In mid-2018, we administered our first-ever grantee close-out survey, asking former CEPF grantees about their experience working with CEPF—from navigating the website and submitting a letter of inquiry to interacting with staff and completing financial requirements. 

The survey was sent to all grantees whose grant ended in fiscal year 2019 (July 2018 through June 2019). The anonymous survey was online and available in five languages.

Slightly more than half of the 156 grantees who received the survey responded. Surveys were received from grantees in nine hotspots; 63 percent received large grants, managed by the CEPF Secretariat, while 37 percent were small grants managed by the respective regional implementation team.

Overall, feedback was positive. Scores were consistently high for clarity, utility and quality of experience. For the overarching question “How would you rate your overall experience as a CEPF grantee, on a scale from 1 (negative) to 7 (positive)?” CEPF received an average rating of 5.9.

Grantees also identified areas for improvement. Most of this feedback fits into three categories: 

- Capacity building and training
- Financial and technical guidance
- Site visits

CEPF is developing a strategy to tackle these shortcomings. Grantees expressed a clear enthusiasm for capacity-building, so we will work to deliver these opportunities consistently, both at the individual and organizational levels. 

Grantees also noted a need for more assistance in navigating the financial and technical requirements of their grants. In response, CEPF is working to put into place periodic check-ins with grantees and time for more extensive review during site visits. 

Site visits themselves were viewed as immensely helpful and more were requested. While CEPF and regional implementation team staff aren’t able to visit every grantee due to budget constraints, we are working on producing a site-visit plan for each hotspot so that we can reach as many grantees as possible. We’re also fine-tuning our site-visit agenda to ensure it includes financial and programmatic training. 

CEPF is continuing to send the survey to grantees upon grant closure, and we will analyze the results on a regular basis to ensure grantee voices are heard. If you are a current CEPF grantee, we encourage you to participate in the end-of-grant survey, which is a crucial tool for us as we work to improve the CEPF grantee experience. At the end of your grant, you will receive a close-out letter containing a link to the survey.

If your CEPF grant is closed and you have already completed your survey, we thank you for taking the time to provide your feedback!