690 2015 690 AFI Grantee Satisfaction Survey Instrument

Dept of HHS ACF

Assets for Independence

Grantee Satisfaction Survey

AFI Grantees

Introduction

Assets for Independence (AFI) is a federal program administered by the Office for Community Services. AFI provides grants to eligible entities to implement projects that demonstrate an asset-based approach for addressing poverty.  AFI projects provide individual development accounts to low-income individuals to facilitate the purchase of a first home, fund post-secondary education or training, or capitalize a business.

 

The AFI program staff within the Office for Community Services (OCS) would like to hear from its partners – the grantees who administer AFI projects throughout the nation – to understand how we can better work with you to operate the program. We ask for your participation in this survey to help improve the AFI staff’s effectiveness as your partner and service provider.

This anonymous survey will take approximately 12 minutes to complete. Your response is anonymous. CFI Group, a third party research and consulting firm, is administering the survey. This survey is authorized by Office of Management and Budget Control No. 1090-0007 which expires on March 31, 2015. Your participation is voluntary.

Application and Award Process

Please think about your most recent experience with the application and award process for the Assets for Independence Program.

Using a scale from 1 to 10, where 1 is poor and 10 is excellent; please rate the application and award process on the following. If a question does not apply to you, please select: “Not Applicable.”

Q1. Clarity of written guidelines and instructions on applying for a grant

Q2. Timeliness of grant award information

Q3. Ease of understanding the terms and conditions of your AFI grant

Q4. Ease of understanding funding restrictions and how to resolve these as discussed in the Notice of Award

Q5. How did you find out about the AFI Program? (select all that apply)

1. Another grantee or sub-grantee

2. Grants.gov

3. A subscription service

4. Federal Register

5. A conference

6. Other (please specify)

Accessing Grant Funds

Now think about the process for accessing or “drawing down” the federal AFI grant funds from the Payment Management System. Using a scale from 1 to 10, where 1 means poor and 10 means excellent, please rate the following. If a question does not apply, please select: Not Applicable “N/A”

Q6. Clarity of requirements and process for accessing AFI grant funds

Q7. Timeliness of funds being available after a request is submitted

Q8. Timeliness of resolution of problems

Training

Think about the training, i.e. webinars available for the AFI Program. Please rate the following using a scale from 1 to 10, where 1 means poor and 10 means excellent. If a question does not apply, please select “N/A.”

Q9. Awareness of training opportunities

Q10. Quality of training provided

Q11. Relevancy of the training provided

Q12. Degree to which training is detailed enough to meet your needs

Q13. Knowledge of trainers

Q14. Usefulness of New Grantee Orientation

Technical Assistance

Think about the technical assistance (technical assistance phone calls, capacity-building visits, learning cohorts) available for the AFI Program. Please rate the following using a scale from 1 to 10, where 1 means poor and 10 means excellent. If a question does not apply, please select “N/A.”

Q15. Availability of technical assistance

Q16. Quality of technical assistance

Q17. Relevancy of the technical assistance provided

Q18. Customization of technical assistance

Q19. Usefulness of the assistance provided in helping you make program improvements

Q20. Knowledge of the TA provider

Think about what training and technical assistance would be useful to you in future, whether or not you’ve received any training or technical assistance from AFI in the past.

Q21. What topics for training and technical assistance do you most need? (Open-Ended)

Q21a.What type of training and technical assistance do you find most useful? (select all that apply)

1. Video-conferences

2. Webinars

3. One-on-One assistance

4. Peer-to-peer assistance

5. In-person group meeting

6. Other (please specify)

Customer Service - AFI Program Specialists

Think about your interactions with the AFI Program Specialist(s). Please rate the following using a scale from 1 to 10, where 1 is poor and 10 is excellent. If a question does not apply, please select “N/A.”

Q22. Ease of reaching Program Specialist(s)

Q23. Clarity regarding who to contact for specific types of information/assistance

Q24. Knowledge and ability of the Program Specialist(s) to answer your questions

Q25. Timeliness of follow-up provided

Q26. Thoroughness of the follow-up

Q27. Accuracy of the follow-up

Q28. How can AFI make the Bi-Monthly Check-in Calls with your Program Specialist more useful to you? (Open-Ended)

AFI Resource Center

Think about your interactions with the AFI Resource Center, calls or emails to the Help Desk, and with the Resource Center’s website. Please rate the following using a scale from 1 to 10, where 1 is poor and 10 is excellent. If a question does not apply, please select “N/A.”

Q29. Ease of reaching Resource Center Help Desk staff when you call or email

Q30. Timeliness of the response to your call or email

Q31. Helpfulness of the response to your call or email

Q32. Usefulness of the tools and templates on the AFI Resource Center website (idaresources.acf.hhs.gov)

Q33. Ease of finding what you need on the AFI Resource Center website (idaresources.acf.hhs.gov)

Q34. Up-to-date information on the AFI Resource Center website

GrantSolutions

Think about your use of GrantSolutions for financial and program reporting and requesting amendments to your grant. Please rate the following using a scale from 1 to 10, where 1 is poor and 10 is excellent. If a question does not apply, please select “N/A.”

Q35. Ease of use

Q36. Accessibility (user account access)

Q37. Knowing when to use GrantSolutions

Q38. Knowing how to use GrantSolutions

Q39. What specific challenges, if any, do you have with using GrantSolutions? (Open-ended)

Satisfaction

Think about all of your experiences with the AFI Program over the past year.

Q40. Using a scale from 1 to 10, where 1 means very dissatisfied and 10 means very satisfied, please rate your overall satisfaction with the Assets for Independence program.

Q41. Now, think about your expectations for the AFI Program and how well it met your expectations. Please rate how well the AFI Program met your expectations using a scale from 1 to 10, where 1 means falls short of your expectations and 10 means exceeds your expectations.

Q42. Now, forget about the AFI Program for a minute and think about the ideal grant providing organization. How well does the AFI Program compare to that ideal?

Please use a scale from 1 to 10, where 1 means very far from the ideal and 10 means very close to the ideal.

Q42a. NOTE IF ANY OF ABOVE SCORES ARE LESS THAN 6, “What was the reason for your rating?”

Outcome Behaviors

Q43. How likely are you to apply for a grant from the AFI Program in the future? Please indicate how likely you are on a scale from 1 to 10, where 1 means not very likely and 10 means very likely?

If less than 5, ask “why not?”

Q44. How confident are you that the AFI Program is fulfilling its mission of demonstrating the value of IDAs (Individual Development Accounts) in helping individuals out of poverty? Please use a scale from 1 to 10, where 1 means not very confident and 10 means very confident.

Q45. How willing would you be to recommend other organizations apply for funds from AFI to implement an IDA project if you were asked to? Please use a scale from 1 to 10, where 1 means not very willing and 10 means very willing.

Q46. What is the biggest challenge you face in implementing your AFI Grant? (Open-Ended)

Q47. Please share any additional feedback you have regarding the AFI Program. (Open-Ended)

P age 6 of 6 February 6, 2015