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Start here to journey through the HRSA NOFO Clearance Process and see how the pieces fit.
https://vocaroo.com/i/s0Dt40rtgS4E

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The major pieces of the HRSA NOFO Evaluation Plan:

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The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is the primary Federal agency for improving health care to people who are geographically isolated, economically or medically vulnerable.  HRSA awards over six billion dollars in grant funds each year; therefore, proper grant application and award are the cornerstone of work for the Agency.  In order to award grant funds, the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) must post in a timely manner to ensure sufficient time for grant application for potential recipients.

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The rationale for the evaluation of the HRSA NOFO Clearance Process is that timely and accurate NOFO’s ensure HRSA’s ability to meet its mission and vision to “improve health and achieve health equity through access to quality services, a skilled health workforce and innovative programs and the vision of healthy communities and healthy people” (HRSA website, 2017).  The purpose of this evaluation is to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the HRSA NOFO clearance process and use the results to modify or refine the current process.

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1. How does the HRSA NOFO Clearance Process help or hinder the timely posting of NOFOs on HRSA's website?

2. What percentage of HRSA NOFOs clear and are posted within the 90-day clearance period?

3. What potential barriers impact the timely HRSA NOFO Clearance Process?

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The evaluation plan will include a case study method used to track ten NOFOs through the HRSA NOFO Clearance Process and delineate all steps involved in the process.  In addition, people involved in the Clearance Process will answer seven interview questions to determine areas of help and/or possible hindrance to the process.  Also, all participants closely involved in the HRSA NOFO Clearance Process will be given an electronic survey for greater response rate .  The individual interviews conducted via telephone and with web cameras will serve to ease participation for those located in different agencies in various geographic locations.  Both the survey and interviews will serve to answer all three key questions.

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The evaluation matrix depicted consists of the key evaluation questions, sources of evaluation information, the data collection methods used, and the people responsible for collecting the data.  The key questions were chosen based on their relevance and facilitation of providing improvements to the HRSA NOFO Clearance Process.  The sources of evaluation information are based on those closest involved in the NOFO Clearance Process and their ability to provide recommendations and feedback on the NOFO Clearance Process.  The data collection methods are based on the mechanism that provides the greatest response rate and the instrument that provides the greatest potential for the most accurate information.  In addition, the people responsible for the data collection are those most knowledgeable of the subject matter yet objective and those best able to interpret the results for recommendations.

The data collection and results will remain confidential to participants and for reporting purposes.  Costs should remain low as federal agencies have web-assisted conferencing software already available for employee use; therefore, senior and mid-level management should support the evaluation plan.  The data collected will determine any potential barriers or potential problems in the NOFO Clearance Process.  Employing both approaches can help evaluators to achieve quantitative results and gauge participant behaviors and attitudes that contribute to the process or evaluand (Russ-Eft & Preskill, 2009, p. 206-207).  The evaluation plan will address the ways the mechanism used for the clearance process helps to facilitate the timely clearance process or how it impedes a timely clearance process.  In addition, the plan will identify the stakeholder behaviors, attitudes, and culture that are inherent in the NOFO clearance process and aid in evaluator recommendations for process improvement.

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Some key concerns are the many key stakeholders in the HRSA NOFO Clearance Process. There are three primary stakeholders and two secondary. In addition, there are five tertiary stakeholders. Each one of these stakeholder groups consists of Divisions and/or Agencies and each group encompasses many personnel. There is a concern that all needs will not be able to be met in one coherent process with one work flow system. The inter-agency component of the Process is a concern as well. Each agency has their own procedures, and it may be difficult to meld all the procedures into one improved electronic system .