Guidelines For Writing Proposals For Grants And Funds

With the financial constraints under which most universities are working today, educators must depend upon outside revenue to provide equipment and other resources for effective teaching. Educators must raise their own funds to meet their needs for research and teaching, so they are compelled to write proposals for grants. Grants and other funding are increasingly becoming difficult to obtain. To be competitive for funding, an educator must submit a strong proposal that creates a good first impression to the reviewer. A proposal that is well written, clear, and easy for the reviewer to read and understand generally has a better chance of being funded than one that is poorly written. Since many engineering educators have little background in writing, this paper gives guidelines for creating a strong proposal to prospective authors. General appearance of the proposal, including graphs, figures, and charts, is an important part of writing a successful grant. Common errors in writing are included, and basic rules for most frequently misused grammar are given with a discussion of words, sentence structure, and paragraph organization. General references that can be used in preparation of proposals are included. The various sections of a proposal, such as the budget, are reviewed with information on types of material to include in each. Additionally, general advice for fust time authors is included. Following these basic guidelines will aid in the writing of a s~cc=ssful grant proposal. What Is A Grant? A grant is an award of money for an idea or project. education, etc. Grants may cover all costs associated with a defray administrative costs at the university (indirect costs). Grants are given for research, training, service, project (direct costs) or may include money to help Granting agencies include the government, which is the m-ost abundant source of funds; privat; foundations, which are g;ne;ally for specific int;rests; and business and industry, which often require contracts and carefully monitor the research or project to see that the business’ goals are being met. A successful grant writer is one who has a good projector research idea, has goals that are consistent with the granting agency, has carefully thought through the project plan, and has a strong, well-written proposal. Even though the project or research idea maybe outstanding, the granting agency must have the same goals before a grant will be awarded. Before spending time and effort writing and submitting a proposal, the writer should check to be sure the granting agency or business is interested in the research idea or project and for any written instructions along with deadlines for submission of the proposal.1 Sources of Sup~or[ A search for money must start with an idea for research or for the use of the requested money. A knowledge of the sources of money for education and research is basic to obtaining funding to meet the educator’s needs. Many universities have an Office for Sponsored Research or an Office of Grants and ?$iiiw) 1996 ASEE Annual Conference Proceedings ‘.@lHH_..’ . P ge 131.1 Contracts. The research office may publish a monthly bulletin of available grants, maintain a list of granting agencies, and/or list grants given by the university. Another excellent resource is the university library where one can find various information services which provide details about grants or contracts from the federal, state, and local governments, business and industry, intrauniversity funds, and other sources. Also, the Internet and computer services such as e-mail provide information on available grants from many sources. To help prospective grant writers write a successful proposal, numerous workshops and guides are available and can be located either in the library or through computer sources.2 Writimz A Successful Prot)osal A successful grant proposal is one that receives funding regardless of the importance of the projector research. Although most submitted proposals present good, solid ideas, all can not be funded. Proposals based on weak ideas for research or projects generally are not funded. Although a poorly written proposal maybe funded if the idea is truly outstanding and the investigator has excellent credentials, most proposals that are poorly written are rarely funded. The successful proposals are those that can be sold to the granting agency. A proposal that is well written and easy for the reviewer to read and understand is more likely to receive funding. The review process generally consists of assigning the proposal to primary reviewers and secondary reviewers. The primary reviewers will look at the proposal and give it a full review in most cases; however, secondary reviewers often glance through the proposals and look only for major details. Two sections of a proposal all reviewers concentrate on are the budget justification and the biographical sketches that give information about the prospective researchers. Therefore, the budget and the biographical sketches must show what the writer wants all the reviewers to see in a glance. All sections of the grant should be easy to read, and major points should be prominent for the reviewers.3 The appearance of the proposal is of utmost importance since the first impression the proposal has for the reviewer is crucial to the full review. General rules for the appearance of a successful proposal follow.1’3$4’5 000 Use a word processor or desk top publisher to prepare the proposal. 000 Each page should have the same appearance, i.e. same fonts, printer. cwo Each page should be an original, not a photocopy of an older document. mm Charts and graphs with proper titles add to the quality of the proposal. 000 Indent and use headings and double spacing between sections when possible to make the proposal easier to read. OOO Do not fill every possible space with words; use recommended font size (12 if one is not specified). cwo Follow all guidelines for format of the proposal. Do not deviate from page restrictions, section order, and other requirements. 000 Use titles and diagrams to increase the ease of review. 000 Double space between paragraphs. mm Make sure there are no TYPOS or other inconsistencies in the paper. Good writing is concise and to the point; present only essential material. Parts of A l?ro~osal Although each funding agency will have specific requirements for grants, most proposals will include the following sections: abstract; problem statement, rationale, and specific aims; background and significance procedure, research plan, or experimental design and methods; budget and budget justification; literature cited, and biographical sketches of key personnel. If there are consultants or other contractual arrangements, letters from each indicating the willingness to participate should be included.1’3 ~hx~~ 1996 ASEE Annual Conference Proceedings ‘?+,~yy: P ge 131.2 Abstract The abstract may be the only section of a proposal that some reviewers read. The abstract needs to be concise and attract the attention of the reviewers. A brief overview of the proposed project with a summary of the specific aims of the project should be included. Do not make the abstract a table of contents by listing the sections of the grant. Problem Statementor Rationale The problem statement is as important as the abstract and should contain the idea that is to be developed. The objectives or goals for the project should be clear. A reviewer should be able to read this section within three minutes and understand the significance of the project. Backizround and SimificanceThe abstract may be the only section of a proposal that some reviewers read. The abstract needs to be concise and attract the attention of the reviewers. A brief overview of the proposed project with a summary of the specific aims of the project should be included. Do not make the abstract a table of contents by listing the sections of the grant. Problem Statementor Rationale The problem statement is as important as the abstract and should contain the idea that is to be developed. The objectives or goals for the project should be clear. A reviewer should be able to read this section within three minutes and understand the significance of the project. Backizround and Simificance The background section contains reference to prior work in the area of the proposed project. The section should contain relevant information to illustrate why the project is important, that it is feasible, and how the investigator is capable of completing the project. A diagram to summarize related work and show how the proposed work can be completed will help the reviewer understand the significance of the project. Procedure This section of the proposal includes a logical, organized, and detailed explanation of the procedures that will b used to accomplish the objectives of the project. The procedure section may include a technical plan and a management plan. A technical plan includes highly specific details of the methods, tests, instrumentation, quality control, materials, design approach, and special techniques. A management plan includes a description of key personnel with their qualifications to accomplish the goals of the proposal. Also, include organization support or collaborative effort; resources, such as equipment, space, laboratories; and schedule for completion of the proposal in the procedure section. Tables or diagrams used to simplify the explanation are welcomed by reviewers. Figures and Tables Whenever possible, include figures or tables to communicate complicated ideas and help the reviewer through the proposal. Use attractive figures and tables that are clear and easy to understand without reading long explanations. Numerical data presented in tables or figures are generally faster to scan and easier to visualize than when presented in text form. Tables can be used to present much information in a relatively small amount of space. Figur