Tier 2 Grantees
Capacity Building/Technical Assistance
In response to the varying levels of staffing, capacity, and workstyles of our selected grantees, NASTAD developed an approach to delivering Technical Assistance (TA) in a flexible and digestible manner for them. As such, the sharing of information from TA providers or “designated TA lead” to grantees was delivered through various modalities, which included monthly “coaching" calls, webinars, standing office hours, Cohort-wide discussion/listening sessions, and peer-to-peer connections. Successfully delivering reactive and proactive technical assistance to grantees has been a core component of the work and cannot be done without multiple approaches.
Grantees were assigned a “TA Coach” whom they met with on a monthly basis throughout the life of the project. The goal behind these monthly check-in points was for our NASTAD team to be able to:
1. Identify and create reactive TA (Both cohort and individual TA)
2. Build rapport with grantees
3. Check in on progress updates
4. Mitigate administrative challenges (Invoicing, data reporting, etc.)
These monthly check-in points were also used to create plans to mitigate the challenges that grantees may have been experiencing during their project and to connect grantees with one another for peer-to-peer TA potentially. By offering alternative spaces for progress updates through these calls NASTAD was able to reduce reporting burden on programs as well.
The program staff (both administrative and frontline staff) at each site worked with NASTAD TA providers on program planning, implementation, and data collection. Regular engagement with grantees allowed TA Coaches to share promising strategies and approaches between project sites and receive real-time feedback that informed the course of the project. Monthly check-in and TA calls became important opportunities for peer engagement and problem-solving, especially as the COVID-19 pandemic extended, program participants' perceived risk decreased and MPOX created additional need for program adaptability.