Grant Review Process

LIFECYCLE OF AN APPLICATION

GUIDELINES AVAILABLE

Program guidelines and application instructions are published throughout the year on the NEA website and through Grants.gov.

APPLICATION SUBMITTED

Applications submitted by the deadline are assigned an application number. Applicants are sent confirmation that their application was received. Applications are forwarded to NEA program staff.

STAFF REVIEW

NEA staff ensure that all applications are complete and were submitted by eligible applicants. Staff may contact applicants if questions arise. Application materials are made available to panelists several weeks before the panel meeting.

PANEL REVIEW

Peer review panels are made up of experts and knowledgeable laypeople with expertise and experience in the area under review. Each application is reviewed in accordance with the published review criteria.

Annually, we conduct more than 150 review panels, involving more than 800 panelists, in the evaluation of approximately 7,000 applications. To review the applications, we assemble different panels every year, each diverse with regard to geography, race and ethnicity, and artistic points of view. Typically, approximately 40 applications are assigned to a panel of up to six panelists with knowledge and experience in the areas under review, including at least one knowledgeable layperson. We ensure that all our panels are free of conflicts of interest.

We provide our panelists with online access to the applications about a month in advance of the panel meeting. At this stage, the panelists read the applications and review work samples, enter their preliminary comments, and assign initial ratings. All applications must be evaluated according to the review criteria listed in the application guidelines. Artistic excellence and artistic merit are the two primary criteria specified by Congress in our authorizing legislation; there are several elements under each. Panelists later meet as a group to discuss applications in closed session. Informed by the panel discussion, they may change their initial ratings.

NATIONAL COUNCIL ON THE ARTS AND CHAIR REVIEW

The staff reconciles the panel recommendations with available funds and forwards them to the National Council on the Arts, where they are reviewed in open session. The Council makes recommendations on which applications to fund and which applications to reject. The Chair reviews the recommendations for grants in all funding categories and makes the final decision on all grant awards

NOTIFICATION

Applicants are notified of funding decisions soon after the final decisions are made. Those recommended for funding will have the opportunity to provide updated information about their project, including changes to the project’s scope or budget as needed, based on the recommended funding amount.

GRANT AWARD ISSUED

Grantees later receive an official grant award notification with information about legal and reporting requirements.

TRANSPARENCY AND CONFIDENTIALITY AT THE NEA

We seek to make our review process as transparent as possible, while protecting the confidentiality of applicants, panelists, staff, and Council members. Our advisory panel meetings are announced in the Federal Register and panelists’ names are listed on our website once grants are announced. The public may not, however, attend panel meetings or Council sessions in which confidential application information is discussed. The names of applicants are kept confidential except for those who receive grants. We announce the names of grantees on our website. Sample application narratives from some grantees may be viewed on our website. Applicants not recommended for funding are notified.

SERVE AS A PANELIST

The staff reconciles the panel recommendations with available funds and forwards them to the National Council on the Arts, where they are reviewed in open session. The Council makes recommendations on which applications to fund and which applications to reject. The Chair reviews the recommendations for grants in all funding categories and makes the final decision on all grant awards.