The Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) is looking to recruit roughly 100 community members to serve as grant reviewers for competitive workforce development grant programs in winter 2024-2025. Please consider applying to be a community reviewer today – or pass along this information to others in your networks! By maintaining high-quality standards and fostering collaboration, community reviewers contribute to the improvement of projects and the holistic growth of individuals and communities in Minnesota.

We're committed to including more diverse voices and perspectives in our grantmaking process. We believe a more inclusive process can help us make funding decisions that better support our commitment to reducing employment disparities in Minnesota by looking for community reviewers with lived experiences tied to DEED's competitive grants and who are aware of current challenges that job seekers face.

This approach reduces the potential bias of traditional grant review panels and ensures grant decisions reflect the real needs and priorities of the communities we serve, rather than assumptions made by external evaluators. It heightens the cultural competence of our panels and promotes trust and accountability. Our community reviewers ensure communities aren't just recipients of funding, but active participants in shaping the strategies and solutions that impact them.

We are seeking individuals with diverse community backgrounds, subject matter expertise and an interest in community advancement. In addition to having important personal experience, prospective community reviewers should have an interest in workforce development, as well as experience in grantmaking, finance and lending, education and training, the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), and/or a related area. DEED also requires community reviewers to participate in a short online training session.

We ask that community reviewers be able to dedicate 20-40 hours to read grant proposals over the course of two to three weeks. Grant reviewers will read approximately eight to ten proposals in a two-week time period between the months of January and June 2025. Proposals are generally 12-15 pages in length, with additional supporting and budget documents that need to be reviewed.

DEED will provide a small stipend to community reviewers who meet eligibility requirements, complete training and review proposals on time and complete the required process to receive payments. Community reviewers are also invited to complete an online post-review survey to share feedback on the process and improve future processes.

Ready to apply to be a community reviewer?

Apply today!. But act fast! The application will close on Monday December 16 at 4:30 p.m.

Have more questions?

Please join us for a virtual Community Reviewer Information Session.

One of the sessions will be recorded and posted on DEED's YouTube page if you aren't able to attend. DATES: December 13 (virtual) and December 16 (recorded).

Community reviewer training sessions (all containing the same information) are slated for mid-January.

If you have questions, email elizabeth.mariani@state.mn.us