Very rough draft of project plan

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 ____ in 1990 to around ___ 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 each year the number of proposal submitted by AAH faculty increases for various reasons. 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 seven years research has steadily increased in our college. 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.
The college of Architecture, Arts and Humanities can succeed in research but our college must be willing to provide the tools necessary to enable this paradigm shift to occur. 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 additional graduate students to assist with research, lab equipment, travel money to conduct research, and course release. If the department chairs are in favor of the project, their faculty, staff and students will be more inclined to pursue external research.
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 their own role and analyze how well their 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. They need to understand they should not be “casual” in the way they write. They 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 steps.
Step 1 Developing Relationships with Funders
Step 2 Following the Rules (internal and external)
Step 3 Defining Clear Goals and Objectives
Step 4 Developing the Research Methodology
Step 5 Developing Sustainability Strategies and Collaborations
Step 6 Preparing the Budget
Step 7 Writing the Organization Background Component
Step 8 Writing the Proposal Summary
Step 9 Putting the Package Together
Step 10 Sustaining Relationships with Funders

In each step (or 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. Our college should be a part of this transition, and be recognized for the outstanding research we are conducting. At the completion of this project not one, but three different training media will be available to chose from on how to writer a winning proposal.