After the NOFA has been published and the RFA released, the Department shall appoint a review panel comprised of a minimum of three individuals.
Each review panelist shall:
Review panelists who are employees of the District government may not be compensated and may only serve if they have written authorization from their supervisors to serve on a review panel.
Review panelists who are not employees of the District government may be compensated for time served on a panel provided that funds have been authorized and appropriated for such purposes, at a rate that obtains the best qualified panelists at one of the following rates:
The Department shall be responsible for the following:
The review panel shall score the applications and make recommendations which applications should be funded based upon the applicant's demonstrated ability to perform successfully under the terms and conditions of the proposed grant or subgrants. All materials received by the Department or a panel member from any applicant shall be protected, treated as confidential, and used only for purposes of evaluating the applicant's proposal.
After the Grant Officer has received the evaluations and records of the review panel, the Director or his/her designee shall make final decisions on awards and the amounts of each grant or subgrant, subject to the advice of any advisory body required by law or regulation for the funding grant.
If the Director or his/her designee decides not to follow the review panel's recommendations, the Director or his/her designee shall provide a written justification in the grant records that includes a strong rationale supported by documentation for the decision to not follow the review panel's recommendation.
The Director has the discretion to review any claims against the grant review process but the Director's decision is final and shall not be appealed.
D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 29, r. 29-1808