Title: Writing an Excellent Project Plan
1Writing an Excellent Project Plan
- Explaining your research to everyone
- Jerry Hatfield
- National Soil Tilth Laboratory
- SQRO (Ret.)
2Some Ground Rules
- No question is too obviousAsk!
- Easiest way in a large group is to send a
question (using the question box in the lower
right corner). - We will read out questions received (only Mike
sees them) without saying who they are from - With this large group well hold questions to the
end. - DO NOT put your phone on HOLD for any reason. If
you must leave use Mute (hold can create noise
problems for the rest of us). - If you want to see a larger image use Full Screen
Mode under the View tab at the top of your
screen. (Esc returns you to the frames mode)
3What Causes the Problems
- Lack of clarity in project plan
- Lack of integration in the overall plan
- Lack of details in the experimental plan
- Lack of explanation of the role of project team
members - Lack of explanation of the knowledge gaps and how
project will fill them - Lack of confidence in the ability of the project
team to accomplish the objectives
4Your Plan is a Marketing Tooland the reviewers
are your customers
- By page 5 reviewers should know
- The subject of your research
- Why it is important
- What it will produce
- How you are going to get there
- The rest of the document will flesh out this
but if the reviewers dont know it by page 5,
they probably wont get it easily from the rest
of the document. - this means
5- The project summary should present the overall
thread of your work, the major gaps being
addressed, how you will address them, and what
you will producein no more than a dozen
sentences. - The Objectives should be followed by one to two
paragraphs that explain how they are integrated
and how they address the overall goals of the
work. A chart illustrating this and showing where
individuals on the project team fit is most
helpful.
6Where are the problems? (Science, Data, Writing)
The problem is poor or inadequate writing!
Little difference
7Dont hide your details and expect the panel to
guess your path!
8Comment Sampling No Revision
studies will fill rather substantial knowledge
gaps. well written and comprehensive well
written project plan well organized, cogently
prioritized and comprehensive research plan
9Comment Sampling Minor Revision
studies will fill rather substantial knowledge
gaps. well written and comprehensive well
written project plan well organized, cogently
prioritized and comprehensive research
plan well written, well organized, and easy to
follow.
10Comment Sampling Moderate Revision
one of the better written excellent discussion
of technology large research project plan but
poorly organized. concerns that some of the
objectives can be completed by this team. work
and ability described as "adequate" missing
current information hypotheses and plan well
conceived, approaches appropriate
11Comment Sampling Major Revision
a heroic course thatwill not achieve the stated
objectives serious flaws in experimental
designs General Lack of focus. Plan is so broad
that it leaves out important detailsnot clear
data will be relevant or interpretable. lacks
cohesion and clear direction writing style,
quality, and organization significantly
detract Short on details. Not well planned. Need
to take process seriously.
12Comment Sampling Not Feasible
approaches highly flawed, lack detail, many
experiments duplicative poorly writtendifficult
to discern what the authors want to do.
proposed research contradicts intention of the
proposal. exaggerations, incomplete reviews,
and misleading comments, as well as poor grammar
and organization. lack of knowledgeincomplete
understanding fundamental misunderstanding Work
does not address stated objectives.
13Causes of Low Scores
- Presentation of the information, not necessarily
the scientific questions or the project team - Can not see the logical path of science toward
the goal - Not an integrated plan but a collection of parts,
plan looks and reads like it was assembled by a
committee but not read for its flow once
assembled.
14Attributes of a Good (Great) Plan
- Explains the problem, the current state of
knowledge, your expertise in the problem area,
your approach to solving the problem, and the
products from the research program - Convinces the review panel that you are the best
team to conduct this research. - Presents your plan as a narrative from front to
back - Showcases your ability as a project team to
conduct this research and solve a problem
15These are not competitive grants but think about
preparing this plan to demonstrate to NPS and AO
that your funding for this effort is a great
investment and the return you provide will
benefit ARS and the American Public
16Document Outline
Title and Investigator(s).page 1 Signature
Page...........page 2 Table of
Contents..page 3 Project summary (250
words)...page 4 Objectives....................
.page 5 Need for research (1-2 p) Scientific
Background (5-7 p) Prior Accomplishments (2
p) Approach Procedures (6-15 p) Literature
Cited Milestone Table (1-3 p) Past
Accomplishments of Project Team Members Issues of
Concern statements Appendices (letters plus other
material)
15 - 30 pages
17Project Summary
- Marketing plan for your research plan that
explains the research plan and its potential
impact - Understandable by the non-technical reader
18Objectives
- Dont just state the objectives but explain the
goals that are being addressed. - Link the objectives together by using a diagram
that shows the project team and the products (A
picture is worth a 1000 words).
19Need for Research Scientific Background
- Why is a solution to this problem important?
- How does it fit into the NP action plan?
- What are the current knowledge gaps?
- What preliminary data exists from your program
(graphs and tables help)? - This section doesnt have to be long but set the
stage for this research
20Need for Research Scientific Background (Hints)
- Your literature review doesnt have to cover all
of the information known on this topic. - Present related projects as more than a list from
the CRIS search, show the linkages. - What the panel wants to see is what gaps exist in
the current literature and how your project plan
fills those gaps. - Most of the comments state that this is great
literature review but it doesnt tell us why the
problem is important.
21Hypotheses
- Clear, concise, and testable hypothesis
statements. - Divide project plan into subobjectives each with
testable hypothesis statements. - Question Does your hypothesis statement relate
to your experimental plan?
22Approach and Procedures
- Adequate detail on experimental procedures
- Data to be collected
- Approach for the data analysis
- Who is responsible for the conduct of the
research?
23Approach and Procedures (Hints)
- If you are using a new technique show that your
project team has the expertise to use this
method. - If you have a vacancy describe how this SY will
fit into the project plan and if the objective is
totally the responsibility of the vacant SY then
give scope of what this SY will do and have a
6-month milestone that their job will be to
develop an experimental plan.
24Approach and Procedures (Hints)
- Link the experiments back to the knowledge gaps
and conclude by how these studies fill these
gaps. - Lay the foundation for the research program by
showing what you will be doing in the first set
of experiments. - Link to the contingency section
25Contingencies
- This is not the whining section!
- Show how you will use the results from the
initial studies to determine your next steps in
the project plan. - If you are using a new technology, state how you
will evaluate its effectiveness against other
methods.
26Collaborations
- Dont merely list the collaborators but explain
what they bring to the project plan. - Use the collaborator letters to provide evidence
of their involvement. - If you have a SCA with a group provide a copy of
the agreement in the appendix with a summary in
the Collaboration section.
27Collaborations (Hints)
- If there is a project within the location or area
that is within the same NP show how these are
linked or complement each other. - Dont overstate collaborations for
window-dressing but show viable collaborations.
28Project Management
- How is the project team going to evaluate the
progress of the project? - If you have collaborators how will the overall
project team assess progress?
29Human Physical Resources
- Provide the confidence that you have the
resources needed to conduct the research. - This is not the place to ask for more.
- Human Resources
- Vacancy- explain the vacancy and expected date it
will be filled. - Training- explain any training needed on new
methods and how this will be obtained (classes,
time in other laboratories). - Physical Resources
- Provide confidence that you have the resources
required to answer the problems.
30Milestone Table
- Use this table as a summary of your project.
- Include the products and milestones that you
expect to deliver over the life-cycle. - Remember these are only the starting points and
will be changed each year through the life-cycle
as the project progresses.
31Previous Accomplishments
- Summary of each investigator in a related project
objectives - Pertinent publications to the project objectives
- Remember, the review team is probably aware of
your research, but they still like to read about
your assessment of your accomplishments.
32Supporting Materials
- Letters from collaborators
- Other material that helps support your ability to
conduct the research
33Separating the Good from the Great
- Prepare an integrated narrative that provides the
detail and instills confidence about the project
team approach to addressing the problem. - Shows that the project plan will fill important
gaps needed for science and the National Program
Action Plan. - Shows that outcomes will address problems.
34Hints
- Read your plan with a fresh set of eyes after you
have assembled the plan. - The plan should read as an integrated effort to
solve a problem. - Use the plan as a reflection of the project teams
ability to conduct problem-solving science. - Proofread your plan!
35Parting Thoughts
- Dont expect anyone else other than the Project
Team to add quality to the project plan - Be proud of your research accomplishments and
your approach to address this problem - Producing a quality plan takes time. Start early
and seek the input of colleagues.