October 22, 2013

EVALUATION OF DETERMINING INSTRUCTIONAL PURPOSES

A Proposal to: Far West Laboratory for Educational and Research

Development

Bright Minds Inc. Consultant: Ashley Hungerford

505 EdTech Drive, Online, Arizona 55555

Phone: 555.555.5555 | Fax: 555.555.5555

brightminds@email.com | www.brightminds.com

Introduction

Far West Laboratory for Educational Research and Development issued a request for proposal (RFP) for an evaluation of its newly developed training program, Determining Instructional Purposes, here to known as (DIP).

This proposal is in response to the request, and was prepared by Bright Minds, Inc. of Online, Arizona.

Determining Instructional Purposes Training Program

The DIP training program is a set of three instructional units, and one coordinators handbook; the program is geared towards school administrators and graduate students in an educational administration program. The Far West Laboratory developed the DIP training program to help administrators, and future administrators learn to plan school programs effectively.

The DIP program units were created in such a way that they can be used in isolation, or as a part of a series. Each unit addresses a different set of skills and objectives, and is designed to be self-contained. Unit one is focused on setting goals, unit two instructs leaners in analyzing problems, and unit three pertains to deriving objectives.

The DIP program can be administered by a site coordinator; the training for coordinators requires that they learn each unit, and have excellent organizational skills. The Coordinator’s Handbook ($4.50 per copy) and the administrator manuals ($8.95 per single unit or $24.95 for all three units) are available for purchase.

Evaluation Method

The following section of the proposal will address the relevant data sources and evaluation methods that will be conducted to determine if the DIP training program can be effectively marketed and sold to prospective administrators and graduate school programs. The methodologies for assessing the data throughout the project will come in various forms, as both formative and summative, with the former taking place throughout the process and the latter taking place only after all of the relevant data has been gathered. Evaluation strategies are described below.

October 22, 2013

Bright Minds Inc.

1. Materials/Unit effectiveness - Bright Minds, Inc. will have experts in the field of education administration review the DIP units and provide a detailed analysis the data. This review will be focused on several aspects of the program: The usability of the materials, from the coordinator’s handbook to the administrator’s manuals, the instructional design aspects of the materials, and the ability of purchasers to utilize the materials as stand-alone units and/or as a packaged program. Given the limited release of the materials to this point, a volunteer “trial group” of 20 future administrators and coordinators from the local university, Arizona State, earning their Master’s degree in Education Administration, will be chosen to participate in the program evaluation, to provide feedback.

2. Participant feedback - Pre-training surveys, created by Bright Minds, will be completed with each individual participant. The intent of the surveys is to determine the level of knowledge, familiarity, and comfort each trainee has regarding the planning of effective school programs prior to the DIP training. The surveyors will also be attempting to gather data about the hopes of the trainees with regards to what they might learn from the DIP trainings. Post unit surveys will also be developed by Bright minds to assess the efficiency, effectiveness, and, if possible, the impact of the DIP training units. Both surveys will be conducted using surveymonkey.com.

3. Marketing and Sales- One of the primary objectives for this evaluation is to determine if the DIP program is marketable, and if it will yield a profit. In order to properly assess the program for effectiveness, market and sales research will be conducted by Bright Minds associates. Access to paperwork and financial reports both past and present will be evaluated to create a cost analysis sheet. Interviews with marketing, sales, and financial personnel will also be necessary in order to obtain to the most accurate financial picture of the company. Research on the price point of your materials, and training program will be conducted to determine competitiveness amongst other similar programs. Along with an accurate financial picture, we will need to build a database of connections, past and present clientele, potential customer lists, and depending on material evaluation results a list of potential customers "outside of the school box". Potentially expanding your customer base should always be a

Bright Minds Inc.

October 22, 2013

name

Bright Minds, Inc.

October 22, 2013

Task Schedule

This Task Responsible Party Date

1. Meet with FWL staff

to review Bright Minds proposal and adjust for any

modifications.

Bright Minds (Groups A and

B)

11/01/13

2. Present trial workshop

format plans, sample surveys, interview questions, a list of

required marketing and sales paperwork needs, to all FWL

participants for review and feedback.

Bright Minds (Groups A and

B)

11/15/13

3. Feedback provided for data collection instruments, trial

workshop plans.

FWL 11/29/13

4. Submit final data collection plan and instruments to FWL

incorporating feedback recommendations.

Bright Minds (Groups A and

B)

12/15/13

5. Marketing and Financial documents turned over to Bright

Minds for Research and Analysis.

FWL 12/20/13

6. Meet with FWL marketing and sales team to learn about

marketing strategy and review materials.

Bright Minds (Group A)

and

FWL

1/15/14

7. Coordinate pilot program with graduate school

participants.

Bright Minds (Group B) 1/15/14

8. Pre-training survey Unit 1: Setting Goals Bright Minds (B) 2/01/14

9. Unit 1: Setting Goals Bright Minds (B) 2/02/14-2/05/14

10. Post-training survey Unit 1: Setting Goals Bright Minds (B) 2/05/14

11. Pre-training survey

Unit 2: Analyzing Problems

Bright Minds (B) 2/10/14

12. Unit 2: Analyzing Problems Bright Minds (B) 2/11/14-2/13/14

13. Post-training survey Unit 2: Analyzing Problems Bright Minds (B) 2/13/14

14. Pre-training survey Unit 3: Deriving Objectives Bright Minds (B) 2/18/14

15. Unit 3: Deriving Objectives Bright Minds (B) 2/19/14-2/21/14

16. Post-training survey Unit 3: Deriving Objectives Bright Minds (B) 2/21/14

name

Dr. Ashley HungerfordPresident and CEO of Bright Minds, Inc.

Dr. Hungerford founded Bright Minds, Inc. in

1998, after 10 years in the public education sector.

Dr. Hungerford holds a PhD in Instructional

Design from Brown, a Master’s degree in

Education Administration from the University of

California Berkley, and she was just voted business

woman of the year for the State of Arizona. Dr.

Hungerford has worked in the field of evaluation

for over 20 years; she has been published

extensively as an expert in the field. Dr.

Hungerford will be acting as the lead evaluator for

the Far West Laboratory project; as such, Dr.

Hungerford will oversee the evaluation

process and the work of all Bright Minds’

employees, assist in the workshop planning, design

surveys and protocols for data collection and

analysis, and present all findings to the company.

The team that Dr. Hungerford has put together for

this project includes some of the top experts in

their fields, and they have over 150 years of

experience between them.

Dr. Catherine AmeySenior Financial Advisor

Dr. Amey is the co-founder of Bright Minds, and

one of the leading financial advisors/analysts in the

State of Arizona. She earned her PhD in Finance

from the University of Miami, her Master’s degree

in Business Marketing from Cornell, and she has

over 30 years of experience in the field. Dr. Amey

will be supervising group A. Group A is responsible “Type your callout text here.”

Bright Minds, Inc.

Month Day Year

Mr. Thomas GuyGroup B lead

Thomas Guy has been in the education field for 15 years,

as a teacher and an administrator. Mr. Guy has his

Master’s degree Interdisciplinary Evaluation with an

additional certificate in Evaluating educational systems.

Thomas will be overseeing group B; they are responsible

for coordinating with the graduate program, training the

participants, and conducting the surveys. Group B

members will also assist in final evaluation and

presentations.

Group A

Cindy McGrathMrs. McGrath is a recent graduate with her Master’s

degree in the Finance Department at Nova Southeastern

University. Cindy will be collecting and processing

numerical data under the supervision on Dr. Amey

Intern Judy Davis- Judy is an intern with an undergraduate degree in

Marketing, and she will be assisting Dr. Amey with

marketing research and design.

Group B

Matt BlazekMr. Blazek is a recent graduate from the Master’s

program in Communications at the University of

Arizona, with a specialty in public speaking. Matt is a

veteran teacher, and will be responsible for presenting

the unit materials to the participants. Mr. Blazek will be

working under the supervision of Mr. Guy.

Project Personnel

Proposed Budget

Personnel:

        Professional Salaries:

        Dr. Ashley Hungerford: 60 days @ $250/day        $ 15, 000

        Dr. Amey: 60 days @ $200/day        $12,000

        Thomas Guy: 120 days @ $100/day        $12,000

        Cindy McGrath and Matt Blazek: 40days @ $50/day        $ 2,000 each

        TOTAL PERSONNEL        $43,000

Operations and communications:

Supplies and Photocopying $300

Materials (20 classroom sets at $24.95/set) $500.00

TOTAL MATERIALS AND SUPPLIES $800        

COMMUNICATION: Estimated $200 per month for 6 months        $ 1200

        TOTAL OPERATIONS        $ 2,000

Travel:

        Travel: 35 miles at $0.55 per mile approximate mileage for all parties over 6 months 6,000 miles      $  3300

        Per Diem for site visits   $  1500

        TOTAL TRAVEL        $  4,800

        TOTAL BUDGET        $ 49,800