aspects of the application. This will help committees (and possibly the applicant) to identify where the real weaknesses lie.

Exceptional circumstances

In exceptional circumstances you may consider that the project is sufficiently innovative to warrant consideration of funding despite low scores in some areas. It is impossible to define precisely what might constitute an exceptional application, but they might be:

• of outstanding quality
• likely to make a major contribution in a creative or innovative manner
• highly unlikely to receive funding from other sources
• responding to particularly compelling circumstances of the applicant organisation or of the client group.

Please note that this list is not exhaustive. You should also remember that applications from organisations that are legally ineligible cannot be considered under any circumstances.

Should you feel that an application is exceptional, you should recommend funding and provide specific reasons to support your case.

If your manager endorses your recommendation the application will go forward and the regional advisory panel or country committee will be informed of your assessment of the circumstances.

4.7 Expert assessment

Expert assessment is a more detailed and rigorous assessment of larger and more complex applications. It is usually carried out by specialist advisers. The process builds on the work you have undertaken in full assessment.

An application must be referred for expert assessment if:

• the total amount requested is �500,000 or more,
• you have recommended the application for funding, and
• your regional manager or country director has approved it, and is confident about recommending the application to the RAP or Committee.

Expert assessment is optional if the amount requested is between �200,000 and �500,000. You should request it for applications of this size if you have any doubts about the financial viability of the applicant or the project. In the case of building work, you should request an expert assessment if there is any uncertainty about technical matters, lease arrangements or planning permission. You should discuss any such concerns with your regional manager or country director.

There are three types of appraisal in expert assessment:

1. Financial, in which a qualified and experienced accountant makes a more detailed assessment of the finances of the applicant organisation and conducts an in-depth financial appraisal of the project.
2. Technical, in which a qualified and experienced chartered surveyor or architect affiliated to the relevant professional body advises on the cost-effectiveness and practicality of building projects and the capacity of the applicant to complete the project successfully.
3. Strategic, in which an appropriate specialist assesses the effect on the wider sector of funding a large and/or complex project.

All expert assessments over �500,000 should include a financial appraisal, while all applications involving building works must include both a financial and a technical appraisal. Strategic appraisals may be undertaken at the discretion of regional managers and country directors. Please also note that all applications requesting �500,000 or more will have to be reviewed by the Director of Finance if the regional manager or country director upholds the recommendation after external assessment.

Further guidance about the content of reviews and management procedures appears in the "Financial guidelines" chapter of the reference manual.

Process steps

1. When you've finished your assessment, select "Yes" when AMI prompts you about expert assessment.
2. AMI will provide a staff list: you should choose a manager and pass the file to them for upward review.
3. They will decide whether to refer the application to an expert assessor on the basis of how strong it is and how well it fits local funding priorities.
4. If they decide to refer, they will register the step on AMI and take responsibility for reviewing the assessment. If the amount requested is �500,000 and the country director or regional manager supports the external assessor. s recommendation, the application must be reviewed by the Director of Finance before it is presented to the RAP/Committee.
5. If they refuse your request they will return the file to you with further instructions.

4.8 Upward review

There are various circumstances in which you should refer an application for upward review at full assessment. These are when:

1. you recommend a grant variation of over 25%
2. you recommend expert assessment of an application
3. you recommend an application for funding although it has scored less than 6 on criterion 10 (See appendix 2. Please also note that if your manager supports your recommendation that they will then have to pass the application to your regional manager or country director for their review.)
4. changes are recommended in peer review.

The basic process for upward review in full assessment is similar to that in first assessment. If you are conducting an upward review, you should therefore follow these procedures:

1. Pull up the record for the application on AMI.
2. Review the request in the light of information available, Board policy and any relevant country and local procedures.
3. If you agree with the recommendation, enter any comments in the "Internal notes" field and proceed as necessary.
4. If you disagree, change the recommendation in question and enter your reasons in the "Internal notes" field. You should discuss the reasons for overturning the recommendation with the member of staff who made it. You should also make amendments in the "assessment summary" field if necessary, as this will be available to Committee.
5. Print out the upward review report and sign and date it to declare that you have no interest in the application.
6. Click on "Complete".
7. Return the file to the member of staff responsible for it.

4.9 Recording the results of full assessment

This section takes you step by step through the information that you will have to record on AMI in order to complete your assessment.

You may also find it useful to refer to the AMI manual for information about how to find your way around the system.

You will print out a record of the assessment before you close the record on AMI. This full assessment report will include information that you have entered throughout the process. You should keep the report in the plastic wallet with the application form and any accompanying documentation.

The summary below is followed by more detailed descriptions of what is required in particular fields.

Summary

1. Enter the following information for all applications you recommend for funding:

• Organisation profile
• Project summary
• Money is for
• All criteria fields and scores, with the "Complete" box ticked
• Assessment summary
• Benefits and tasks
• Terms and conditions (optional)
• Organisation and project coding
• Number of beneficiaries
• Jobs funded
• Contact notes on the Communications screen
• Overall recommendation: Y
• Amount recommended
• Grant variation notes, where applicable
• Sign and date the conflict of interest declaration.

2. Enter the following information for all applications that you do not recommend for funding:

• Organisation profile
• Project summary
• Money is for
• All criteria fields and scores, with the "Complete" box ticked
• Assessment summary
• Reject reason
• Organisation and project coding
• Number of beneficiaries
• Contact notes on the Communications screen
• Overall recommendation: N
• Amount recommended, that is �0
• Sign and date the conflict of interest declaration.

Guidance for specific fields

Organisation profile

Include the following details for every applicant:

• the main purpose of the organisation . what it does
• a summary of income sources, identifying any statutory funding
• members of a consortium, where appropriate.

Project summary

Give a brief summary of what the project is and who will benefit from it. Refer to section 3.4 for further guidance.

Money is for

Give a brief description of what the grant would pay for. Make sure that you mention the titles of any jobs that would be funded.

Criteria

• Work through each of the assessment criteria in any order to create a report on the application.
• Don't fill up the space by repeating the guidance notes word for word.
• Record a score against each criterion on the basis of the information provided in the programme manual.
• Provide evidence to justify the score you have given.
• Do not change the programme criteria chosen, even if others seem more appropriate.

Assessment summary

Summarise the overall case for or against funding in the context of our policies and criteria, and using evidence gathered through the assessment process and give an overall recommendation one way or another. Ensure that any reject reasons given match the information given in this section. See section 4.6 for further guidance.

Benefits and tasks

If you recommend funding the application, you must enter between two and six key benefits and tasks associated with the project. These must be discussed and agreed with the applicant. See section 4.5.

Terms and conditions

Section 4.4 provides important information about terms and conditions.

In order to include additional terms and conditions, proceed as follows:

• Select the appropriate additional term and condition from the drop-down lists in the Coding screen in AMI.
• If you wish to impose a term and condition that is not on that list, write the text and obtain your manager. s approval before you apply it. Make sure that any such text is unambiguous.

Coding

Refer to the coding chapter of the relevant programme manual for details of how to complete these fields.

Requested amount

Refer to QC19 on the application form.

Recommended amount

Tell us how much you would recommend funding, splitting the amount over years where appropriate.

Grant variation notes

If the amount proposed is different from the amount applied for:

• explain why
• rewrite a proposed budget for the relevant work area(s).

Remember that if you are varying the sum by more than 25%, you should seriously question the viability of the project in the context of the current application. You will also have to refer your recommendation for upward review. See section 4.3 for further guidance.

Jobs funded

Indicate how many full- and/or part-time jobs our funding will provide.

Contact notes

Enter the following on the Communications screen:

• the date of contact
• whether contact was made by visit, telephone or both
• who you spoke to.

Remember that if you have contacted anyone other than the person named in QA2 on the application form or the referee(s), you must obtain the applicant. s prior agreement.

Comparative judgement

If the application is part of a custom set, you should complete comparative judgement before signing the application off. See section 6.1 for further guidance.

Signature

Sign and date your report to indicate that you do not have a conflict of interest in the application or the organisation.

Contents - Introduction - 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - Appendix: 1 - 2