External In Access to the Biodiversity Fund Program

ANAO Report No.10 2014–15 Administration of the Biodiversity Fund Program 58

4. Grant Assessment and Selection

This chapter examines the grant assessment and selection processes implemented by Environment for the four Biodiversity Fund program funding rounds. Introduction

4.1 A

competitive, merit‐based grant assessment process that is based on clearly ‐defined selection criteria and is free from claims of political or other bias provides a sound basis on which to select grant recipients. The ANAO examined key aspects of the assessment and selection process implemented for each round of the Biodiversity Fund program, including: receipt of applications; assessing merit; assessing eligibility; and arrangements to finalise the grant assessment and selection process. Overview of the assessment and selection process

4.2 Environment

implemented a broadly consistent application and assessment process across all four funding rounds 80 , with applications initially assessed against the published merit criteria by both an internal departmental officer and an external community assessor. Those applications that were highly ranked at the merit assessment stage were subsequently subjected to a moderation process, which was designed to, among other things, ensure that there was an appropriate: geographic distribution of projects; balance of funding across program themes and project types; and mix of large and small scale projects. Applications that were recommended for funding following the moderation process were then assessed for eligibility. 81 Once eligibility was determined, recommended applications were provided to the Minister for approval. The grant assessment and selection process for the Biodiversity Fund program is outlined in Figure 4.1 on the following page. 80 There were, however, additional steps included in the application process for NATI and Round 2. NATI applicants were required to submit an Expression of Interest EOI prior to being invited to submit a full application, while Round 2 applicants seeking over 2 million in funding were required to submit an EOI prior to being invited to submit a full application with applicants seeking less than 2 million able to apply directly through the full application process. 81 In contrast to a number of grant programs examined by the ANAO, eligibility assessment was not conducted prior to merit assessment.