SIF National Assessment: Stakeholder Interview

April 24, 2014

Notes:

A. Interview length is 30 minutes.

B. Prior to interviews, ICF will review the organization’s website, annual reports or other 

publications, IRS form 990s and other sources to obtain preliminary information and reduce 

burden and duplication that would be involved in asking questions that can be answered from 

those other sources. By prefilling data from these sources and by reviewing these documents 

prior to the interview, it will be possible both to reduce the administration time and to ask well 

targeted probes.

C. Because interview stakeholders will be associated with organizations that are also included in 

the survey, the interviews are designed to obtain more in-depth information on key subjects. 

Other information on SIF experience will be drawn from the survey responses.

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1. Introduction (3 minutes)

a. Introduce SIF National Assessment and interview

b. Explain data collection: voluntary; take notes and, if interviewee agrees, record 

interview for use in analyses; protection of privacy of information provided; use of data; 

plan for annual interviews

c. Answer any questions they may have at this point and confirm agreement to participate 

in interview

2. Background (2 minutes)

a. What is your title?

b. What is your role in [ORGANIZATION]? How long have you been in this role?

c. What is your role in SIF? How long have you been in this role?

3. Organization’s experience in grant programs other than SIF (8 minutes)

We would like to understand your organization’s experience in other grant programs – before or 

in addition to SIF

a. What are your organization’s major areas of focus? (What issues does your organization 

primarily work on?) What are your organization’s major sources of funds to carry out 

your work? 

b. What is your organization’s experience as a grantmaker that funds nonprofits to 

implement interventions in communities (other than in your SIF program)? Is this a 

major focus of your organization’s work? What is the scale of your grantmaking [level 

and duration]? How have you identified and selected grantees? How have you worked 

with other funders [e.g., collaboration, matching funds]? How have you supported 

[provided coaching and technical assistance] and monitored grantees? What 

evaluation, reporting, and other requirements do you have for your grantees? 
c. What is your organization’s experience as a recipient of federal funding [other than SIF 

funding]? (What agencies have you received funding from; for what activities/programs; 

what has been your experience in being a federal grantee? What have been positives of 

experience as federal grantee? What have been challenges?) 

4. SIF experience (15 minutes)

We would like to learn more about your experience with the SIF program

a. How did your organization learn about the SIF program?

b. Why did you decide to apply for SIF funding?

c. Overall, how would you describe your organization’s experience as a SIF intermediary?

d. Comparing the SIF model with other grant programs your organization has participated 

in, what are the strengths of SIF? Benefits of being a SIF intermediary? What were the 

challenges or demands in the start-up period of your SIF funding? What have been the 

challenges since you have entered the period of full SIF implementation? How have the 

challenges you have experienced been overcome?

e. Based on your experience in SIF, what is your view of the use of the intermediary 

structure and role in grantmaking? Has it been a successful model? If so, in what 

ways? If not, why? 

f. Do you see the SIF intermediary model as one that can be applied more widely? Is it a 

model for federal funders? For nonprofit grantmakers? 

g. Do you think your organization’s capacity has increased as a result of your participation 

in SIF? If so, in what areas? Would you say your capacity has changed in areas such as 

conducting open competition to identify and select promising programs that address 

community needs, infrastructure and capacity around evaluation, integrating evidence 

and evaluation in grantmaking, scaling of evidence based programs, supporting 

grantees, meeting federal grant compliance requirements, co-investment with other 

funders, communication and information exchange? Please explain. What about SIF has 

contributed most to your increase in capacity?

h. Thinking about the subgrantees you have funded through SIF: Do you think their 

capacity has increased as a result of their participation in SIF? If so, in what areas? 

What about SIF has contributed most to their increase in capacity?

i. In what other ways has participation in SIF affected your organization? (Has it affected 

how you conduct other grant programs? Evaluation? Scaling of interventions? 

Relationships with other organizations – for instance, with other funders; with grantees 

you fund; with federal funders?) 

j. Are there components of SIF that you plan to continue after your SIF funding ends? 

Which components? (Are there components you do not plan to continue?) Why?

k. What do you see as the main “lessons learned” from your organization’s participation in 

SIF?

l. What advice would you give another organization interested in applying for SIF funding?

m. What recommendations do you have for improving the SIF program?

n. If you had it to do over, would you apply for SIF again? Why/why not?

5. Wrap-up and thanks (2 minutes)
a. Thank them for their time and insights.

b. Answer any additional questions they may have