March Spotlight
All components of the Board of Regents Sponsored Programs section – the Support Fund, Louisiana EPSCoR, and LaSIP/LA GEAR UP – use an extensive peer-review process to assess, rate and rank proposals submitted to our competitive programs, and to provide funding recommendations for the Board. While the review process is tailored to each program’s specific requirements, all rely on out-of-state reviewers who have been carefully screened for both appropriate expertise and impartiality. The Board has adopted a stringent conflict-of-interest test to assure reviewers bring no personal or professional biases, positive or negative, to proposals. Proposals are rated and ranked based on criteria established by the Board and published in the RFPs.
After independently reviewing all assigned proposals, subject-area and final panels meet as a group either in Baton Rouge or via online/telephone conferences to discuss preliminary assessments and thoroughly weigh and rank proposals. Some programs even include interview sessions during which reviewers to meet with project teams to discuss proposals prior to making recommendations.
Across all programs in all components, each submitted proposal receives a written analysis from expert reviewers which is provided to the Board and disseminated to campuses and project personnel through formal reports or as post-recommendation debriefings. The Regents review reports and making final funding determinations based on consultant recommendations. Emphasizing the objectivity of the process, the Board has never rejected the recommendations of expert reviewers.