Division of Community Discretionary and Demonstration Program Grant Recipient Discussion Groups

OMB Control Number: 0970-0401

Expiration Date: June 30, 2024

Questions for Grant Recipient Discussion Groups

OCS Discretionary and Demonstration Programs

The following script and open-ended questions will be used to gather information about grant recipients’ experiences managing their grant awards and how training and technical assistance supports their efforts. The information will be used to improve training, technical assistance, and resources provided by federal staff and program leadership to better meet grant recipient needs and improve grant recipient project implementation and performance.

They may be asked about various types of grants: Community Economic Development (CED-Traditional, CED-Energy Communities, CED-Planning), Rural Community Development (RCD), Diaper Distribution Demonstration and Research Pilot (DDDRP), Affordable Housing and Supportive Services Demonstration (AHSSD), and Medical-Legal Partnerships Plus (MLP+).

Hello, and thank you for joining this [program name] grant recipient discussion group. Today, we will be gathering input from you on your experiences with your grant project and how training and technical assistance supports your efforts.

OCS is gathering this information in order to better understand the training, technical assistance, and resources we provide contribute to your project’s progress, accomplishments, and resolving challenges. With information and insights from you, OCS expects to be able to better understand your work, better meet your needs, and continue to improve program administration.

We expect this discussion to last approximately 1-hour, and your participation in completely voluntary.

My name is [facilitator name], and I will be facilitating this discussion. Again, thank you for taking the time to participate in this call, and I look forward to a production discussion.

Let’s begin with introductions. [Grant recipient participants introduce themselves].

Now, let’s dive into the questions I have for you…

Key Highlights

• What is one key highlight from your project in the last year?

• How has the support you receive from the program office helped you to achieve these highlights?

  • Probe for specific types of support provided by the program office in the past year (regularly scheduled group meetings with other grant recipients, webinars, conferences, training events, printed resources, etc.)

Project Progress

• Where are you in your project’s progress relative to the initial timeline? If not progressing as quickly as planned, why? Have you made any discoveries or faced any challenges that have led to delays? If progressing more quickly than planned, why?

• Did you discuss your challenges with your program specialist? Why or why not? If so, how did your program specialist support you?

Community Contributions

• Provide an example that demonstrates the project’s positive impact at the community level.

• What strategies were most successful in achieving community impact?

• What types of training or technical assistance from OCS have been or would be helpful for helping your project to achieve community impact?

Project Beneficiaries

• Describe the members of the community whom your project has served. How would you assess your project’s reach to date within your community?

• Provide an example that demonstrates the project’s positive impact at the individual level (i.e., specific people who were helped). What strategies were most successful in achieving individual impacts?

• What types of training or technical assistance from OCS have been or would be helpful for helping your project to better serve beneficiaries?

Challenges and Responses

• Describe one of the biggest challenges you faced in implementing this project. What progress have you made in responding to this challenge?

• Did you seek out any support from OCS in resolving this challenge? Why or why not? If you did seek support, how did the program office support you?

Collaboration with Other Programs

• Does your project involve collaboration with or receive support from any other OCS/ACF/Federal programs? Please describe the nature of this collaboration.

• Are there any barriers to collaboration with other programs? How can OCS support your collaboration efforts?

Next Steps (for ongoing grants)

• Describe the immediate next steps on the horizon for this project.

• What support from the program office do you need to take these next steps?

Support from OCS

• How can OCS help support projects like yours (i.e., construction, etc.) and help you address challenges that projects like yours commonly face?

• What do you wish you knew early in your project (or at the time of application) that would have helped you implement your project? Based on your early experiences, what training, technical assistance, or resources would be most helpful to grant recipients who are applying for funding or launching their projects?

PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT OF 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13) STATEMENT OF PUBLIC BURDEN: Through this information collection, ACF is gathering information to improve services provided by federal staff program leadership to better meet grant recipient needs and improve grant recipient project implementation and performance. Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per respondent, including the time for reviewing instructions, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and reviewing the collection of information. This is a voluntary collection of information. agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information subject to the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. The OMB # is 0970-0401 and the expiration date is 06/30/2024. If you have any comments on this collection of information, please contact [email protected].