Become a Paid Government Grant Reviewer

Grant proposals submitted to the federal government are generally reviewed first by a peer review panel. This panel consists of people in related fields of interest who are instructed to offer an unbiased assessment of the grant proposals that have been submitted.  There are many different areas of interest.  The members of the peer review panel will assign ratings according to the criteria that they are given. 

When I first started, we were required to travel to Washington, DC. Today you will probably be able to perform your review services online. The rate of pay varies according to the different agencies. For example the Bureau of Justice Assistance pays $125 for every application reviewed.  It is not unusual to have 6-8 applications that you are assigned to review.  

What you will appreciate besides the  pay, is the opportunity to learn just how the granting process works. It will also help to develop your skills as a grant proposal writer.  Additionally, you   have the opportunity to network with others and form mutually beneficial relationships.

I have had the privilege of getting paid to review Federal grant proposals for the past 6 years.  My grant reviewing experience includes reviewing grant proposals for various agencies such as the Department of Health and Human Services (DHS), The Department of Justice , Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJS) as well as for the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) and also serving as a Chair for the review panel. 


Getting Prepared
Prepare your (updated) resumes and have them accessible so that you will be able to load onto to the agency sites that will request it. If you have many interests and skills, you should prepare different resumes that reflect the interests of the agencies that you may choose. For example if you have experience in counseling and also have interest in community development, you will want to have two separate resumes that emphasize each area respectively.


The counseling resume could be used to apply as a grant reviewer for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), while the community development resume could be submitted to the Office of Community Service (OCS) or the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Search the list of the agencies on the Grants.Gov web site until you see one that you believe will interest you. 


This blog post includes an excerpt taken from the book "My Grant Writing Secrets"  by Dr. Margaret Jamal. This Book is available from Amazon.com.