Free, online diagnostic helps scientific grant makers identify areas of strength and opportunities for improvement
RESTON, Va., January 25, 2022 – Altum, Inc., the maker of ProposalCentral, today announced the release of the Research Funding Capability Assessment — a new digital diagnostic designed to enable scientific grant makers to quickly identify their researching funding strengths and identify areas for improvement.
In the spirit of open science, it’s free to anyone.
The aim of the tool is to help a research funder self-assess their own level of capability across five key grantmaking dimensions:
- Grant Strategy and Planning
- Application Management
- Peer Review
- Post Award
- Use of Data and Performance Management
With only 20 questions, the assessment can be completed in 10 to 15 minutes. Submitters receive a report which shows their level of capability across the five dimensions relative to each other. The results are based entirely on the submitter’s selections and are not shared with any other organization.
Because all organizations are unique, there’s no perfect, one-sized-fits-all capability profile.
“We believe that a tool like this can be helpful for funders to quickly assess their own research funding capabilities and to identify opportunities for future growth,” said Steve Pinchotti, CEO of Altum. “It also helps us better understand the needs of scientific grant makers so that we can continue to provide solutions that best meet the needs of the market.”
The criteria that underpin the assessment were identified based on observing the best practices of hundreds of funders on ProposalCentral. With over $23 billion in funded grants, Altum has a unique perspective and rich insights gleaned from more than two decades of supporting scientific research funders.
“While there are some paper-based maturity models out there and ample consultants who can do this work for a fee, we felt a self-service web tool would fill a void,” said Kevin Fliess, CMO at Altum.
This is version 1.0 of this new tool and Altum intends to iterate on the content based on research funder feedback. The sections and questions will evolve as the market evolves.
If you have questions or feedback on the assessment, please contact Kevin Fliess – [email protected]
