YVW - Writng Successful Submissions

Writing Successful Applications

Lets take your submission from here – the judges perspective

•100’s of submissions

•First hurdle – is it eligible

•Second hurdle – is it interesting

•Third hurdle – will it reflect well on the awarding organisation

3Australia's leading source on water conservation

The Fundamentals

• Start early – to write a good submission there is normally more work involved than you initially estimate

• Read the eligibility criteria – and make sure you understand them

• Call the information person listed and ask questions - never assume that you know what they are looking for

• Look for broader support - call others in the industry and look for support ( water retailers, local government, industry associations)

It is a competition

There are usually multiple entries for awards but only one winner (with 2-3 finalists).

Grants are usually well over subscribed with the majority of submissions not receiving any funding.

Why Would You do it!

AwardsPrestige – for the winners

For the not so lucky -You now have a useful case study – website, annual reports, media releases, other awards

GrantsFunding - for those receiving the grants

For the unsuccessful - You now have a useful project brief – other funding sources, partnerships, budget submissions, business cases

SaveWater Awards – What we look for

Sarah Weitnauer - National Marketing & Member Programs

A significant reduction in water use Integration throughout the company A holistic approach to sustainability Communication – staff, customers, community etc Criteria and weighting

Smart Water Fund – What we look for

Simon Lees –Contract Manager SmartWater Fund

Elements of Good Submission Writing

Use Plain English - The people who decide whether to give you a grant may not read your application from beginning to end. Even when they do, they may pay more attention to certain sections and skim others. With submissions the main thing is to make the message clear

Use a concise, logical structure 1. Use inverted pyramid structure – start with the conclusion and make your main points

clear upfront 2. Use one point per paragraph – this makes the points clear3. Use informative headings 4. Summarise the main points 5. Use lists and tables and other graphical information

Ref ( Writing a Submission - A guideline on how to write clear submissions to government agencies ) Helen Ting, 2002

Elements of a Good Submission Writing

•Don’t assume the person reading your application knows anything about the technical details with which you are familiar. •Write to excite not just inform •Attach any documents that provide additional information that will add weight to the submission (e.g. coverage in the local press about the project, case studies etc)•Monitoring - include details of how the project is/ will be monitored and the results •Remember to highlight what it is in your submission that will make it different to everyone else's – what is it that stands out!

Checklist for your submission

•Ensure entire entry form is completed before submitting•Provide evidence for all claims made (e.g. use water bills to verify water savings)•Ensure any technical procedures or terms are clarified•Provide details/workings of all calculations made – usually in an appendix•Include information of any other initiatives/practices that have be implemented resulting in positive sustainable outcomes (e.g. energy savings, waste management etc)•Get others to review your submission – preferably someone who does not know your project

Summary of Major Points Inverted pyramid structure

• conclusions (agree, disagree, main issues, recommendations) first, followed by details

Use one point per paragraph • use short paragraphs

Use informative headings • really useful for drawing attention to important information

Summarise the main points write an executive summary for longer documents Use lists and tables and other graphical information

• for complicated information


YVW contacts

Ian Innes-WardellT: (03) 9872 1197E: [email protected]

Suzette HafeyT: (03) 9872 1245E: [email protected]

Guy PritchardT: (03) 9872 1345E: [email protected]


Informative Headings

Headings help to break-up the text so that important points stand out. To really highlight your point of view you can create headings that summarise the main point of the text that follows, as in newspaper headings.

Example: Uninformative heading:

Water issues Informative heading: Decreasing water use has positive financial and environmental impacts Return

Plain English Plain English is clear,

straightforward expression, using only as many words as are necessary.

Writers of plain English let their audience concentrate on the message instead of being distracted by complicated language.

This means that writers of plain English vary their documents according to the composition of their audience

(Robert Eagleson, Writing in Plain English, 1990)

Inverted Pyramid Structure

Short sharp catchy title has a role to play

YVW - Writng Successful Submissions

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