A common way to start a staffing section is to think of the people you already have and fit the project around them. The result is often a project director who is also running three other programs, a finance role nobody has asked, and a gap where the evaluation work should be. A reviewer who reads the staffing plan next to the work plan can usually see the mismatch.
This article gives you a sequence that avoids it: list the roles first, match people and hours second, then deal honestly with the gaps. You'll finish with a one-page team plan you can reuse for every application.
List the roles before you think of names
Names bring baggage. If you start with "Dana can lead this", you'll shape the project around what Dana can do this quarter. Start from the work instead. Read the funding notice, then list what has to happen: who runs it, who delivers it, who tracks the money, who measures results and who else has to be involved. The guide to reading a funding notice shows where the required activities and review criteria sit.
Many projects need some version of these roles:
- Project director: accountable for results, timeline and reporting. One person, with enough authority to make decisions.
- Program staff: the people who deliver services day to day. List them by position, such as "case manager" or "outreach coordinator".
- Finance or grants administration: tracks spending, prepares financial reports and keeps time records.
- Evaluation and data: collects the data and reports on outcomes. This can be a staff member, a partner or an outside evaluator.
- Partners: organizations that provide a service, a site, referrals or expertise the project depends on.
Your notice may add its own requirements, such as a named principal investigator, a community advisory group or a required evaluator. Add those roles first, because they aren't optional.
Match people to roles using skills, availability and effort
Once the roles are on paper, take them one at a time and ask three questions of each candidate.
- Skills. Does this person have the experience the role needs? Evidence matters more than title. A program manager who has run a similar service is a stronger match than a senior person with no direct experience.
- Availability. What else does this person do, and what would stop if they took this on? An honest answer here prevents a promise you can't keep.
- Effort. How much of their time will the project use? Express it as a share of a full-time workload, such as 20 percent, and set it out in your budget.
Effort is more than a planning estimate. For federal awards, 2 CFR 200.430(g) says charges for salaries and wages must be based on records that accurately reflect the work performed, and that those records must reasonably reflect the total activity for which the employee is compensated, not exceeding 100 percent. Budget estimates alone don't qualify as support for charges. So the percentages you promise have to be ones your organization can later document. Confirm with your finance lead how time is recorded before you commit.
A worked example
Say a rural food bank is applying to start a mobile pantry. This sample plan shows how the roles, people and effort can fit together.
| Role | Who | Effort on project | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Project director | Operations manager | 20% | Current employee |
| Mobile pantry coordinator | To be hired | 100% | New position |
| Finance | Finance manager | 5% | Current employee |
| Evaluation | Outside evaluator | Contract | Consultant |
| Referral partner | County health department | Referrals and site access | Partner |
The operations manager's remaining 80 percent goes to existing duties, so their total stays at 100 percent. The coordinator is a position, not a person, and the plan says so openly. Each row can be explained in a sentence a reviewer would accept.
Plan for the gaps on purpose
Many projects have at least one role you can't fill from current staff. That's normal. What matters is that you show how you'll fill it.
Positions you'll hire
Describe the role, the qualifications you'll require and when hiring will start. Give a realistic timeline based on how long your own recent hires have taken from posting to first day, and put the start-up period in the work plan. The later article on hiring for a grant you haven't won yet covers this in more depth.
Consultants and contractors
Use an outside specialist when the skill is occasional or highly specialized, such as evaluation or financial audit support. Define the scope of work and the deliverables, and plan how you'll select the person. Federal rules expect documented procurement procedures, so check yours before you name a consultant in the application.
Partners
A partner may carry out a real share of the program or may simply provide a service. The difference matters for how the money moves. Under 2 CFR 200.331, a subaward carries out a portion of the federal award, while a contract buys goods or services for the recipient's use, and the substance of the relationship matters more than the form of the agreement. If a partner is significant, talk early about how you select project partners and what they will be accountable for.
Think about who the application will name
How you name people also has consequences once you win. Under 2 CFR 200.308(f)(2), for awards made under the revision of 2 CFR 200 that took effect October 1, 2024, a recipient must request prior written approval for a change in key personnel (including employees and contractors) identified by name or position in the federal award. Naming someone in the application can create an obligation to seek approval later if that person leaves. Foundations and state agencies set their own terms, so read the award terms of each funder.
For that reason, name the people who are essential and expected to stay, and describe other staff by role. The article on key personnel covers how to decide.
Turn the plan into a one-page team sheet
Put the table above into a shared document and add three columns: what the person has agreed to, who has confirmed their hours with their supervisor, and the next date you need to check back. Then confirm the effort with each person. A reviewer will not see this sheet, but you will reach for it when you write the staffing section, the budget and the budget justification.
Your next step
Before you name anyone for your next project, write down the roles it needs on a single page. Under each role, write the skills it requires and the share of a full-time workload it will take. Only then add names, and mark every role you can't fill yet.
SoliContraX keeps a knowledge base of your organization's own materials, so staff bios and role descriptions are ready the next time you need them. Upload a funding notice, approve a concept and start from a draft built from those materials. See how to get started.