Higher Education Grant Planning Guide

Pearson Learning Solutions | 2154 E. Commons Ave, Suite 4000 | Centennial, CO 80122

©2013 Pearson Learning Solutions or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

Pearson Higher Education Grant Services

HigherEdGrantExperts@Pearson.com

WRITING GUIDE | Pearson Higher Education | Page 2

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................ 3

STAGES OF GRANT WRITING ................................................................................................. 5

STAGE 1: DEVELOPING A GRANT PROJECT ........................................................................ 7

STAGE 2: GATHERING RESEARCH AND DATA ................................................................... 10

STAGE 3: WRITING THE APPLICATION ................................................................................ 13

STAGE 4: COMPLETING BUDGET NARRATIVE ................................................................... 25

STAGE 5: REVISING THE APPLICATION ............................................................................. 27

CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................................... 29

WRITING GUIDE | Pearson Higher Education | Page 3

INTRODUCTION Pearson (www.pearson.com) has been helping colleges and universities deliver innovative education

options since 1996 and is the world’s leading learning company, reaching more than 130 million learners

worldwide.

Pearson works with more than 4,000 higher education institutions throughout North America and many more globally, providing educational materials, technologies, assessments, and related

services to instructors and students of all ages.

Pearson is also a leading provider of electronic learning programs and of test development, processing,

and scoring services to educational institutions, corporations, and professional bodies around the

world. As a result of our expertise, the Pearson Higher Education Support Services Grants Team understands that the responsibility of writing grants for education funding is often challenging.

Because of that we have developed this solution summary to help you in your efforts to write a

compelling and high quality grant application.

To assist you in responding to your grant opportunity, this document contains a compilation of Pearson

grant planning and writing recommendations.

Pearson’s Higher Education Support Services Grants Team can also provide a review of your draft application featuring Pearson learning solutions and assess it against grant requirements. The document will be returned with embedded comments that indicate areas of strength and areas that

should be revised.

To receive this assistance, please contact your Pearson Account Executive or e-mail your draft to

HigherEdGrantexperts@pearson.com.

Please include the following information:

• Copy of the grant you are responding to

• Name of Pearson Account Executive you are working with

• Pearson solutions you are incorporating into your application

• Draft application in Word (for review only)

WRITING GUIDE | Pearson Higher Education | Page 4

Pearson Higher Education Grants Support Services Team’s favorite grant training sites: If you are brand-new to grant writing, check out some of these helpful resources to expand your knowledge.

• Tutorial: The Foundation Center has a helpful tutorial on writing proposals. It can be viewed at: http://foundationcenter.org/getstarted/tutorials/shortcourse/index.html

• Online Guide: The National Science Foundation offers a helpful guide for proposal writing. It can be viewed at http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2004/nsf04016/nsf04016_5.htm

• Webinar: The Foundation Center also offers a free Webinar: http://foundationcenter.org/getstarted/training/webinars/pwb_webinar.html

• Library of tips: o The Writing Successful Grants Knowledgebase contains checklists, worksheets,

and helpful tips for each section commonly found in grant applications (geared to the K-12 market, but helpful for higher education too: http://www.mc3edsupport.org/community/knowledgebases/Project-4.html

o GrantSpace, a service of the Foundation Center, offers a comprehensive resource library for grant writing. It can be found at : http://grantspace.org/Tools/Knowledge-Base/Funding-Research/Proposal-Writing/Grant-proposals

WRITING GUIDE | Pearson Higher Education | Page 5

STAGES OF GRANT WRITING

Responding to a grant is a process that requires planning and preparation. To ensure you have enough

time to write a successful application, refer to this overview of the stages of grant writing. Tips and hints

for each stage are provided in this writing guide. See the page numbers listed below and details throughout

the remainder of this Guide for information on each stage.

STAGE 1: DEVELOPING A GRANT PROJECT • Form a planning committee to guide your project development and grant writing.

• Include all stakeholders in the planning committee, including administrators, faculty, community

members, etc.

• Select curriculum, interventions, trainings, and assessments that align to the grant and will meet

student needs.

• Ensure your project fits the scale of the grant award. Consider scaling back your project if the

award amount will not support your project plan.

STAGE 2: GATHERING RESEARCH AND DATA Gather the following types of information to be included in your grant application:

• Test score data

• Research to support the project design

• Demographic data

STAGE 3: WRITING THE APPLICATION • Incorporate demographic and test score data, as well as research, to make your application

convincing and informative.

• Use headings, tables, and lists to clearly convey the project’s focus and to make priority items

easy to find.

See pp. 7-9 of this Writing Guide for tips on planning your grant application.

See pp. 10-12 of this Writing Guide for types of data you should include in your application, as well as suggestions for where to find research articles and demographic data.

See p. 13 of this Writing Guide for budget writing tips and recommendations.

WRITING GUIDE | Pearson Higher Education | Page 6

STAGE 4: COMPLETING BUDGET NARRATIVE Develop the budget narrative based on project activities.

• Ensure all budgeted items are included in the project narrative, and all items described in the

narrative are included in the budget.

• Recheck budget totals for accuracy.

STAGE 5: REVISING THE APPLICATION

• Proofread the application for changes and revisions.

• Ensure that formatting requirements are consistent throughout the application narrative and align

to the requirements.

• Double-check all numbers to ensure they are consistently stated and/or add-up correctly including

student population, demographic percentages, classes to be served, number of trainings to be

delivered, and the budget.

• Ask a qualified person to review the application (preferably someone who has not worked on the

writing): give ample time to review the application and to identify areas that need to be

strengthened.

• Use the reviewer’s recommendation to revise the application narrative.

• Use the grant scoring rubric criteria to determine if your application meets all requirements.

STAGE 6: SUBMITTING ON TIME Gather all authorized signatures and mail the application. Plan to finish your application with enough time

to send the application for arrival on or before the due date. Or, complete the online application and

mail/fax authorized signature forms.

See page pp. 26 of this Writing Guide for recommendations and tips for writing the project narrative.

WRITING GUIDE | Pearson Higher Education | Page 7

STAGE 1: DEVELOPING A GRANT PROJECT

While the promise of a grant award is alluring, competitive grants may not be the best way to fund your

project. Writing a grant requires hard work and funding is not guaranteed. Before you decide to apply for

a grant, consider:

• Are there alternative ways to fund our project?

• Does this grant match the institution’s priorities?

• Do we meet the eligibility requirements?

• Do we have adequate resources to commit to writing a grant application within the grant timeline?

• Do we have adequate capacity to implement the grant, if awarded?

• Download all available documents from the state, federal, or foundation Web site.

• Identify format requirements such as margin settings, font size, and line spacing. Identify the

number of copies to be submitted.

• Note the authorized signature(s) needed before submitting your document.

• Note the dates and times for completing an online application or sending a hard-copy application.

• Identify if multiple-year budgets are to be included.

• Review the scoring rubric for criteria to cover during the writing stage.

Grant projects created with input from all concerned stakeholders have a better chance of being funded

and successfully implemented. The committee may take on an advisory role, evaluating curriculum or

giving input on desired interventions, or may take on an active role in helping to complete portions of the

grant application. Referencing activities and decisions of this committee within your grant application will

help to show the reviewer your broad support for and investment in your grant project.

Form a planning committee. Invite a variety of stakeholders to participate in planning the grant project.

Committee personnel should vary based on the grant requirements, but might include:

• Curriculum Director

Step 1: Determine if a grant is the best way to fund your proposed project

Step 2: Read all grant application documents

Step 3: Plan your grant project

WRITING GUIDE | Pearson Higher Education | Page 8

• Continuing Education Director

• Professional Development Director

• Technology Director

• Leadership within targeted institutions, and/or Faculty Representation

• Representatives from community organizations, like libraries or hospitals

Schedule meeting times. Consider scheduling grant meetings with your planning committee in advance

to get on everyone’s calendars. Schedule regular meetings through the due date to be sure you will have

enough collaboration time. Setup file sharing. An easy way to ensure every member of the planning committee has access to the

most current version of the grant application is to share the files online. There are several secure, free

online options for uploading and sharing files, such as Dropbox™ (www.Dropbox.com) or Google Drive™

(Drive.Google.com). Gather information. Keep all vendor and cost estimates in one folder so it is easily available when

writing the budget. Your Pearson Account Executive can assist in planning the implementation and

budget for your selected Pearson program. Use guiding questions. To ensure each planning committee meeting goes smoothly, create an agenda

for each meeting. For example, use a form such as the one modeled in Table 1 below to guide your initial

planning committee meeting.

Table 1: Sample Planning Committee Questions

WRITING GUIDE | Pearson Higher Education | Page 9

Initial Planning Questions Notes Who will become our local expert on the grant? Assign someone to be responsible for keeping up with all documents on the federal, state, or foundation grant Web site, as well as attending any technical assistance sessions.

Who will gather data for the project needs assessment? See list of helpful data to gather on next page.

Who will take the lead on writing the grant application? Or, who will write each section, and who will coordinate merging all sections together? This person should also plan to attend any technical assistance sessions from the state.

Who will be responsible for creating the grant budget? Who will keep the key stakeholders informed of our grant planning process? Who needs to review and approve our final application? Who will be responsible for submitting our final grant application? This person should become familiar with the federal, state, or foundation grant submission process. Some federal grants require you to register at least a week before you can submit your grant—plan ahead!

How often and when should we meet to develop our grant project? Who can schedule meetings and provide reminders?

Given the timeline, by what date do we need to have a rough draft? Aim for one week before the actual deadline. If you would like a complimentary review from the Pearson Higher Education Grants Support Services Team, you will need to send it at least one week before the due date.

WRITING GUIDE | Pearson Higher Education | Page 10

STAGE 2: GATHERING RESEARCH AND DATA

Use Data To Show Need Consider which of these following data sources you will use to show the needs of your three main

groups of stakeholders: community, student and/or school, and staff. You do not need to include all

of these data sources, nor are you limited to those described here. What data is most relevant and

will be most convincing in describing your need?

Community Needs

• Waiting lists for community programs that address similar needs • Lack of community programs that address similar needs • Focus group results • Surveys • Newspaper reports and articles • Demographic data

Student/School Needs

• Current list of persistently low-performing programs • Demographic data (i.e. enrollment by sub group–-race, gender ELL, etc.) • Standardized test scores • Persistence/graduation rates • Portfolios and activity logs • Surveys • Retention records • Enrollment patterns • Technology plans • Strengths/weaknesses of existing assessments, interventions, and

professional development

Staff Needs

• Administrators’ observations • Peer reviews • Portfolios • Activity logs • Surveys • Instructor discussion groups/focus groups summaries • Number or percentage of faculty with terminal degrees; number of

percentage of instructors with special certifications or credentials • Average length of instructor tenure • Staff turnover rate

WRITING GUIDE | Pearson Higher Education | Page 11

Incorporate Research One of the best ways to convince the reviewer that your project activities are well thought-out and

will meet the needs of your students is to incorporate research into your project description. For

example, if you are including digital instruction, cite sources that support the use of computers to

raise instruction. Describe what research the curriculum is based on. Or, include research that

shows how the selected program or similar programs have had an impact on students similar to

yours.

Pearson Higher Education Support Services Grants Team’s favorite Web sites to gather data:

• The Chronicle of Higher Education. Premium news and research source for higher education: http://chronicle.com/section/Home/5

• Inside Higher Education. Another premium news and research source for higher education: http://www.insidehighered.com/

• U.S. Department of Education. This site provides statistical information and analysis regarding all matters in education: http://www.ed.gov/

• U.S. Department of Labor. This site provides statistics and analysis about labor and employment: http://www.dol.gov/

• Pearson Higher Education. View this site about Pearson’s products, impact, and solutions for higher education: http://www.pearsonhighered.com/

• Pearson Learning Solutions. Highlights Pearson’s products for technology solutions in content and platforms: http://www.pearsonlearningsolutions.com/

• National Center for Education Statistics. This site provides statistics by state regarding teacher educational levels and teaching experience. Use this data to compare your profile against state averages: http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2002/digest2001/tables/dt069.asp.

• Ed Week Graduation Rate Map: http://www.edweek.org/apps/gmap/ • Ed Data Express. Provides a wide variety of state-level education data:

http://www.eddataexpress.ed.gov/ • U.S. Census Bureau. Access community information such as population, housing,

economic, and geographic information: http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml

WRITING GUIDE | Pearson Higher Education | Page 12

Pearson Higher Education Grants Support Services Team’s favorite Web sites for research citations

• Education Resources Information Center (ERIC). Digital library from the U.S. Department of Education that includes peer-reviewed education journals, research syntheses, technical reports, policy papers, and more: http://www.eric.ed.gov/

• Foundation Center. This Web site provides research summaries for today’s major themes in education: http://foundationcenter.org/educationexcellence/research.html

• Alliance for Excellent Education. This site allows you to search for research grouped around relevant topics, such as the achievement gap, rural schools, graduation rate, 21st Century Skills, and more: http://www.all4ed.org/issues

• Grants.gov. Grants.gov allows organizations to electronically find and apply for more than $400 billion in federal grants. Grants.gov is the single access point for more than 1,000 grant programs offered by federal grant-making agencies. www.grants.gov

WRITING GUIDE | Pearson Higher Education | Page 13

STAGE 3: WRITING THE APPLICATION

Once your planning committee has developed the project plan, it’s time to commit that plan to paper. To

help you succeed and develop a thorough application, the steps below will guide you through the grant-

writing process. The tips and hints below are organized into sections you commonly required in most

grant applications.

Recommended Best Practices • Use the requirements or scoring rubric as your grant’s outline. This ensures you will respond to

each requirement and it helps the reviewer quickly identify each item’s response. You may want

to print out the scoring rubric so you can refer to it often in the writing process.

• Note all formatting guidelines outlined in the grant, including margins, font size, spacing, and

page limits. Do not wait to format the response upon completion of writing the response or you

may find your application is much too long for the requirements.

• Use bullets, charts, and tables to make your document easy to read quickly.

• Avoid including lengthy appendices, unless specifically requested in the grant. Most reviewers will

not review appendices or consider that information in the scoring process.

• Giving your project a title will help distinguish it from other applications and help the reviewer

remember your project. Be creative—come up with a title that relates to your project, your

institution’s culture, your area or your students.

Be clear, be compelling. In a needs statement, you will detail the challenges facing your institution. This

is your opportunity to make your community stand out in the reviewer’s mind, and to convince him or her

of the urgency for the grant project. This may be the most important section of the grant application—if

the reviewer can see your need from the beginning, he or she will be more attentive to the rest of the

grant application.

The needs you discuss in your grant application must be tailored to the project for which you are

requesting funds. Every need addressed in this section must have a proposed solution in the grant

project. For example, do not discuss your high population of English language learners as a challenge

unless the project will include special activities to address that population. Or, if you are writing a grant to

implement a new reading curriculum, do not waste precious space discussing students’ math

achievement. Introducing needs without a solution to resolve them will confuse the reviewer—or worse—

Section 1: Needs Statement

WRITING GUIDE | Pearson Higher Education | Page 14 convince him or her that you have too many needs to successfully implement a grant project. But when

you introduce targeted needs and convince the reviewer they must be addressed, you set the stage for

the proposed implementation.

Put it in perspective with data. Use statistics and data to illustrate and lend weight to your statements.

Weak: Students need assistance with reading.

Stronger: 35 percent of incoming students did not achieve proficiency on the reading

assessment, compared to the state average of 20 percent below proficient.

Another way to help the reviewer to see the greatness of your need is to contrast data to state or national

averages. For example, depending on the reviewer’s experience, stating that 60 percent of incoming

students receive Pell Grants may or may not sound like a high number. But comparing that need to a

lower state or national average will help the reviewer see that your institution is facing a greater challenge

than other institutions.

Show data over time by including tables or charts showing a decrease in achievement over years, or an

increase in the enrollment of at-risk subgroups over years. This will help reviewers see that the problem is

ongoing and increasing, thus building the case for an immediate intervention to mitigate those challenges.

Focus on the needs to be addressed. The needs section is not the place to name particular products or

services that will be delivered in the project. Focus on the needs that will be addressed to show the

reviewer the rationale on why it is imperative to do this particular project. There will be plenty of space to

describe products/services/activities in the project design.

Put it in context with research. Relate your needs to research to help reviewers put the need in context

and show why it is so important to address the need. For example:

Weak: Our large population of low-income students is at risk for academic failure.

Stronger: Research shows that “…Being a first-generation student confers its greatest liability in

[the] initial adjustment to, and survival in, postsecondary education” (Pascarella et al, 2003; pg.

429). Analysis for this report showed that 60 percent of low-income, first-generation students who

leave postsecondary education without attaining a degree do so after the first year.” Such a deficit

is evident at our institution. Our large population of low-income students begin their freshman

year behind their peers and face an onset of achievement gaps as well as a greater chance that

they will drop out. Without a structured academic support services program and strong and

mandatory advising services, disadvantaged groups fall far behind and/or fail to graduate. By

WRITING GUIDE | Pearson Higher Education | Page 15

tying that statement to research, it helps the reviewer understand the urgency of the need—if this

problem is not addressed now, these students will continue to face ever-increasing challenges.

Justify the target group. It may be necessary to focus your grant project on one or more subgroups to

maximize the impact of your potential grant award. If your project will focus on certain student subgroups,

you will want to demonstrate why those groups need assistance more than other groups. Use data and

research to show why those students are most in need of intervention, and why focusing on them will

allow the grant project to have the greatest impact.

Do not forget the positive. Although the needs section is meant to highlight the challenges your

students and staff face, it is also meant to set the stage for your grant implementation. Do not forget to

include some positive information to reassure the reviewer that your organization has the capacity to

successfully implement the grant project. Some examples might include:

• High rates of faculty participation in past professional development

• Other stakeholders involvement in planning for the grant project, such as community partnerships

• Past successful efforts related to the project, or past successful efforts in other curriculum areas.

Goals. Goals are usually broad, general statements that indicate what the final outcome of the project

should be, for example: to increase reading achievement for English language learners, or to improve

math achievement for all freshman and sophomore students. The goal for a project should be based

directly on student need; the needs you outline in your needs section will create a sense of urgency for

achieving the goal you have outlined.

Objectives. Objectives are the specific, measurable actions that will be accomplished to help you attain

your goal. Objectives help you break your long-term goal into steps, and will address different necessary

aspects of the project that will contribute to the success of the goal. Never mention buying in an objective;

that is an activity that can appear in your project timeline. If you are writing a multi-year grant project, you

will want to create objectives that will be accomplished for each year. The best objectives will:

• Be specific

• Set ambitious but realistic and attainable targets, Include a baseline when possible

• Have a specific date for completion

• Be tied to an objective measure of success

Section 2: Goals and Objectives

WRITING GUIDE | Pearson Higher Education | Page 16

Tips for Writing Goals and Objectives Be realistic. Do not over-promise results on the hopes extremely ambitious goals will impress grant

reviewers. If funded, your project will be held accountable to reaching the stated goals and objectives, so

set realistic expectations.

Include timeframes. If you are writing a multi-year grant, be sure to state when each objective will be

accomplished. You might even include progressive objectives for each year of the grant to show

benchmarks towards achieving the ultimate goal.

Use a table. Experienced grant-writers love tables and charts because they can save space and keep

responses easy-to-read. Below is a sample of one of the many ways to structure a table to display goals

and objectives:

Table 1: Sample Goals and Objectives

Goals and Objectives Evaluation measures Goal 1:

Objective 1.1: Objective 1.2:

Goal 2: Objective 2.1: Objective 2.2:

Take a closer look: Sample goal and objectives Goal: Increase math achievement for all freshman and sophomore students.

• Objective 1: Increase pass rates for all students enrolled in Essentials for Math from 33 percent to 51 percent by the end of the year.

• Objective 2: Raise the percentage of students’ pass rates in Pre-Algebra to 68 percent after Essentials of math.

• Objective 3: All teachers will undergo 5 hours of training in and implement strategies for supporting math achievement for at-risk learners, as reported by attendance logs and observations.

• Objective 4: At least 60 percent of students will participate in mandatory advising and tutoring sessions to support and increase engagement in class.

WRITING GUIDE | Pearson Higher Education | Page 17

Before You Write Describe the project to a friend. Before you draft your implementation plan, take a few minutes to

highlight the points you most want your reviewer to know. An easy way to do this is to imagine you are

talking to a friend outside the education field. In a conversation with this friend, what would you tell them

about the project you are implementing? What kind of background information or explanations would be

necessary for your friend to understand the project? What would you tell your colleague to get them

excited about the project and convince them it is the best way to help your students? Take a few minutes

to think these points through, and jot down some notes. Or, tell your friend, and have him or her jot down

notes for you! As you write the application, and after you write, compare your implementation plan to

those notes— do your key points stand by your narrative?

Look at successful efforts. You might also find it helpful to read through funded grant applications for a

grant project similar to the one you are working on. What aspects of the winning grant appeal to you?

What questions remained after reading the application? What did the writer do that was particularly

effective? View the Department of Labor’s Employment and Training at http://www.dol.gov/dol/grants/ and

Department of Education at http://www2.ed.gov/fund/data/award/grntawd.html for examples of winning

institutions’ applications.

Connect the dots. The project request needs to make sense. Every component should logically flow to

the next. In strong grant applications, the needs identified set the stage for the project goals. Activities

should flow from those project goals. Likewise, the budget should be a direct reflection of the planned

activities. Read the sample below and see how each section is closely tied together.

Section 3: Project Design

WRITING GUIDE | Pearson Higher Education | Page 18

Tips for Writing Your Project Design Show your planning. One way to convince the reviewer you have an effective plan in place is to

reference the thought and planning behind different decisions. If you have already established a planning

committee to assist you with the needs assessment, the same group can evaluate and select the best

interventions to meet the stated needs. You do not have to include detailed minutes of the planning

committee meeting in your grant application (although some applications will allow you to append these).

Instead, briefly reference the process the committee used to evaluate the selected programs and

strategies and the criteria they used to judge which solution was best. Do not forget to highlight which

aspects of the program the committee felt would be most beneficial to meeting the needs of your target

students.

Tie in to existing efforts. If you have already made efforts in the curriculum area or with the student

groups your grant application focuses on, be sure to describe them. Briefly discuss what has been done,

what is still needed, and how the new project will enhance and support the existing efforts. For example, if

you have recently adopted a new math curriculum for the institution, describe how your math intervention

will add to that effort. Discuss past efforts in professional development. Or, describe how your

supplemental educational services will build on efforts made your existing programs.

Take a closer look: Every component should logically flow to the next. Needs:

1. 70% of freshmen are not proficient in basic math. 2. Half of instructors do not feel comfortable using technology.

Objectives:

1. Increase basic math proficiency of fall freshman by 25% by end of the quarter as evidenced by NCES standards.

2. By end of year, 80% of teachers will report feeling comfortable integrating technology, as reported through surveys and interviews.

Activities:

1. Provide 20 minutes of individualized supplemental instructional services to freshman daily.

2. Provide professional development quarterly, and weekly coaching on technology integration topics.

Evaluation:

1. To what extent has the pass rate of freshman in Essentials for Math increased? 2. To what extent do teachers report feeling comfortable integrating technology?

WRITING GUIDE | Pearson Higher Education | Page 19 Refer back to needs section. As you write about the chosen curriculum and training to be incorporated

into your project, describe how they will meet the needs you detailed in your needs section. For example,

if highlighted meeting the needs of a large group of English language learners as a need, you should

provide an overview of how the chosen curriculum will scaffold those learners. Because you set the stage

for the project in the needs section, you can now refer back to those needs to show how the proposed

project will help your institution improve.

Be specific. Be as specific as possible. Instead of using words like, “frequently,” “often,” or “regularly,”

use words such as “daily,” “weekly,” and “monthly.” Do not indicate that “staff” will fulfill a responsibility

when you can name a specific staff member. Instead of stating, “Staff will undergo training,” describe

specific courses different staff types will receive, and how many hours they will entail. The more details

you include, the more your reviewer will see that you have thoroughly planned for this grant

implementation. Be sure to include the following details in your application:

• Who will be served?

• Who will oversee the project? Who will implement it day-to-day?

• What specific strategies or program activities will the project entail? Why did you select the

strategies or activities you are describing?

• What will the project accomplish each year? What will the project accomplish at the end of the

grant term?

• What will a typical “day in the life of” the grant look like? What will students, instructors,

administrators, and community members do each day?

• When will the project begin and end? How much time each day and week will be devoted to the

project?

Include a timeline. If space permits, include a detailed timeline that shows each action necessary to

carry out your plan. It’s a good idea to use a table, such as the one below. Add or remove headings as

necessary.

Table 2: Sample Timeline

Describing curriculum. If you are including a new curriculum in your grant application, you obviously

believe in the solution and that it can help your students achieve. However, do not let your enthusiasm for

the product become the sole focus of the grant application. Remember, the product is a means to an

end—simply implementing the curriculum is not the end goal. You must convince the reviewer that the

Activity Person Responsible Expected Outcome Date

WRITING GUIDE | Pearson Higher Education | Page 20

curriculum will meet your students’ needs and help them succeed. Applications that read like marketing

material or “vendor commercials” will likely not appeal to a reviewer. Consider the following strategies:

• Do not use the product name in every reference to the product. Instead, consider terms such

as “core reading program,” “digital instruction,” “math intervention,” etc.

• Do not copy and paste marketing materials. While marketing materials around a product can

give you an idea of how to describe it, you should always put product descriptions in your own

words, customized to your proposed implementation.

• Do describe specific aspects of the product that drew you to it. Discuss why you believe the

product is the best fit for meeting student needs and why you think it will help students succeed.

Do be as specific as possible in describing how you will implement the program. Focus on

your students and staff and how they will use it. For example, state, “….Students will use the

program for 15 minutes each day in addition to the regular reading curriculum” instead of “The

program offers 15 minutes of instruction each day.”

Describing professional development. A key aspect of any educational grant project should be

professional development. At a minimum, you will want to describe how you will train and support

instructors in implementing new curriculum to be purchased with the grant award. However, the strongest

grant applications will also include training that is relevant to the overall project goals, and that tie into the

stated needs. For example, you might include training on incorporating technology, strategies for English

language learners, in-depth looks at the targeted content area, how to administer and interpret

assessments, or strategies for individualizing instruction. As you describe your professional development

plan, consider the following suggestions:

• Be detailed. As with the main project description, your professional development plan should

include as many details as possible. Include an overview of workshops to be provided, outcome

goals or topics to be covered in each workshop, who will attend the workshops, who will provide

the workshops, and when they will take place. If your training involves coaches, describe their

roles, how they will be selected, and any special training they will receive.

• Show support. Show administrative support by discussing details such as how administrators

will allow protected time for planning, provide stipends for instructors, and provide sufficient

substitute instructors. Remember that when administrators attend training alongside instructors, it

shows strong administrative support and the buy-in of all stakeholders. In addition, include special

training geared toward administrators as appropriate.

• Use a table. Use a table to outline your training plan. Tables save space and allow the reviewer

to see your training schedule at a glance. Create or modify a table such as the one below. At a

minimum, include a timeline, brief overview of each training module, and who will attend each

training.

WRITING GUIDE | Pearson Higher Education | Page 21

Trainer Hours

Table 3: Sample Professional Development Outline

The Project Management section assures grant reviewers that the project is in good hands. Some grants

ask for resumes to be included; others require lengthy descriptions of roles and responsibilities. Be sure

to read the requirements closely to determine the level of information required for this section. You may

also need to include information on the qualifications of your selected professional development provider

or project evaluator.

Tips for Writing Your Project Management Plan Include job titles instead of the name of personnel working on the project. While local names may

be well-known to your planning team, reviewers are unlikely to recognize people by name only (including

your lead administrators). Be sure to include job titles and a brief explanation of relevant work experience.

Use titles consistently. Make sure the proposal consistently uses project titles throughout the grant.

Reviewers may be confused if one section refers to a “Project Director” and another section refers to a

“Grant Manager,” but both are in reference to the same person.

Workshop or Session Hours Trainer Attendees Expected

Outcomes Date

Free Sample Narrative Pearson’s Higher Education Grants Support Services Team can provide sample narrative to help you describe Pearson programs or services within grant requirements. The sample narrative is not a template, but meant to be customized to reflect your unique grant implementation. To request sample grant narrative contact your Pearson Account Executive, or e-mail: HigherEdGrantexperts@pearson.com Please include:

• Copy of the request for proposal you are responding to, or link to the application online • Name of Pearson Account Executive you are working with • Name of the Pearson products or services you wish to include in your application

Section 4: Project Management

WRITING GUIDE | Pearson Higher Education | Page 22 Show coordination. Explain how the project’s leadership team will interact and how often they will meet

to discuss the project’s implementation. If multiple institutions are involved, it is even more important to

explain the leadership collaboration effort.

Use a table. The Project Management section is another great place to use a table to quickly explain

roles and responsibilities. Here is a sample way to structure a table for this section:

Table 4: Sample Project Management

Before you Write Review the evaluation requirements. All funders want to ensure that the awards they make are spent

responsibly and that the project they sponsor has a positive impact. The evaluation you describe in your

grant application will reassure the reviewer that the outcomes of the project will be known, and that the

project can be adjusted if progress monitoring shows insufficient progress. Familiarize yourself with

evaluation requirements of the grant (some require you to use specific assessments, which you will need

to budget for). If you are applying for a small foundation grant, you might need to only include

standardized test data, or invite funders in for a site visit. You might also include measures such as

sharing results on a Web site or in newsletters. If you are writing a large federal grant, you will need to be

very thorough in your evaluation and include valid and reliable assessments. (You might consider hiring

an outside evaluator to help you plan and implement your evaluation.

To make it easier to design an evaluation plan, think of how you will evaluate the following questions at

the end of your project:

• To what extent were the activities of the project implemented as planned?

• How effective were the activities of the project in achieving the goals and objectives of the

project?

• What is the impact on the project participants?

• To what extent were performance targets met?

Position Name Responsibilities Qualifications

Section 5: Evaluation

WRITING GUIDE | Pearson Higher Education | Page 23 Table 5: Sample Evaluation Table

Evaluation Question Measure Person Responsible Date

Tips for Writing Your Evaluation Plan There are two kinds of evaluations typically found in grants: ongoing, formative progress monitoring, and

summative, or outcome data. It is helpful to split your evaluation description into two parts that describe

formative and summative evaluation.

Formative evaluation. Formative evaluation is the plan in place to monitor the implementation of the

grant. Your formative measures will ask questions such as those below:

• Do students spend at least 20 minutes using the online math tutor each day?

• Are at least 75 percent of students projected to score proficient on the standard math assessment?

• Do administrative observations and reports indicate instructors are implementing research- based

practices in their daily instruction?

• What percentage of students attended the last supplemental advising and outreach meeting?

Formative evaluation measures can include standardized assessments and formal measures such as

instructor evaluations and observations, as well as more informal measures such as surveys, interviews,

instructor feedback during planning sessions, attendance logs, newsletters, site visits, etc.

Describe plans to use data. You can greatly strengthen your application by including an overview of

how you will disseminate and use formative data. Who will collect the data? When and how will data be

shared with instructors and administrators? How will the data be used by instructors to provide data-

driven instruction? How will the project director and administrators respond if the formative evaluation

shows you are not on track to meet goals? Will the planning committee reconvene to consider further

strategies? Will you provide more frequent staff collaboration? Will you change the professional

development strategies provided? Show the reviewer you have thought through potential obstacles and

have the ability to overcome them.

Summative evaluation. Summative evaluation, or outcome evaluation, asks one simple question: Did we

meet our objectives? Typically, summative evaluation will be determined by formal measures such as

outcomes on standardized assessments. An easy way to structure an outcome evaluation is to refer back

to the stated objectives for the grant project, as modeled below. Turn your objectives into questions, and

you will have a basic outcome evaluation plan.

WRITING GUIDE | Pearson Higher Education | Page 24

Take a closer look: Turn objectives into evaluation questions.

Example 1 Objectives:

1. Increase basic math proficiency of fall quarter freshman by 25%, as evidenced in the standardized assessment.

2. By end of year, 80% of instructors will report feeling comfortable integrating technology, as reported through surveys and interviews.

Evaluation: 1. What percentage of students achieved proficiency on basic mathematics

standardized assessment? 2. What percentage of instructors report feeling comfortable integrating

technology? Example 2

Objectives: 1. 70% of students who passed basic math will meet or exceed proficiency

in Pre-Algebra in the spring standardized assessment. 2. Increase pass rate of Introductory Algebra students by 24% by the end

of the next quarter. Evaluation:

1. Did 51% of basic math students meet or exceed proficiency in Essentials of Math?

2. Did 70% of Pre-Algebra students meet or exceed proficiency? 3. Did Introductory Algebra students increase the pass rate by 24%?

WRITING GUIDE | Pearson Higher Education | Page 25

STAGE 4: COMPLETING BUDGET NARRATIVE

Many grant reviewers will read through a budget first to determine if it is realistic, meets stated award

sizes, and is detailed. If your budget seems off, some reviewers will throw out your application! Check

and double check your budget to ensure numbers add up and every item is a realistic request.

Gather information. Keep all vendor and cost estimates in one folder so it is easily available when

writing the budget. Your Pearson Account Executive can assist in planning the implementation and

budget for your selected Pearson program.

Avoid surprises. One of the hardest aspects of grant writing is fitting everything within page limits. Your

project likely includes several aspects, such as one or more new curriculum programs, instructor training,

etc. It can be tempting to devote a lot of space to your main program components and either not mention

or only briefly mention less intensive strategies. Do not give in to the temptation! All strategies included in

your project budget must be described in your narrative.

Use formulas. The application you are responding to may allow space for a budget narrative, in which

you will briefly describe the item or services to be purchased and justify the cost and your rationale in

selecting the solution. You can help the reviewer to see the reasonable costs you have calculated by

using formulas to break down the cost. Break down software or textbook costs on per-student basis for

the lifetime of the project. Show how many instructors will benefit from training modules. Or describe the

hours new personnel will be contracted for. See these examples below:

• Online tutor to provide intensive reading intervention for bottom 10% of students: $30 per hour for

10 hours per week x 40 weeks = $12,000; benefits: $2,000

• Supplemental mathematics tutors to be used with students scoring below basic on standardized

math assessment: 300 students per year x 3 years = $55.55 per student. Total = $50,000

Coordinate funds. Show the reviewer your commitment to the project by including coordinating funds.

You can describe in-kind contributions such as existing staff who will devote time to the project, volunteer

hours, special facilities, or even funds dedicated to a percentage of the project. You can also describe

funds or services donated from community organizations. This will also show the community’s investment

in the project and your ability to build partnerships.

Include the small things. The budget is a place where you should remember to include even the

smallest costs. Think about office supplies, printing or mailing costs, and travel costs for staff to attend

WRITING GUIDE | Pearson Higher Education | Page 26 trainings. You do not need to give exact prices for every piece of paper: however, you should include

estimates for how much paper or other office supplies you will use. Avoid words like, “miscellaneous.”

This is not to say you should pad the budget—but you do want to show the reviewer you are thinking

about all aspects of the project.

Avoid round numbers. Include real cost estimates for every item. If you will need to book a hotel for staff

travel, go online and get some price estimates. Confer with vendors for bids and estimates, and let the

reviewer know that you did so. Avoid rounding up—this makes it look like you are guessing what the cost

will be.

WRITING GUIDE | Pearson Higher Education | Page 27

STAGE 5: REVISING THE APPLICATION

Formatting. Remember to follow all formatting guidelines, including margins, font size, spacing, and page

limits. Use bullets, charts, tables, and headings as necessary to make your document highly readable. In

particular, make sure your headings correspond to the requirements or scoring rubric items. This allows

the reviewer to quickly identify where you respond to each question— reviewers hate to waste time

searching through a document for key information!

Consistency. To complete a large, complicated grant, it may be necessary to assign sections of the

application to different people. For example, your curriculum director may wish to write the project plan,

while your assessment coordinator may write the evaluation plan. If you take this approach, be sure to

assign one person to review and rework each section into one cohesive document. Take the time to be

sure the entire document flows well between sections.

Avoid passive voice. Avoid using passive voice whenever possible. Instead focus on positive actions

with a named agent. For example, “The project director will disseminate assessment data two weeks after

each quarterly assessment” is much stronger than, “Assessment data will be disseminated.”

Pearson Higher Education Grant Support Services Team’s Favorite Web sites on Writing

Writing Successful Grants Knowledgebase. This site from the Mid-Continent Comprehensive Center walks one through the whole grant process and includes some helpful checklists, writing prompts, and ideas for grant applications: http://www.mc3edsupport.org/community/knowledgebases/Project-4.html Guide to Grammar and Writing. Need to brush up on grammar usage or punctuation rules? This easy-to-search Web site provides helpful writing reminders: http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/ Learn about proposal writng at the Foundation Center. The Foundation Center offers books training courses, both online and in the classroom at various levels, to help you learn to write grant proposals that are more likely to succeed: http://foundationcenter.org/getstarted/learnabout/proposalwriting.html

WRITING GUIDE | Pearson Higher Education | Page 28 Define acronyms. Do not assume your reviewer will be familiar with acronyms, even if they are ones

educators might use frequently. Instead, define the acronym at the first use, and if necessary, periodically

throughout long documents.

Write the abstract last. Abstracts are the first thing read in a grant application, but they should be written

last. Once you have worked through and written about all the aspects of your grant, you will have a better

idea which key points you wish to highlight in your abstract.

Get a review. One of the best things you can do before submitting your grant is to allow an impartial

person to review it. This requires proactive planning: you will need to set a date for completing a rough

draft at least a week before the actual deadline. Select a person who has not worked in writing the grant.

Provide that person with all application requirements and, if available, a scoring rubric. Ask the reviewer

to evaluate your application against those requirements and highlight areas where improvement is

needed.

WRITING GUIDE | Pearson Higher Education | Page 29

CONCLUSION

Grant reviews/ revisions: Pearson’s Higher Education Support Services Grants Team can read

your application and assess it against grant requirements and scoring rubrics. Your grant will be returned

to you with embedded comments that indicate areas of strength and areas that should be revised. How to get grant support: If you are working on a grant that features Pearson products and services, be

sure to contact your Pearson sales representative to help you plan the implementation, timeline, and

budget details. Your sales representative will work with the Pearson’s Higher Education Support Services Grants Team to make sure you receive sample grant narrative and a complimentary grant

review.