PEP Update: When Will We Find Out Who Won?
Most 2009 PEP applicants are now anxiously wondering when the awards announcement will be made. Several folks have emailed in the last couple of weeks asking whether I know of schools who have learned their results yet. No, I do not know of any schools that have received their results yet, but yes, I do have some idea of when the information should be available.
About a week and a half ago I emailed the federal program contact to check to see if the originally anticipated timetable for awards (originally discussed in the RFP as June or July) was still the anticipated timetable. She confirmed that ED expected to make awards “late June/early July.” As today is June 22, awards could be made any time between now and the next month. Exciting stuff, right? :o)
Many folks are also asking how they would find out their results. There are a few different ways that could happen.
Prior to announcing any grant awards, ED provides Congress with the list and allows the members a brief period (anywhere from a few days to a couple of weeks) to be the first to notify and congratulate any winners within their constituency. Many members take advantage of this opportunity, but others do not. If your Representative or Senator is among those who enjoys making the announcement, you might hear from him or her directly (probably via phone or possibly fax) and/or you might see a press release from his or her office in a local paper. Remember, though, not all members do this, so not hearing from a member does not necessarily mean your application was not a winner.
ED will make its public announcement via a 2009 awards list of winning schools and their contacts at http://www.ed.gov/programs/whitephysed/awards.html and/or via a press release posted at http://www.ed.gov/news/landing.jhtml?src=gu. Additionally, ED will send out letters with instructions for “next steps” to winners via mail. While these packages are technically supposed to be sent prior to the public announcement being made, winners rarely receive them before learning they won through either their Congressional members or ED’s public announcement.
Following mail notification of all winners, ED will send out mail notifications to all non-winners that include reviewer scores and comments. (You should have THREE sets of reviewer scores and comments!) With so many people to notify, sometimes it takes weeks or even months for the non-winner packages to arrive. If it’s been a couple of months and you haven’t received anything, though, you should email the PEP contact (Carlette.Huntley@ed.gov) and request that your scores and comments be resent since several do seem to get lost in the mail every year. If you weren’t fortunate enough to win in 2009, use your reviewer scores and comments to improve your application in 2010. Please note, however, that you will still need to adhere to the newest RFP and that your application will NOT be read by the same reviewers.
Insight monitors many press release channels for PEP daily, and we frequently check both the PEP and ED Press Release sites, so we often know very soon after the winners list is posted. Additionally, using press releases from Congress and information from Congressionally-notified schools with which we are in contact, we begin compiling a “tentative” winners list of our own and then compare that to the final list. We’ve been able to learn of as many as a third of the winners prior to the official announcement this way, however only the official list will concretely name all winners. Insight will send out emails to all applicants that worked with us on PEP once the official announcement is made, as well as sending out tweets from our Twitter accounts (insightgrantspe and insightgrantsed). Certainly, if you have questions in the interim, let us know. If you didn’t work with us but would like to receive an email when the PEP awards list comes out, leave your email address under comments or email us at info@insightgrants.com. (If you send an email, please be sure to note that you are requesting a PEP awards notice email and provide your full contact info.)
