Grantmaking Sprint for Government Leaders
Government leaders are on the front lines of violence prevention — and they control billions of dollars that shape community safety. Each year jurisdictions invest billions in health, human services and justice programs meant to reduce violence and improve safety but too often funding decisions are driven by compliance rather than results and evidence.
This What Works Sprint (free, virtual workshop series) will help city, county and state leaders change that by embedding data and evidence into contracting and grantmaking. Leaders can direct resources toward programs that are proven to prevent or reduce violence, such as those found in Results for America’s Economic Mobility Catalog. By moving beyond compliance as the measure of success, leaders can focus on outcomes that matter to communities. When governments fund what works, they can take tangible steps to make their communities safer and more resilient.
Frequently Asked Questions
When will sessions be held?
Weekly virtual workshops will be held on Wednesday’s at 1:00 – 2:30 PM EDT from April 1 – 29.
When is the application deadline?
Applications will be accepted until Friday, February 27 at midnight PDT and reviewed on a rolling basis.
Who should apply?
This sprint is intentionally built for jurisdictions at any starting point. You do not need a formal definition of evidence, an existing scoring rubric, or prior experience with evidence-based grantmaking/contracting.
City, county and state government leaders such as procurement/contract leads, program director or grant/contract managers connected to the request for proposal (RFP).
Results for America strongly encourages applications from teams with a variety of backgrounds, lived experiences, cultures, and identities. In our experience, multifaceted teams are more likely to solve problems, be innovative, and make better decisions to serve their communities.
What will I learn?
At the end of the sprint, participants will be able to create or update a violence prevention RFP that is evidence-based and develop a framework that can be reused for future procurements.
How many people should be on my team? Do I need to know who’s on my team before applying?
Applicants are required to identify two team members and an upcoming and/or recently-issued RFP prior to submitting an application.
Is there a cost to participate or apply?
There is no cost to participate in this Sprint and there is no application fee.
How to Apply
Applications for the What Works Sprint are open until February 27th at midnight PDT. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and will be evaluated based on your jurisdiction’s readiness to apply sprint learnings to an upcoming and/or recently-issued violence prevention RFP; the timing and relevance of the identified RFP; and executive sponsor awareness and support. Applicants are required to identify two team members and an upcoming and/or recently-issued RFP prior to submitting an application:
- Executive Sponsor: Elected official or jurisdiction executive (e.g., Chief Administrative Officer, County Executive, County Manager, Chief Operating Officer, etc.). This individual must be aware and support participation in the sprint, but is not expected to attend sessions.
- Project Director: Executive, director, or key leader within the procurement office and/or the “buyer” of the focus RFP or contract, as well as a leader from the core department –ideally the grant manager for the RFP/contract. This individual should have the authority and/or ability to develop, and embed an evidence definition within grants/contracts. This participant is a core project member expected to attend all five sessions and will serve as a primary point of contact during the sprint.
- Request for Proposal (RFP): Local governments are to identify an upcoming or existing RFP template, focused on reducing or preventing violence, that can be updated over the course of the sprint to include an evidence definition. The RFP should be one that will be released or renewed in the near future. Participants will commit to developing and implementing an evidence definition and/or threshold within their RFP structure.
Questions? Email us at [email protected].