How to Volunteer to Review Federal Grants

HOW TO VOLUNTEER TO REVIEW FEDERAL GRANTS

Serving as a grant reviewer will give you valuable insight into the review process and improve your own grant writing. In general, you can try contacting the program officer for the program for which you want to review. In addition, some agencies provide specific information about volunteering. Those links are below.

U.S. Department of Agriculture
Agricultural Research Service

Agricultural Marketing Service

National Institute of Food & Agriculture

General tips on volunteering to review

U.S. Department of Commerce

National Oceanographic & Atmospheric Administration

U.S. Department of Education

Each program selects its own reviewers based on the expertise needed for each grant competition.

U.S. Department of Energy

How to volunteer to be a reviewer

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services

Health Resources & Services Administration

National Institutes of Health

Institute of Museum and Library Services

How to become a reviewer

U.S. Department of Justice

Bureau of Justice Assistance

National Institute of Justice

Office of Victims of Crime

Office of Violence Against Women

National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Volunteer for review panels

National Endowment for the Arts
Volunteer to be a National Endowment for the Arts panelist

National Endowment for the Humanities
NEH’s application review process

National Science Foundation

General tips for volunteering to review for NSF:

  • Contact the NSF Program Officer(s) of the program(s) that fit your expertise.
  • Introduce yourself and your research experience.
  • Tell them you want to become a reviewer for their program.
  • Ask them when the next panel will be held.
  • Offer to send a 2-page CV with current contact information.
  • Stay in touch if you don’t hear back right away.