Pause at the decision point

A proposed schedule change is not approval to change an award commitment.

Illustrative scene: Cedar Skills has six workshops planned. A facilitator becomes unavailable for the third session, and the program lead proposes moving that workshop by one week while keeping the other sessions in sequence.

The decision needed is whether the proposed date change is permitted under the award terms and whether the funder or another authorized approver must approve it before the schedule is changed. The grant manager checks the agreement and coordinates the applicable change process; finance reviews any cost or period implications. Until the required decision is recorded, treat the date as proposed—not approved.

Capture the proposed change

Keep the request factual and route it to the role that can determine the approval path.

  1. 1

    State the current commitment

    Identify the affected milestone: Workshop 3 of 6, its planned date, and the relevant award deliverable.

  2. 2

    Describe the proposal and reason

    Record the proposed date one week later and the facilitator availability issue. Do not present the proposed date as final.

  3. 3

    Check delivery and finance effects

    The program lead describes operational effects; finance reviews possible cost or period implications against the applicable rules.

  4. 4

    Ask for the required decision

    The grant manager checks the agreement and coordinates any required funder or authorized internal approval before the schedule is changed.

  5. 5

    Record the outcome and update the evidence trail

    Record the decision, its date, and any conditions in the authorized grant record. Update the delivery schedule only after the required approval is documented.

Closeout checklist

Work through the award's actual closeout terms; these sample checks organize the handoff but do not replace them.

Program delivery

  • Account for all six planned workshops and identify any incomplete or changed milestone.
  • Link each completed workshop record to its supporting evidence in the authorized repository.
  • Flag missing evidence and unresolved delivery questions to the grant manager.

Finance and reporting

  • Ask finance to complete the applicable cost reconciliation against the award terms and finance rules.
  • Have the grant manager compare required reporting items with the available evidence.
  • Record outstanding decisions, approved changes, and their supporting references in the authorized grant record.

Close with a named handoff

The grant manager coordinates the closeout review; program and finance owners resolve their respective open items.

Program lead confirms delivery records and evidence references are complete.

Finance confirms the applicable reconciliation is complete or identifies open questions.

Grant manager checks award terms, reporting needs, and documented change decisions, then routes unresolved items to the responsible approver.

Closeout is ready for the next review when the owners, evidence references, and unresolved decisions are visible together; the award terms govern final requirements.