Information for Merit Reviewers
NCCOS has developed a website for merit reviewers. It allows each reviewer to
read assigned proposals and associated documents in a secure environment. Completed
reviews can be uploaded on the same website.
Mail reviewers are selected based on their expertise in the subjects addressed by
particular proposals. Each mail reviewer sees only certain individual proposals
within his or her area of expertise, and scores them individually on a scale of
one to five as follows:
- Excellent (5)
- Very Good (4)
- Good (3)
- Fair (2)
- Poor (1)
The peer-review panel is comprised of 3 or more individuals, with each individual
having expertise in a separate area, so that the panel, as a whole, covers a range
of scientific expertise. The panel will have access to all mail reviews of proposals,
and will use the mail reviews in discussion and evaluation of the entire slate of
proposals.
All proposals will be evaluated and scored individually. The panel shall rate the
proposals using the evaluation criteria and scores provided above and used by the
mail reviewers. The individual panelist scores shall be averaged for each application
and presented to the Program Manager. No consensus advice will be given by the independent
peer mail review or the review panel.