Edit Right AdvisorsModel 1A of Strategy Studio. Plan it right.
Readiness Radar
Readiness Radar is Edit Right Advisors' organizational capacity assessment. It reviews your organization across eight dimensions, from leadership and governance to equity and inclusion. It checks the evidence behind each one and sets priority actions for a defined goal, such as growth, a first large grant, or a major change.
What is Readiness Radar?
Readiness Radar is Edit Right Advisors’ organizational capacity assessment. Funders review governance, financial management, and MEL systems before they commit. Gaps found at that stage can delay an award, add special conditions to it, or end the conversation. Readiness Radar gives leaders an evidence-based view of where they are ready and where they are not yet, while there is still time to act.
When should you use Readiness Radar?
Use it if you plan to bid for a larger grant, grow, or take on a new funder, and want to know where you stand before a funder’s due diligence tells you.
In your words: “We are not sure our systems would pass a big donor’s due diligence.”
How does Readiness Radar work?
The radar shows eight dimensions on empty rings. It carries no scores: the diagram is the frame, and each organization’s profile is built from its own evidence. We review all eight dimensions, check the evidence behind each one, and agree on the profile with you.
- Leadership and governance: Board, accountability, and risk management.
- Strategy and theory of change: Direction, priorities, and program logic.
- Program design and delivery: Quality, reach, and adaptive management.
- MEL systems: Monitoring, evaluation, data quality, and learning.
- Financial management and sustainability: Controls, budgeting, and diversified funding.
- People and capacity: Staffing, skills, and HR policies.
- Partnerships and external relations: Partners, stakeholders, and communications.
- Equity and inclusion: GEDSI, safeguarding, and participation.
What you get
- Outputs: a readiness report with a profile across the eight dimensions and a prioritized action plan.
- Result: you know which gaps to close first, and you approach funders and growth with a credible case.
Delivered through SS-01 Strategic Advisory and Program Design.
What we need from you
- The decision the review must inform
- Organization documents such as policies, budgets, audit reports, and program reports
- Short conversations with leaders and staff
Who it is for
- NGOs and community-based and similar organizations: see their strengths and gaps across eight areas before they plan or bid.
- Funders: see an organization that knows its gaps and is addressing them.
- Government: see where a partner needs support before a program starts.
- Researchers: get a structured, documented picture of organizational capacity.
Illustrative example
Illustrative example only. This is a generic scenario, not a client result.
A small health nonprofit plans to apply for its first large multiyear grant. Before writing, its leaders want to know whether their systems would pass the funder’s pre-award review. Readiness Radar reviews all eight dimensions against the organization’s own documents and staff conversations. The profile shows, for example, strong program delivery but gaps in financial controls and written HR policies. The action plan puts those gaps first, so the team can address them before the funder asks.
Recognized practice behind Readiness Radar
- Funder due diligence. Governance, financial controls, and HR policies mirror the areas funders examine before an award, such as the pre-award risk review in US federal grant rules (2 CFR 200.206).
Sources: 2 CFR 200.206 (eCFR).
Edit Right models are our own structured adaptations of established practice. Naming a benchmark, author, or institution does not imply accreditation, membership, or endorsement.
How Readiness Radar connects
1B Priority Prism
Explore the model1C Change Canvas
Explore the model4B Inclusion Insight Lens
Explore the modelParent framework: Strategy Studio
Back to the frameworkFrequently asked questions
How is Readiness Radar different from a self-assessment?
A self-assessment relies on staff opinion. Readiness Radar checks the evidence behind each dimension, such as policies, budgets, and audit reports, and then agrees the profile with you.
Does the radar give us a score?
No. The radar carries no scores. It is a frame, and your profile is built from your own evidence across the eight dimensions.
What areas do funders look at before an award?
Funders commonly review governance, financial management, HR policies, and MEL systems. In US federal grants, this is part of the pre-award risk review under 2 CFR 200.206.
Key terms
- Organizational capacity assessment (OCA): A structured review of how well an organization is set up to deliver its mission and manage funds.
- Due diligence: The checks a funder runs on an organization before it commits funding.
- GEDSI: Gender equality, disability, and social inclusion.
- Pre-award risk review: A US federal funder’s review of an applicant’s risk before an award (2 CFR 200.206).
Not sure Readiness Radar is the right place to start? Book a free call: editright.io/call We will listen, tell you honestly whether it fits, and suggest a first step.
Email hello@editright.io or call +1 314 998 0221.
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