Past Performance AmeriCorps State and National External Review Daniel Barutta and Sarah Yue, Program Officers

Learning Objectives  Understand CNCS’s expectations for Past Performance with respect to performance measurement  Know how to assess the Past Performance criterion when reviewing an AmeriCorps application  Practice assessing the Past Performance criterion with sample application narratives 2

Expectations for High-Quality Applications  Applicants that have run AmeriCorps programs in the past have been successful in meeting their performance measure targets (both outputs and outcomes) during the last three years of program operations.  If applicants have not fully met their performance measure targets, they have made adjustments to their program design and/or implementation to help them achieve their targets more effectively. 3

Review Criterion for External Review Past Performance  The applicant clearly describes how it has met performance measurement targets during the last three years of program operations, or, if not, has an adequate corrective action plan in place. [Contextual note: this is not the only review criterion in the Notice of Funding Opportunity related to Past Performance; however, it is the only criterion that will be assessed during external review.] 4

Logistics for Review  Section of the application that should be reviewed to assess the criteria:  Past Performance  [Note: this is the only piece of the application assessed by External Reviewers that is not part of the Program Design section. It is located in the Organizational Capability section.]  The Past Performance section also addresses criteria related to enrollment, retention, and compliance issues or areas of weakness/risk. You should read the entire section, but you do not need to assess these criteria. 5

Logistics for Review  The Organizational Capability portion of the application also includes sections on Organizational Background and Staffing and Compliance and Accountability. You do not need to read or assess these sections.  You do not need to read or consider the Performance Measures section of the application.  You may consider performance measure information provided in the Evidence Base section of the application. 6

Logistics for Review  New applicants (i.e., applicants who have not previously received an AmeriCorps grant) were not required to respond to the Past Performance criteria. You do not need to make a determination about whether a program is new or not; if the applicant does not discuss Past Performance, simply indicate this by selecting the appropriate choice on the review form.  Reviewers should not provide comments on Past Performance. 7

Scoring Rubric  4 rating choices:  Met all performance measurement targets  Did not meet all performance measurement targets, but has an adequate corrective action plan  Did not meet all performance measurement targets; corrective action plan is inadequate or not present  Did not provide a response  For each application you review, you will select one of these four choices. 8

Criterion Descriptions  The Reviewer Resource Webpage contains a chart that lists specific descriptions for each of these four rating choices  Please use the Criterion Descriptions when assessing Past Performance (note: you will not use the Scoring Rubric for the Past Performance criterion)  [Note: as indicated in the descriptions of the rating choices, you only need to assess the last full year of program operations, not the full three years] 9

Practice: Sample Application  Open the Sample Application (located on the Reviewer Resource Webpage)  Read the Past Performance narrative  Using the Criterion Descriptions rate the Past Performance criterion for the Sample Application (you can record your ratings on a blank IRF)  Write down your justification for the rating  Pause the training until you have finished 10

Practice: Sample Application  The following slide provides CNCS’s assessment of what the rating should be for the Past Performance criterion, plus a written justification for the rating.  The justification is not written in the style of a reviewer comment, because reviewers SHOULD NOT provide comments on the Past Performance criterion.  Your rating choice should be the same as CNCS’s rating. If your rating choice is different, please re-read the Criterion Descriptions and re-review the application. 11

Past Performance – Criterion 1  Criterion: The applicant clearly describes how it has met performance measurement targets during the last three years of program operations, or, if not, has an adequate corrective action plan in place.  Rating: Met all performance measurement targets  Justification:  The applicant does not specifically discuss the most recent year of program operations; instead, they provide aggregate performance measure values over five years. However, since the program met their overall targets during these five years, the “met all targets” rating choice is the most appropriate. 12

Recap: Learning Objectives Understand CNCS’s expectations for Past Performance with respect to performance measurement Know how to assess the Past Performance criterion when reviewing an AmeriCorps application Practice assessing the Past Performance criterion with sample application narratives After completing this training, you will take an assessment that will give you more practice in scoring sample application narratives. 13

Assessment  To check for understanding and to verify that you have completed this orientation session, please complete the assessment at the following link: (Please reference the PowerPoint on the Reviewer Resource Webpage to access the link) 14