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Independent evaluator for ACF PREIS applications
The Personal Responsibility Education Innovative Strategies program does not leave evaluation to choice. The announcement requires an independent, third-party evaluator and sets aside at least a fifth of the budget for that work.
What the FY2026 announcement required (HHS-2026-ACF-ACYF-AP-0003)
- “Evaluations must be conducted by an independent, third-party evaluator. A minimum of 20 percent of funding per year must be allocated to an independent, third-party evaluator” (grants.gov record and announcement).
- Acceptable evaluators include universities, research organizations, evaluation firms and consultants with experience in rigorous evaluations of similar size and scope. Implementation and evaluation must be led by different people.
- The evaluation is a rigorous impact study, randomized or quasi-experimental, with treatment and comparison groups. The impact criterion carries 30 of 110 points.
- The application must include a memorandum of understanding or letter of agreement from the evaluator, and the evaluation lead’s qualifications are scored.
- Awards of $750,000 to $900,000 a year for five years; about 12 awards; eligibility is open to governments, colleges, nonprofits and businesses.
Facts on this page were checked against the official sources on September 20, 2026. Rules change; rely on the official announcement or regulation linked here, not on this summary.
Where we fit
We join your application as the named independent evaluator, and carry the study for the five years of the award.
- The evaluation plan and logic model, the letter of agreement and the evaluation lead’s qualifications for your application
- Surveys at baseline and follow-up, with the data management that keeps participants from being lost between them
- Focus groups, interviews and observations for the implementation study that explains why the numbers came out as they did
- The impact evaluation itself: randomized or quasi-experimental design, comparison groups, and quantitative analysis of outcomes
- Expert data visualization for ACF reports and for your own partners
- Final reporting in multiple formats: full report, executive summary, slide deck, one-page brief or dashboard
Mixed methods is our default design: qualitative and quantitative data, collected together and reported as one story.
Timing
The FY2026 round was posted on July 17, 2026 and closed on August 18, 2026: about one month. As of September 20, 2026 no FY2027 round has been posted. A month is not long enough to find an evaluator and design an impact study from nothing. Our free evaluation plan lets you start now.
Planning a PREIS application?
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