In order to review the huge number of applications for grants and funding the National Telecommunication and Information Administration (NTIA) have advised that it will require many volunteers to help it allocate the $4.7 billion in broadband deployment grants.
The US congress gave its approval earlier in the year for a massive $7.2 billion economic stimulus package, which included broadband grants, and the NTIA’s broadband grant program was part of this package. A request was made for people to apply for positions as volunteer broadband grant reviewers was made earlier in the week in a document from the NTIA.
The document from the NTIA said “As a reviewer, your evaluations will be an important factor considered by NTIA in determining whether to award grant funding.”
Initial concerns have been raised by a number of industry experts with one senior analyst at a popular consulting company saying that there would be a risk that some volunteers may have biases that the NTIA do not pick up on and little expertise in this area. He also added that it was “a little scary” that these volunteers would have the power to accept or decline applications for broadband grants.
In the analysts blog he wrote “You’re about to enter a competitive bidding process with millions of dollars at stake for your community. I think you’d want the best people stimulus money can acquire influencing who the winners are. I feel it’s a reach to expect the best people are going to volunteer for this gig.”
The analyst advised that there was a good chance that many of the volunteer reviewers would work from their homes and would have “moderate supervision”, although the NTIA said that teleconference panel reviews and webinar orientation sessions would need to be attended by all volunteers.
Volunteers would also have to comply with the rules on confidentiality and conflicts of interest laid down by the NTIA parent company, the US Department of Commerce, although they would also need to have some connection with the broadband industry as well.
Source – www.pcworld.com