Professionalize your Approach to Grantseeking

Stanley GeidelSponsored Programs Office

The Question

• Today’s funding climate is extraordinarily competitive– Funding rates typically hover around 10% or less– Much of that 10% goes to those who have

previously been funded • Given the large number of proposals that

sponsors receive, and given the context of this intense level of competition, which proposals actually get funded?

Successful Proposals

• The proposals that actually get funded are those that are: – Fully consistent with the mission and values of the

sponsor, and are submitted in response to the appropriate funding mechanism

– Fully professional in their overall presentation and content

Keys to Unlocking Success

• Find the right sponsor and also the right funding opportunities arising from that sponsor

• Fully professionalize your proposal so that it meets or exceeds sponsor expectations

Finding the RightFunding Opportunities

• Identifying sponsors and funding opportunities is a process, not a one-time search

• Without appropriate study of the sponsor, your proposal might be defeated before it is even submitted

What do sponsors fund?

• All sponsors fund the same thing– Sponsors fund their needs, not yours– Identify a sponsor whose mission and values align

with your project– Respond to the correct funding mechanism within

that sponsor’s stable of opportunities

Gathering Information on the Sponsor

• Move beyond simple searching and study your potential sponsors funding patterns– What have they funded in the past?– What are they funding now?– Who are they funding?– Where is their current funded work taking place?

• Sources of sponsor information– Sponsor websites

• Read abstracts of funded grants• Read the sponsor’s annual reports

– Connect with the sponsor via social media outlets

Gather information on the sponsor’s funding opportunities

• Many sponsors have:– multiple funding mechanisms– multiple calls for proposals within those

mechanisms– Different points of funding emphasis at various

times of the year– Opportunities to submit unsolicited proposals

outside of their defined, published mechanisms

Study Successful Proposals

• Study successful full proposals submitted to that sponsor

• Learn what that sponsor considers to be a successful proposal– Obtain and read funded grants submitted by your

peers and colleagues– Visit the repository of funded proposals at the

Grants Resource Center• www.aascu.org/grc/PropLib/proposaldevelopment/_menu_htm/indexfundedproposals.htm

Get involved with the sponsor

• Attend sponsor meetings, events, workshops, and webinars

• Serve as a reviewer

Approach the sponsor regarding your specific proposal idea

• Contact the program officer – Phone conversation– Concept paper

• If appropriate, find ways to include the sponsor in your actual proposal– Serve on your project’s Advisory Board– Campus visits to see your work in progress– Presentation of your project outcomes at one of the

sponsor’s public events or in their media announcements

Summary

• The casual selection of a sponsor or funding opportunity will not position you to successfully compete with seasoned, experienced grantseekers who are indeed studying sponsors in depth and closely consulting with them long before they begin developing their proposal.

• Sponsor selection and the identification of a specific funding opportunity is serious business and worthy of your most careful study and attention

Professionalizing your Proposal

• What makes a proposal fully competitive?• What can you do to fully professionalize your

proposal so that sponsors give it full consideration?

The Three Basic Elements of the Proposal

• Methodology (Project Plan)• The literature review• The biographical sketch

• How do sponsors view these three basic documents?

A Context for your Project Plan

• Remember - a grant is not a gift!• Characteristics of a grant– A specific set of activities – accomplished by a specific group of people– that takes place within a specific period of time– using specific resources– to accomplish a specific set of outcomes

• Because of the nature of a grant, sponsors are looking for a very high level of detail in your project plan

The Project Plan

• Key concepts: – Operationalize every element of your program

• Never assume the reader will fill in the gaps• As they read, sponsors will continually ask, how will this step be

accomplished?

– Give special attention to explaining your innovative approaches • Sponsors want to know, what is new and different about your approach

to the problem, question, or need

– Attach each activity to the items requested in your budget• Sponsors want to be assured that budgeted item has an active, specific

purpose that relates to your goals and objectives

– Place each activity on a timeline• Sponsors want to be assured that your project is manageable

Two other critical documents

• The project plan tells the sponsor what you will do and how you will do it, but…

• There are two other key documents that tell the sponsor why they should fund you:– The literature review– The biographical sketch

• Do not underestimate the importance of these two key documents!

The Critical Importance of theLiterature Review

• Literature Review / Review of Related Work– The review should not be a perfunctory,

annotated listing of relevant publications– A review should read like a narrative and lead the

reader to conclude:• that the next logical step is to fund your proposal idea;

an idea that includes a novel approach for which there is early evidence for a successful outcome

Where does your project fit?

• Sponsors read the review to determine why they should fund the work you propose– Are you filling a gap in the literature?– Are you building on prior work?– Are you at the leading edge of innovation?– Are you addressing a new problem?– Are you addressing an old problem in a new way?– Are you applying known solutions in new situations or

conditions?• The review creates the context for the sponsor to say

yes, we should fund this work

The Critical Importance of your Biographical Sketch

• The biographical sketch is not simply a recounting of your education, experience, and accomplishments

• Sponsors use your biographical sketch to determine your capacity to produce outcomes and deliverables– Focus on your experiences, publications, and presentations that

are relevant to the proposed project– Include activities that demonstrate your capacity to deliver results

• A PI must be an expert, but must also serve as a project manager• Include experiences demonstrating your ability to manage tasks,

personnel, time, resources, and money

• The biographical sketch creates the context for the sponsor to say yes, we should fund you

Thinking Beyond the Basics

• Looking beyond the methodology, the review, and the biographical sketch…

• Realize that the sponsor may have expectations that might not be defined in the guidelines

Helpful Additional Considerations

• Helpful considerations for the narrative, often unmentioned in the guidelines but nonetheless persuasive– Proof of concept– Evaluation plan– Dissemination plan– Project sustainability

Proof of Concept

• Sponsors are risk-averse• Can you describe a context for your proposed

work that suggests success?– Do you have preliminary data?– Have you done a pilot study?– Have you completed an earlier stage of the

project?– How does the successful work of others suggest a

successful outcome for your project?

Evaluation Plan

• Sponsors are accountable for results– Sponsors must report their outcomes—to congress, to the

state legislature, or to their boards of directors—to show they are achieving results and impact with their awards

• You too must demonstrate accountability for your outcomes

• A sound evaluation plan, running in parallel with your project, allows you to make programmatic corrections to maximize your outcomes as the project unfolds

Evaluation Options

• Who should evaluate?– You? Internal evaluator? External evaluator?

• Factors to consider:– Sponsor’s requirements– Cost– Neutrality and objectivity

• The evaluation plan is a demonstration of your accountability for delivery of results

Dissemination Plan

• Sponsors want to, in one way or another, make the world a better place

• How are you going to share your results to maximize the continuing benefits of your work?– Publications and conference presentations

• Desirable due to peer review process, but cannot be assured

– Symposia; webinars• Normally not refereed, but unlike publications, guaranteed

to occur

– Not recommended: static websites, Facebook pages

Project Sustainability

• Sponsors want to fund work that will continue to make an impact after the project ends

• What happens after the money runs out?– Will the project become self-sustaining?– Will the university, community, or other entity support a continued

effort?– Can fees for programming or services be charged?– Will there be outcomes that can be transferred to the business sector?– Can your work be replicated elsewhere or scaled to fit other

applications?– Will your project suggest further research, scholarship, or activities?– Not recommended: apply for more grants

Summary:Learn to think like a sponsor

• When a sponsor studies your proposal, they are trying to determine the following:– Why they should fund the work you propose

• lit review or review or prior work

– Why they should fund you to do that work • Biographical sketch

– How you will accomplish your work• Methodology or project plan

– Why their investment in you will likely be successful• Proof of concept

– How you will be accountable for results• Evaluation plan

– How the results of your work will reach their maximum potential• Dissemination plan and sustainability plan

Takeaways

• Don’t defeat your proposal before it is even submitted– Study your potential sponsor and their funding

mechanisms to determine if your project idea matches the sponsor’s mission, values, and funding mechanism

• Fully professionalize your proposal content to ensure it receives a full and careful reading by the sponsor

Questions

Thank you for your kind attention

Stanley GeidelProgram Manager

Sponsored Programs Officesgeidel@bsu.edu