Writing the Perfect Bid

1
Writing the Perfect Bid

• Professor David Shemmings PhD
• Deputy Head SSPSSR

2
Basic Principles

• Bids are not very well written
• Give ME money
• Referees dont make the decision
• Mistake to write a full literature review
• Systematic structuring of an application
• For each RQ (about 4) clarify fully
• WNTK - We Need To Know
• (HOW?)
• TWTU - This Will Tell Us
• Testing an application
• Dont give it to your mates!

3
Why do funders give grants?

• Realistic promise of an answer
• Investigators
• Ability
• Opportunity
• Resources
• Sufficient
• Necessary
• i.e.VFM
• Important question
• How is importance defined?
• Directed mode
• Responsive mode

4
How do funders make decisions?

• Who?
• Panel
• Expertise
• How?
• Panel Meeting
• Role of Referees
• Role of Designated Members

5
What are the key componentsof a research
proposal?

• The question
• Break the question down into answerable
  components (about 4)
• Why it is important?
• How you will answer the question?
• Break the research down into components that
  answer each component of the question
• What you will do with the knowledge?

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What are the essential attributes of a
grant application?

• Quick to read
• Especially to speed read
• And to read in snatches
• Easy to understand
• Convincing

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phraseology

• situates micro-processes of social well-being
  within global social development.
• The socially and culturally contructed nature of
  mean that macro strategies and community level
  intervention has limited impact
• this research has wide-ranging relevance to the
  study of

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How do you make a grant application
convincing?

• Use the literature to make your case
• NOT to write a literature review
• Prime with relevant information
• Say how resources will be used in description of
  research project prepares for justification of
  resources
• We Need To Know (WNTK)
• Explain how and why WE NEED TO KNOW the answer to
  each part of the research question
• This Will Tell Us (TWTU)
• As you describe the research project explain what
  THIS WILL TELL US.
• If it's not something that WE NEED TO KNOW, go
  back to the previous step and write another WNTK.

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Structure

• State the problem
• then break down into a 3/4/5 item list' of
  things we need to know (WKTK)
• this is easier to grasp and is convincing
• it also forces you to be clear about the
  direction and detail
• State the research approach
• then break the research activity into a 'four
  item list' of things you will do to get your
  answers.
• State what each of these four activities will
  tell us (TWTU)
• State how you will disseminate the research

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How do you get started?

• Start with what you will do and why.
• Write a piece of the research project, including
  the TWTU.
• Write the corresponding bit of background and the
  WNTK.
• Repeat the above until you have described the
  whole project and its background.
• Add the dissemination
• Take bits for the summary
• Add the reason for importance

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Planned ESRC proposal

• Title
• The visibility and invisibility of men in the
  lives of children where there are safeguarding
  concerns
• (Part of) background and (beginning) of Main RQ
• Media reports of the death of (Baby) Peter
  Connelly made frequent mention of two men who
  managed to stay invisible during the 60 visits
  by social workers, police officers and various
  health professionals. Along with the mother,
  these men were subsequently found to have been
  responsible for his death. The proposed research
  uses a mixed methods design to understand how
  social workers assess the presence, involvement
  and influence of men in the lives of children
  where there are allegations of maltreatment

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RQs

1. How do social workers describe their response to
   referrals and their approach to assessment?
2. How do social workers engage with the family when
   men are known to be involved?
3. How do social workers analyse their practice when
   men are thought not to be involved?
4. How do social workers analyse their practice when
   the possibility of a child being abused by
   unknown male/s is thought likely?

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How do social workers describe their response to
referrals and their approach to the assessment?

• WNTK
• How social workers analyse the background details
  of a referral
• How they determine who is involved in the childs
  life
• Whether and how social workers actively consider
  the possibility of male involvement in the care
  of a child or their regular proximity to the
  child
• (How?)
• File study with content analysis, narrative
  interviews, Q-Methodology

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How do social workers describe their response to
referrals and their approach to the assessment?

• TWTU
• Whether and how social workers consider the
  presence of men in the mind of a child
• Whether and how they assess the male contribution
  (i.e. as benign, malevolent or positive) to the
  childs care and protection
• Types of reasoning and logics used in assessments
  
• Amount and quality of multi-agency information
  gathering

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How do social workers work with the family when
men are known to be involved?

• WNTK
• Delineation of methods for engaging family
  members
• Extent of use of theory and research when
  assessing, interviewing and drawing up protection
  plans
• (How?)
• File search and content analysis, interviews

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How do they work with the family when men are
known to be involved?

• TWTU
• Clarity, specificity and articulation of concerns
• How they assess positive male influence (e.g.
  social fathers)
• Level of openness and honesty
• Underlying implicit value base

17
How do social workers analyse their practice when
men are thought not to be involved?

• WNTK
• How social workers determine the non-presence of
  men
• Whether and how they update their assessments
• (How?)
• Interviews around practice, scenario-and
  vignette-based case discussion

18
How do social workers analyse their practice when
men are thought not to be involved?

• TWTU
• Extent of use of techniques aimed at observing
  and analysing the childs behaviour and
  representations as an indicator of the presence
  and proximity of men
• Knowledge of such techniques (independent of
  usage)
• Use of the Public Law Outline to increase
  leverage

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How do social workers analyse their practice if
the possibility of a child being abused by
unknown male/s is thought likely?

• WNTK
• How social workers evaluate risk from the
  presence and influence of invisible men
• (How?)
• Interviews around practice, scenario-and
  vignette-based case discussion

20
How do social workers analyse their practice if
the possibility of a child being abused by
unknown male/s is thought likely?

• TWTU
• Social workers ability to hold situations
  together to protect a child when the presence of
  men is being denied (but thought likely)
• How social workers protect civil liberties and
  human rights
• Whether and how managerial consultation and legal
  advice are sought (dont add and how effective
  they are if you arent going to!)