Grant Writing: Education Grants

Janet Townsend, MD

Alice Fornari, EdD, RD

AECOM/DFSM

Funding Skills

Education

Relationships/

CollaborationAdvocacy

Funding

Experiences/Grant Generating Ideas

Educational Grants Purpose

– Faculty development– Curriculum development– Program development– Training– Mentoring

Opportunities– Improve faculty knowledge and skills– Incorporate an innovative concept into education– Implement a new program/service to learners or community– Add skill sets to learners– Increase career satisfaction

Impact– Increase faculty skills– New curriculum and programs to service learners– Increase creativity and career productivity through innovation– Academic promotion – Ultimately, improve patient care/health outcomes

Unique Attributes of Educational Grants

Have you aligned your ideas with an educational framework? – Hint: begin with an educational framework or theory on

which to base your project; if unclear partner with an education specialist

If your proposed project is successful, what new educational program/ activities will be established (process objectives)? What will the participants have learned (learning objectives)?

Unique Attributes of Educational Grants

Is this a curriculum/training project which will require evaluation of learner outcomes and impact? (may be response to a national or individual departmental curricular need. Important to anticipate/quantify numbers of learners)

Or is this an educational research project?

(implies need for stated educational hypothesis, control group or rigorous qualitative methods- consider multi-institutional project)

DFSM Examples-Federal

Source Grant Learner $$ Impact

HRSA FD Fellows $225K Fac trainingFT/PT

HRSA PreDoc Students $300K CollaborationStudent mentoring

HRSA AAU Faculty $200K 10 scholars-projects

HRSA Residency Residents $180K CQI/MI skills fac/residents

AECOM Examples-FederalSource Grant Learner $$ Impact

NIH/K07 RHIME Medical Education

Cult. Comp.EducationCareer devel

NIH/K07 B&SS Students New 3rd yr courseCollaborationCareer impact

NIH/K07 NAA Students CollaborationNutrition Education

DFSM/AECOM ExamplesState/organizational/foundations

Source Grant Learner $$ Impact

NYSDOH

ContractMRDD

IM/FPfellows

$150K 12 MRDDleaders

AAMC CQI FM/IMFac/res/staff

$25K PrestigeNetworkingBest practices

MACY MinorityFD (4NE medschools)

Jr and midFacultyCOMs

Fac skillsNetworkingPilot projectsVisibility

Getting Started: The Sequence

Form team with diverse skills Identify opportunities for synergy/integration

with other educational efforts Brainstorm idea with team Identify partnerships/collaborators Think about potential letters of support

– Focus on impact on improving healthcare outcomes

Big picture thoughts on budget- any departmental obligations or will this be new funds for a new project?

Sequence: Planning Grant Writing

Timeline for grant prep/writing/submission Block protected time! Tasks with responsible persons and internal

deadlines (sections, full draft, budget)

Identify person to contact/meet with partners; draft LOS

Assess impact on program/department Negotiate needs of project (space, curriculum time,

faculty resources)

Draft abstract early

Anatomy of a Grant Abstract Grant Narrative

– Background, Setting, Institution, Program– Needs Assessment/Rationale

• Target Learners– Goals/Objectives– Methods: Activities, Staffing, Timeline– Outcomes and Evaluation

Budget Budget Justification/Sustainability Appendices

Anatomy of a Grant

Federal grants are long State and large foundation competitive

applications are intermediate Other requests to foundations are short

(1-2 page concept paper, 3-5 page full application)

Abstract

See example in your packet Summarizes your grant project in

concise format May be the only document, along with

budget, that is read by all members of the review committee

Use active language, quantify expected outcomes where possible

NARRATIVE: Telling Your Story

WHO? WHY? WHAT? WHEN? WHERE? HOW? WHAT IF? (Barriers)

Narrative Background

– Description of current educational program/setting/resources

– Departmental/team/institutional strengths relevant to project

– Local need for education project– National trends/drivers (Accreditation:

LCME or ACGME, service learning, learner-centered instruction, patient-centered care models, HP 2010)

Narrative Needs Assessment

– Convinces funder proposal is necessary– Cite literature/statistics– Pilot data, survey & focus group data

Innovation Impact on learners, educational

community, and patients Relevance of your project to funder and

national priorities

Goals and Objectives

Goal(s): intended purpose of the educational program

Objectives: SMART– Specific, measurable, aligned, realistic,

time-sensitive– Process/programmatic and learner-

centered

Methods/Activities

Activities linked to specific objectives Based on educational framework Describe what is new or different Staffing/expertise to conduct activities Can activities be evaluated?

Workshop Grant Planning Exercise Worksheets

– One Goal, 2 objectives– Activities – Responsible Faculty – Outcomes– Evaluation

Evaluation

Relates to objectives, activities and outcomes of grant, both process and learner centered– Qualitative & Quantitative

Frequency of evaluation: formative & summative

Resources for data collection and analysis (often underplanned and underfunded)

Budget

Get help from your department/program administrator

List PI, co-PIs, project staff Plan for research assistants, program

coordinators, administrative support Assess need for research expenses, travel

to train project staff or to present findings, equipment

In-kind support, institutional commitment

Budget Justification The budget justification should specifically describe how

each item will support the achievement of proposed objectives.

Specifies the function, and sometimes, qualifications, of each person on grant budget

Describes the percent effort and lists specific tasks

Scope of work must match requested funds for each person

Justifies need for equipment, travel funds

Appendices (not too many) Needs assessment data,pilot efforts Curriculum outline Interview guide for program evaluation or

qualitative study or draft survey Outcome data from your educational

program Bios Letters of support/ institutional agreement Required components

Letters of Support

Essential to document likelihood of successful implementation

From key leaders (Deans, residency directors,

course directors, chairs), community partners, potential learners

Specific statements about need for project, potential impact, commitment to participate

Building Effective Project Teams-Members

Core writing team: 2-3 people Department administrator (budget planning and

approval, resource allocation, protocol for submitting grant) Content experts Technical experts (graphs, tables, stats, on-line

submission) Partners Education expert (as funded staff or consultant) Administrative support Internal reviewers

Building Effective Project Teams- Tasks

Assign roles and tasks Plan grant writing timeline and checkpoints Provide feedback on each others’ sections Proofread Meet with partners and draft agreements Keep each other accountable for grant writing

timeline Anticipate inevitable crises Strategize to free grant writing team from some

responsibilities as deadline approaches

TIPS

Abstract– Do not leave to last minute-use key

sentences from narrative– Invest time in writing a clear,

powerfully stated abstract– Most important section of the

proposal-the ONLY section a reviewer may read

Tips

It always takes longer than you think

READ and then FOLLOW the directions

Explicitly address review criteria and funding priorities

Ask for help

TipsData

–Choose limited and relevant data to support problem

–Local data is necessary–Makes a case for proposal

Don’t make it hard for reviewers to find required elements

Tips

Learn your institution’s rules about grant budget approvals, grant accounting and management, internal submission deadlines

Get to know your internal grants management folks and try to make their life easy

Gather data for priority points and grant funding preferences early

Tips

Save time for members of the grant writing team and an “outside” internal reviewer to read your proposal with grant review criteria

Make your deadline 2 days before the real deadline

Next Steps

What will you do next to build your education grant writing skills and develop a grant idea?

1. Identify a project idea or redefine an idea2. Develop project idea-go back to unique

attributes and steps to get started3. Prepare worksheet to meet with medical

librarian and make an appointment4. Meet with a potential collaborator.5. Prepare intro/background/needs

assessment