Peer panels of artists, arts administrators, educators, art enthusiasts, and other experts are selected from a pool of submitted questionnaires and resumes. Consideration is given to creating teams with demographics (appropriate for each category and reflective of the City) including: artistic expertise, gender, geographic knowledge, and cultural understanding. Peer panels are charged with reviewing all eligible proposals, discussing project worthiness, making comments, and assigning numerical scores. Individually, each panelist considers the applications in relation to Cultural Affairs’ goals and criteria and in comparison to other proposals.
Panelists use DCA’s score-sheets for consistency and score each application up to 100 points. After individual review and consideration, the panelists gather for collegial discussion at one or more group meetings, wherein average scores are computed and final rankings determined.
Role of DCA Grant Program Staff & Approval of Panel Recommendations
The staff conducts informational webinars and training sessions in City libraries to review grant-writing basics, communicate timely/new information, and offer contemporary advice. The staff audits and compares incoming applications in accord with government information and processes (such as: the Mayor’s Business Advancement Virtual Network (LABAVN.org), Census data, and DCA administrative review files).
The Grants staff coordinates and facilitates panel meetings, wherein the panelists evaluate DCA’s grant process. Lastly, the staff carries all panel recommendations forward for approval by DCA’s Grants Administration Division Director. DCA’s General Manager then reviews all grant procedures, allocations, proposed services, and represents recommended funding awards to the Mayor and City Council as part of the City’s annual budget process. Awards are contingent upon the City’s adopted budget and are not official until a legal contract is fully executed.
One-Year Mixed Panel
Depending upon the number of off-cycle submissions, DCA will attempt to offer a mixed panel to review, compare, score, rank, and recommend new grant applicants applying in any off-cycle discipline. The applicants that receive fundable scores (75 or higher) may be eligible for one year of funding. New off-cycle grantees will be required to submit an application for the next fiscal year, in an effort to move all like-disciplined proposals into the most appropriate judging cycles.
Category-specific Scoring Criteria
DCA provides its community panelists with standard score-sheets. This helps assure fairness across categories, disciplines, and between different panel groups; and provides accuracy of proposal review against DCA’s goals and objectives. Below are quick outlines providing basic information on how all disciplines are scored in specific categories. If you wish to get more detailed information about DCA’s panelist score-sheets, please attend one of DCA’s free, instructional grant webinars or workshops. Scoring Criteria Used for Small- and Mid-Size Organizations
- Administrative Capability –Maximum of 10 points
- Artistic Merit –Maximum of 20 points
- Geography and Demographics –Maximum of 10 points*
- Ideas and/or Innovation –Maximum of 20 points
- Impact –Maximum of 10 points
- Relevance –Maximum of 30 points
Scoring Criteria Used for Field Advocacy and Sector learning, Large Budget Organizations, and Outdoor Festival/Parade Proposals
- Administrative Capability –Maximum of 25 points
- Ideas and/or Innovation –Maximum of 25 points
- Impact and Relevance –Maximum of 15 points
- Geography and Demographics –Maximum of 10 points*
- Quality and Community Partnerships –Maximum of 25 points
The DCA grant staff provides relevant auditing data to peer panelists so that they can make more informed decisions about Administrative Capability, Impact and Demographics, in regard to changing data and policies for City oversight and compliance. *The proposed site of your artistic project, is a critical element in scoring because DCA endeavors to support public benefits services in all of the City’s fifteen council districts.
*Based on competitive proposals from recent cycles, applications that request support in each of the following districts should recognize the following levels of openness or competition:
- Arts underserved districts (that deserve more neighborhood services): 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11 and 12
- Arts moderately-served districts: 1, 2, 4, 10, and 15
- Arts generously-served districts: 5, 13 and 14