Panelists

What happens after I submit the application?

Applications are typically reviewed in the following order:

1. Staff members review each application for eligibility and completeness. If there are any issues with your application, a staff member will contact you via email. Staff will let you know issue and the best way to remedy it. This review process can take about 2 weeks following the application deadline.
2. Panelists begin to review eligible applications. They read and score 25 applications.
3. Staff members tabulate the scores, and funding decisions are made based on the scores from the panelists.
4. We review the feedback and summarizes the comments, which usually provide strengths, concerns, and suggestions.
5. Funding recommendations, project summaries, and panel comments are reviewed and voted on by members of our governing Council.
6. We send grant notifications via email, letting you know if you are awarded the grant or not. For the grants with April 1 deadlines, notifications are emailed in mid to late June – as soon as the state’s budget has been enacted. The panel comments are available for all applicants in our online grant portal.

How are the grant decisions made?

Eligible and complete applications are sent to a grant review panel. This panel consists of a diverse group of artists, arts administrators, other people involved in the arts and culture sector, and program specific experts (e.g., education, arts and health, or folklorists). Panelists work independently to evaluate and score each application using the review criteria. They are paid a stipend of $350 and receive training.

The highest scoring applications are awarded full funding, accounting for approximately one-third of the grant budget. Applications that are recommended by the panel for funding, but are not the highest scoring, will are entered into a lottery. RISCA reserves the right to ensure equitable distribution of funding throughout the state, proportioned to the populations in our 39 cities and towns.

 Who serves on your panels?

Though it varies among the grant programs, the panelists represent a wide range of arts-related and program specific experts – including artists, arts administrators, educators, and/or nonprofit professionals. Panelists are mostly living or working in Rhode Island, but some grant programs include panelists from out of state. 

The grant programs that have a mix of in state and out of state panelists are: General Operating Support for Organizations, General Operating Support for Artists, Make Art Grant, and Folk and Traditional Arts Fellowships and Apprenticeships. RISCA staff or agency Council members, or their immediate family members, are never included on panels. The panels are comprised of different people every grant cycle. 

If you have applied for a grant in the past or plan to in the future, you can serve on one of our panels. However, you must recuse yourself from evaluating any organizations or people that you have direct financial or familial relationship.

How do I sign up to be a panelist?

If you are interested in serving on a panel, fill out this form. Our panelist needs vary from year to year, filling out this form does not guarantee you will serve on a RISCA panel.

What does a panelist do and how much time does it take?

Grant panelists are central to our work of awarding grants. Panelists are assigned to a specific grant program and read and score using the grant program’s review criteria. Panelists also write comments about the application using the review criteria as a guide, so RISCA staff and the applicants understand context of the scores. We estimate it takes approximately 30 minutes to read, score, and write feedback for each application in the online grants system. There is no group panel meeting. Once you have read and scored all the applications assigned to you, your job is complete.

What is the approximate timeline of the panel process?

For our grants with an April 1 deadline, here is the approximate timeline:

• Mid-February through early April: Panelist invitations sent, usually via email.
• Early April: Panelist training by watching (or re-watching) a video on their own time.
• Panelists fill out Panelist form with conflict of interests if any. Submit W-9 for stipend.
• Mid to late April: Applications are assigned to each panelist.
• Early May: Panelists read, score, and write feedback for all applications.
• Mid-May: Deadline for panelist scores and comments.
• Mid-June: Grant applicants are notified of funding decisions.
• Early July: Panelist stipends mailed.
• Early July: Grant awards publicly announced.

What is the panelist training like?

For the training, panelists view a video, approximately an hour long. The video covers: 

• Instructions on how to use the online grant system.
• Our review criteria.
• An overview of the grant and panel process
• How to provide feedback on the applications. 

Panelists also receive a written guide. In addition, staff members are available throughout the process to assist panelists.

Can I find out who sits on your panels?

We publish a list of everyone who served on a panel for that fiscal year in our Annual Report.