Proposal draft

Purpose Statement
This project proposes to develop a set of guidelines for the new grant writer in the College of Architecture, Arts and Humanities to use in developing an idea that conforms to the larger overall goal of the funding agency.


Executive Summary
This project proposes to develop a set of guidelines for the new grant writer in the College of Architecture, Arts and Humanities to use in developing an idea that conforms to the larger overall goal of the funding agency. Successful grantsmanship is critical to the economy of the academic research institution. This project will not contain instructions on how to do research. This guide will focus on how to seek out funding opportunities and write a winning proposal. A new grant writer needs to be able to identify the needs of the targeted funding agency or approach an agency with an unsolicited request. This project will look at successful versus unsuccessful proposal submissions, and attempt to understand how the project fits into the philosophy and mission of the agency or organization targeted. This manual is designed as a new reference document that will be housed in the Office of Research and Graduate Studies. It will also be available on the AAH Research web site, and will be incorporated into the training cycle conducted by the research office.


Introduction
This project proposes to develop a set of guidelines for the new grant writer in the College of Architecture, Arts and Humanities to use in developing an idea that conforms to the larger overall goal of the funding agency. Successful grantsmanship is critical to the economy of the academic research institution. This project will not contain instructions on how to do research. This guide will focus on how to seek out funding opportunities and write a winning proposal. A new grant writer needs to be able to identify the needs of the targeted funding agency or approach an agency with an unsolicited request. This project will look at successful versus unsuccessful proposal submissions, and attempt to understand how the project fits into the philosophy and mission of the agency or organization targeted. This manual is designed as a new reference document that will be housed in the Office of Research and Graduate Studies. It will also be available on the AAH Research web site, and will be incorporated into the training cycle conducted by the research office. The goal is to assist faculty, staff and students in our college excel in their research efforts.
Anytime a paradigm shift occurs, new principles will gain new followers and spark debate from those not willing to relinquish the current paradigm (Kuhn, ix). Research at Clemson University has become a necessity instead of an option—a necessity that has thrown many areas of the University into a state of crisis. With state funding remaining at the same since 1995, 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 and the departments will have no other choice but to scale back if other funding is not secured.
Completion of this project will be the first in many steps the Office of Research and Graduate Studies will take to assist the College in succeeding in acquiring research funding, and the benefits associated with this funding. This project will produce a manual on how to write a successful proposal. This manual will also be revised into a web document and a training document. Access will be convenient for all of the College with multiple media options for reference.


Current Situation
The College of Architecture, Arts and Humanities 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 have not been a top priority in our college. The research paradigm shift will require re-examination of prior theories and goals of our college. This is shift will be difficult and time consuming in addition to being strongly resisted by some in the established discourse community. Personnel have been added over the last few years and workshops and assistance are being developed to facilitate the research. Over the last seven years research has steadily increased in our college as indicated in Table 1.1. With this increase comes the reality that steps need to be taken to do everything we possibly can to help our college succeed in the area of research. In order to succeed our college must be willing to accept the proposed change in order to proceed with the new paradigm of research Clemson University has entered into.






Table 1.1 Figures presented at the May 2008 AAH Faculty and Staff Meeting


This project proposes to develop a set of guidelines for the new grant writer in the College of Architecture, Arts and Humanities to use in developing an idea that conforms to the larger overall goal of the funding agency. Because of the diversity of the College of Architecture, Arts and Humanities no one funding agency is identified for this project. The goal of this manual is to be a key reference guide on a long road to preparing a successful proposal. A great deal of effort will go into showing that a good idea is necessary but not sufficient and that a successful proposal is an exercise in rhetorical strategy. This manual will show how to gain insight from seasoned grant writers that know the system. Students will be able to understand the importance of finding a way of differentiating their grant proposal from run-of-the-mill applications.
Each year there are more and more demands for research dollars and the competition for these dollars is great. Each year the number of proposals submitted by Clemson University’s AAH increases and the need for resources to assist our college in this area is at a critical level. This project will be the first of many in the Office of Research and Graduate Studies developed to assist our researchers.
This project will benefit AAH in that a manual will be available for reference when writing proposals. Readers can employ different methods in using this manual depending on their needs and experience. This project will integrate writing, communication, rhetorical analysis, and the importance of research methodology.
Numerous books, how to listings, and guides offer insights to novice grant writers and even those with experience, however, it is believed one manual tailored for AAH research would be a useful tool that can offer assistance and insight to both the novice and experienced grant seeker. A new grant writer needs to be able to identify the needs of the targeted funding agency or approach an agency with an unsolicited request (Carlson, 12). This project proposes to develop a set of guidelines for the new grant writer to use in developing an idea that conforms to the larger overall goal of the funding agency. Anytime a document is written the writer creates a rhetorical situation. According to Greg Myers, the writing is shaped by the “gatekeepers” that review their work (“Text as Knowledge” 611-622). The grant writer must realize this and understand the situation, know the audience, and build a persuasive argument in order to convince the “gatekeepers” his or her proposal is rhetorically sound. This project will focus on the importance of communicating ideas rather than how to do research.
A proposal must reflect a well-planned project with reasonable cost justified. Often, the most common flaws grantmakers find in proposals are lack of clarity about what the writer is trying to achieve, the importance of the need, and the plan for meeting that need cost effectively (Lauffer, 103). The funding agencies are sending a clear message that the grant seekers will be expected to demonstrate solidity in long-term financial success of the project to be funded and of the funding agency itself. Funding agencies fund work that furthers their mission. In addition, getting to know the grant officers, funding limits, and previous funded grants from those agencies are critical (Wason, 144).
Reviewers become frustrated at having to read and reread a research plan before understanding a project. Carter and Quick, co-authors of “How to Write a Grant Proposal”, have written four books on the subject. They spend a great deal of effort illustrating how grant seeking is primarily project development, research, and positioning. The writing of the proposal actually comes last. They stress that “one should never write the first line of a proposal until the project is fully developed and at that point the proposal writes itself” (85). In addition to getting to know the funder, one must also understand what all is involved in the proposal process. As stated above, writing the text of the research is only a fraction of the work. Assembling budgets, tables, and getting the proposal through internal reviews are critical (New, 202). These references show the more effort and time the funder has to devote to figure out the proposal application, the less energy they will have to review the proposal itself. This also brings a key point: never assume the reader knows what the writer means Janet Rasey states in “Writing the Grant,” ‘explain it as clearly as possible but without insulting his/her intelligence’ (153) One should keep abbreviations, acronyms, and discipline-specific terminology to an absolute minimum.
Consulting someone with experience is key to help understand what makes a grant successful (Whalen,116). Experienced grant writers not only can share past experiences, they can also provide key connections with funding agencies. Bauer, author of “How to Evaluate and Improve Your Grant Effort”, strongly suggest interviewing veteran grant writers to gain a better understanding of the positive outcomes of submitting proposals. Interviews with seasoned researchers in AAH faculty will be conducted and highlighted in the project. Experienced writers can advise on how not to make the same mistakes they made. In addition to interviewing seasoned grant writers, a sampling of awarded and rejected proposal will be reviewed as examples of what and what not to do when writing a proposal.
One area that is repeated in a great deal of the literature is the importance of following the rules set by the funder. The guidelines for the organization will indicate what to include in a grant proposal. Most funders want the same basic information, even if they use different words or ask questions in a different order. Checking the funder’s website often will produce all instructions, templates and guidance for assistance needed to submit a proposal to that funder. This guide will house an outline that should meet the needs of most funders, or guide the writer when approaching a funder with no written guidelines.
Patricia Bizzell writes in “Foundationalism and Anti-Foundationalism in Composition Studies” ‘change occurs when an external reality…impinges on the work of the community’. This discourse of the community changes to accept the new changes in the material world. “…what the community ‘knows’ is never some truth external to its own discourse; it knows only what it can frame, test and establish in its discourse” (50). The outcome of this project will be to produce a resource document that will guide the newcomer in grant writing to produce winning proposals in the discourse community of the College of Architecture, Arts and Humanities.


Project Plan
This objective of this study is to attempt to learn what can be gained from the experience of successful grant writers to help the new comer in the College of Architecture, Arts and Humanities succeed in this area. The study will use a mixed methods approach and collecting diverse types of data will provide a better understanding of the steps that are necessary in order to produce a successful proposal.
A sequential mixed methods approach will be used which will include a deductive approach and verification as well as an inductive approach to an emerging pattern to be reviewed. In the first phase, quantitative research will evaluate a sampling of proposals that were evaluated and approved or rejected, thus, providing a data set with results. From the findings, a qualitative exploration of successful grant writers will be conducted to probe or explore those results in more depth. Review of successful grants and interviews with actual faculty with a proven track record of funding will help to answer research questions. From these interviews more questions to research will emerge.
As stated above, this study will look at actual proposals submitted for funding.
Results from the Study
The study should focus on the following research questions:
1. How does one conform to the targeted funding agencies needs and expectations?
2. What makes a successful grant in the College of Architecture, Arts and Humanities?
3. What are funders looking for in a grant?
I am proposing to answer each of these questions by collecting data as follows:
Interviews with successful grant writers: Writing the text is only half of the work. The rest is assembling budgets and boilerplate, getting the proposal through internal reviews, etc. Consulting someone who is experienced will provide valuable information the new grant writer can expand upon.
A textual analysis comparing successful and failing proposals: This will give a good review of types of grants that are worth a second look. This will show that reviewers look for evidence of good ideas, focused writing and evidence of productivity and knowledge of proposed techniques.
A rhetorical analysis of what elements in successful grants are persuasive: Some reviewers may not be experts in the proposed area of research, and the writer is just as obligated to communicate with them as with the leading researchers in the field who know all the techniques and terminology. The analysis will help the writer focus more on his or her rhetorical strategy.
The above areas will provide the necessary framework to begin the project. After I have compiled the data I will begin appropriate production phase of the manual. The manual will be laid out in steps based on the project structure below.
The college of Architecture, Arts and Humanities can succeed in research but in order to develop a research culture our college must be willing to put the resources into place to enable our grant seekers succeed. This starts at the top and will trickle down. President Barker has laid the ground work with his push for Top 20 status. In order to reach this goal, Clemson’s research dollars must excel at a rapid pace.
For our college to be a part of this we must take the first step of enlisting support from the department chairs. If the chairs are not behind this project, the faculty will not feel it is their best interest to pursue research dollars. In this first step the department chairs will be presented with the research history of the University and the future forecast from President Barker. A list of benefits will also be presented to the chairs. These benefits include:
· Grants allow exploration of interest.
· Grants help move a department toward its goals.
· The department/school needs the results that grants generate, such as equipment, personnel and research findings.
· Grants can get things that the institution cannot afford to purchase (e.g., equipment, post doctorial employees, and top-notch graduate students)
· Grants can lead to publishing, the deliverance of papers at professional meetings, and travel.
This encouragement to persue research dollars will result in more individuals needing tools and guidance in grant writing in our college. Building a research culture will take time and effort. This project will produce a step by step guide in producing winning proposals, a multimedia training project housed on the AAH Research web site, and workshops given throughout the year.
A “how to” manual will provide the newcomer a road map starting with an idea and turning it into a well-defined proposal. It will stress that throughout the process the novice will need to be precise about his or her own role and analyze how well the project reflects the funding agency’s goals.
It takes time, and then more time to write a successful grant. The actual writing of the text in the research grant is only part of the work that goes into a successful proposal. In the economy of the academic research institution, success in grant writing continues to gain importance. It is imperative to thoroughly understand the expectations of knowing how to write proposals and the importance of funding to the College of Architecture, Arts and Humanities. The proposal writer needs to understand they should not be “casual” in the way they write. The writer should not write a proposal as if they were talking to peers who already know and understand their project, but develop an awareness of who their proposal reviewing audience will be.
I feel it is important to write the manual first because I envision it as being the backbone of the project. Currently I plan on organizing the manual into ten chapters.
Chapter 1 Developing Relationships with Funders
Chapter 2 Following the Rules (internal and external)
Chapter 3 Defining Clear Goals and Objectives
Chapter 4 Developing the Research Methodology
Chapter 5 Developing Sustainability Strategies and Collaborations
Chapter 6 Preparing the Budget
Chapter 7 Writing the Organization Background Component
Chapter 8 Writing the Proposal Summary
Chapter 9 Putting the Package Together
Chapter 10 Sustaining Relationships with Funders

In each chapter I will enlist suggestions from the AAH Faculty Research Facilitators. I will also interview successful researchers in each department for suggested content. The document will be submitted to the Associate Dean of Research for review. Revisions will be made at this point and the manual will be written.
From paper to the web will be the third step in my project. Not everyone will want to read a manual. Some individuals prefer to get their information visually. Being aware of this, I must be careful as to what is the best format for this project. Research and possible usability testing may be required to determine the best method. I will also have to learn the software that I select to produce the document. The last phase of the third step is to develop the project and put it one the AAH web site.
Step four will be to develop a workshop to incorporate into the Research Office training though out the year. First I will enlist suggestions for the best media to use from the AAH Faculty Research Facilitators. I will also need to determine if funding will be needed to develop and conduct the workshops. At this point I will be ready to develop the workshop.
This project will foster the research paradigm shift that has begun to occur at Clemson as well in the College of Architecture, Arts and Humanities. At the completion of this project not one, but three different training media to chose from on how to writer a winning proposal. This manual will be redesigned as a web document and formatted for training classes sponsored by the Office of Research and Graduate Studies. This project will result in three different media on the subject designed to reach as many graduate students and new faculty as possible in our College.
Timeline.
July 1, 2008 Submit proposal to the Associate Dean of Research
August 2008 Form committee and submit proposal to committee
October 2008 Chapters 1 -6 completed
November 2008 Chapters 7-10 completed
December 2008 Begin work on multimedia project for web
February 2008 Complete multimedia project and being training documentationMarch 2009 Present project to committee


Conclusion
The product that results from this project will be a manual on writing winning proposal designed for the novice grant writer in the College of Architecture, Arts and Humanities. This manual will also be housed on the AAH web site and will be incorporated into the training cycle of the Research Office. This will free up time of advisors and empower the newcomer to begin research with a positive outlook.
Faculty and graduate student have more demands on them than ever. It is difficult to find time to attend a training session or classes deemed as “extra work.” Faculty, graduate students, and staff will have access to any one of the three media developed in the project to insure it reaches as many individuals as possible.
Resulting from the push of upper administration to become a Top 20 University, research dollars have steadily increased in AAH over the last seven years. With this increase comes the reality that steps need to be taken to do everything we possibly can to help our college succeed in this area. In order to succeed our college must be willing to accept the proposed change in order to proceed with the new paradigm of research Clemson University has entered into.
This project will give the College more resources to ensure our researches produce more quality proposals. This project will lay the foundation for future workshops based on research growth and needs of our college in the research area. The AAH Office of Research Support exists to assist faculty in obtaining funding needed to carry out their work. Once a faculty member has a specific research topic or area of interest, the staff in the Office of Research Support can assist in a variety of ways from helping identifying funding sources to assisting in submitting the proposal to the sponsor. Our office is available to assist our college and this project is the first of many that will relay we have the knowledge and capability of working through the entire proposal process, and we are available for more than just “pushing” the internal paperwork through the University system.

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