Grant Proposal Workshop

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Grant Proposal Workshop

• Michael R. Wagner
• Regents Professor
• School of Forestry
• Northern Arizona University

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Why Write Grant Proposals

• Get resources!
• Direct research programs
• Provides opportunities to travel
• Influence your work environment
• Promote your agency

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Developing a Proposal

• Refining a project idea
• Key questions to answer in a proposal
• Group sessions

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Developing a Proposal

• Refining a project idea
• Key questions to answer in a proposal
• Group sessions

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Grant Proposal Review and Funding Decisions

• Does the proposal
• Show sufficient understanding of the sponsors
  guidelines and priorities?
• Show a sound approach to the problem?
• Have an efficient time schedule?
• Indicate probably outcomes?
• Deal with all clearance requirements?
• Identify key personnel and their assignments and
  position responsibilities?
• Provide sufficient information to evaluate key
  personnel?
• Allow for changes in the scope of work?

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Grant Proposal Review and Funding

• Does the proposal (cont.)
• Have adequate facilities and equipment?
• Identify the organizations track record?
• Propose a well justified, reasonable budget?
• Identify the probably project impact and
  significance of the work?
• Address well documented problems in need of
  solutions?

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Grant Proposal Review and Funding Decisions

• Multiple Submissions
• Your completed proposal is a significant piece of
  intellectual property. To increase funding,
  identify and submit to more than one sponsor.
• Tailor multiple submissions to the varying
  interests and format of the sponsors.
• Identify the other sponsors to whom you have
  submitted the proposal.
• Engaging in multiple submissions communicates to
  the sponsor that you are seriously committed to
  the project and are willing to exert considerable
  effort to secure funding.
• In the event of multiple funding a) accept both
  awards and increase the size or scope of the
  project, or b) delay the start date from the
  second sponsor in order to increase the length of
  the project period.

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Developing a Proposal

• Refining a project idea
• Key questions to answer in a proposal
• Group sessions

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Matching Proposal Idea to Funding Sources

• Types of funding agencies
• Local government
• Regional governments
• International governments
• Private donors
• Study funding patterns
• Read annual report
• Develop a file on donors in office
• Talk with colleagues with funding (be
  professionally active)

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Matching Proposal Idea to Funding Sources (cont.)

• Develop contacts in funding agencies
• Seek agency representatives at conferences
• Call or visit program officers
• Search through funding agency literature
• International Opportunities

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Developing Proposal Concept Map

• Goals
• Objectives
• Activities
• Outputs
• Evaluation

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Project Budgets

• By objectives and activities
• Standard components in any budget
• Salary
• Travel
• Operations
• Equipment
• Indirect (overhead)
• Show matching contributions

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Grant Proposal Review and Funding

• Reviewers role
• Review option
• If you are funded
• If you are not funded
• Dealing with rejection
• Reasons for rejection

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Grant Proposal Review and Funding Decisions

• KEY POINTS
• The job of a reviewer is to ask questions about
  your proposal.
• Your job is to write the proposal in order to
  remove all of the questions so there is no reason
  not to fund your project
• With federal, state and some foundation grants,
  obtain a copy of the reviewers guidelines that
  will be used in evaluating your proposal. A copy
  of the reviewer form will help you tailor the
  proposal in content, organization, keywords, etc.

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Grant Proposal Review and Funding Decisions

• KEY POINTS (cont.)
• Proposal review covers five basic areas
• Scope of work
• Facilities
• Budget justification and information
• Quality of key personnel
• Organizational track record

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Grant Proposal Review and Funding

• Reviewers role
• Review option
• If you are funded
• If you are not funded
• Dealing with rejection
• Reasons for rejection

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Grant Proposal Review and Funding
DecisionsREVIEW OPTIONS
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Grant Proposal Review and Funding

• Reviewers role
• Review option
• If you are funded
• If you are not funded
• Dealing with rejection
• Reasons for rejection

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Grant Proposal Review and Funding Decisions
DEALING WITH GRANT DECISIONS

• If you are funded
• If you are successful with your proposal, request
  a copy of the reviewer comments.
• Clarify the submission deadlines for technical
  and financial reports.
• Invite the program officer to visit your
  institution and the program.
• Keep in touch with the sponsor if you have any
  substantial changes in the scope of work or the
  key personnel.

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Grant Proposal Review and Funding Decisions
DEALING WITH GRANT DECISIONS (Cont.)

• If you are turned down
• Request a copy of the verbatim (not summary)
  reviewer comments.
• Ask what can be done to improve the proposal

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Grant Proposal Review and Funding

• Reviewers role
• Review option
• If you are funded
• If you are not funded
• Dealing with rejection
• Reasons for rejection

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Grant Proposal Review and Funding Decisions

• REJECTION REASONS
• In 1993 the federal government studied 353
  rejected proposals in order to identify common
  proposal mistakes. Their review yielded the
  following findings
• 18 failed to number the pages of the proposal.
• 73 provided no table of contents
• 81 had no abstract or executive summary.
• 93 did not provide resumes of proposed personnel
  or consultants.
• 25 had no resume for the principal investigator.
• 66 included no project evaluation plan.
• 17 failed to name the project director.
• 20 provided no list of objectives.

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Ethical Considerations

• The meaning of ethics
• Intellectual property rights
• Plagiarism
• Multiple submissions
• Ethics of money management

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Concluding Remarks

• Proposal writing essential to success
• Work within sphere of donor intent
• The Golden Rule
• Write clear, complete, focused proposals
• Try, try, try again
• Ethics

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Grant Writing References

• Handbook for Preparing and Writing Research
  Proposals (by C.P. Patrick Reid)
• http//www.iufro.org/science/special/spdc/training
  -resource-centre/proposal-writing/en/
• A Guide to Grants, Fellowships, and Scholarships
  in International Forestry and Natural Resources
  (by USFS International Forestry Staff)
• http//www.fs.fed.us/people/gf/gf00.htm

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Discussion Group

• Each group should answer the following question
• Define an important problem common to your
  countries.
• Explain how your proposal will solve or impact
  the problem.
• What resources do you need to complete the
  proposal project?
• What resources do you already have to commit?
• What obstacles do you face that will limit
  success?