Chapter 4 Describing the Current Situation

Chapter 4 Describing the Current Situation

1. Describing the current situation is where the writer establishes his/her ethos. The writer has to establish that the problem being addressed is the effect of change. Anytime a paradigm shift occurs, problems will arise and will have to be addressed. Research at Clemson University has become a necessity instead of an option. With state funding dropping from 90% in 1990 to around 15% in 2008, our institution must find other ways of funding, and that funding is research. The state budget will continue to be cut and those cuts will be passed down to the departments.

AAH is not known as a research college; however there are research dollars out there for our college. Since research has not been a priority, tools to assist those individuals interesting in research are available, but they are not widely know. Personnel have been added over the last few years and workshops and assistance are being developed to facilitate the research. Over the last 7 years research has steadily increased in our college as you can see by the table below. With this increase comes the reality that steps need to be taken to do everything we possibly can to help our college excel in this area. A well researched, well written current situation is a must for any proposal as it establishes the ethos of the writer. The review may choose to not read the remainder of the proposal if he/she does not feel the writer is credible. It is crucial our college have the tools necessary for our faculty and students to succeed in this area.

2. Problem-Cause Map

The guidelines are very important for the writer to carefully dissect in order to draft the current situation section.
1. Problems are the effect of causes – Less state funding has promoted the need to secure other funding opportunities. This has prompted the need for more resources needed to assist our college excel in their research efforts.
2. Ignored problems tend to grow worse - More resources are needed for our faculty, staff and students to craft quality proposals. More and more graduate students are being encouraged to seek out their own funding for projects.
3. Blame change, not people – Increased demand for research – Top 20 status, reduced state budget, reduced departmental operating budgets, push to attract top notch graduate and PhD students, tenure.

3. Researching the current situation can take a causal approach, effects approach or a narrative approach. These terms are relatively explanatory. Deciding which approach to use is based on the research being conducted and the kind of situation you are trying to describe and the readers to whom you are describing it to (65). I am considering the narrative approach versus the effects approach in my proposal. My concern is some of my secondary readers are aware of the causes of the problem, but I am worried they might not recognize the importance of doing something to remedy that problem. At the same time those same readers may not be aware of all of the economic factors that have contributed to the push for more research dollars. At this juncture I believe I need to spend more time with the problem-causes map to determine which approach to take.