Grant Writing for School Leaders

Stan Shaw

(stan.shaw@gmail.com)

Professor Emeritus Neag School of Education

University of Connecticut, Storrs

March 22, 2013

Intended Workshop OutcomesParticipants will be able to:• Find and use grant Requests for Applications (RF

A’s)/Proposals (RFP’s)• Specify the focus for a new grant• Do the planning necessary to prepare to write a

fundable grant• Write a proposal Abstract• Determine how to write a competitive grant• Develop an Operational Table• Write each section of the proposal narrative• Prepare to implement a funded grant

How I’d like us to work• Diverse group - Ask questions at any time to get

what you need and focus my instructional efforts.• This is a hands-on Workshop - I will give you

activities and prompts to help develop your grant writing skills

• One of the best predictors of grant writing skill is the ability to review/critique others. I’ll give you opportunities to provide productive feedback as we develop our grants

• I’d like you to work in grant writing teams as often as possible

• We are talking about winning “competitive” grants with a focus on state grants and private foundations/corporations

Why Write Grants Grants make a difference for you, your program

and students: they• provide resources to hire staff, meet new

mandates or emerging needs, collect data on your efforts or develop new programs

• foster collaboration with colleagues, other schools or other institutions

• give you, your program and institution recognition that could lead to increased institutional resources for your program

… Or not to write grants• chance of getting funded may be low (although

many are not really that competitive)• it requires a significant time commitment over 4-8

weeks• I’m too busy• I’ve written a grant and didn’t get funded• I don’t know how to write a good grant proposal• Have someone else write a grant with you as partner possibly providing the site and, therefore,

receiving the benefits of the intervention

Get a head start• Develop content/evaluation/program skills• Conceptualize and do initial planning for a project

you want to do (even a “pilot”)• Identify and develop “partners”• Gather support information/data/literature• ID a “hook” (e.g., mental health, closing the

achievement gap, bullying, school safety)• Do early planning for cyclical/annual grant

competitions • Identify funding streams early on (newsletters,

professional sources, be aware of state legislation)

Finding Grants -Important LinksGrants may be federal, state, foundation, corporate, local/regional

companies and professional organizations. First step is finding a Request for Proposals/Applications (RFP/RFA).

Google - grants for - topic you are interested in (e.g., foundations/grants/corporate charitable trusts in your county, city, state, region, (mental health, school safety, at-risk learners, etc.)

CT State Dept. of Ed.- http://www.sde.ct.gov/sde/cwp/view.asp?Q=320346&a=2683

Foundation Search - http://foundationcenter.org/findfunders/(Connecticut; Top Funders)

Federal Programs -http://www.grants.gov/applicants/find_grant_opportunities.jsp

Fundsnet.com – http://www.fundsnetservices.com/ (children & literacy, CT)

(let’s look at what you find at some of these links)

Understanding the RFP/RFAFor the Husky School Safety Request for Proposals in

your packet please find and indicate the:

• Submission deadline• Purpose of the grant• Who is eligible to apply• Authorized Activities• Size, duration and number of awards• Funding Agency• How to apply• Review Criteria

Selection Criteria

One of the most important elements to identify in the RFP is the Review or Selection Criteria (scoring, organization) to be used by the reviewers evaluating your proposal. This tells you what to write and how much to write in each section.

(let’s analyze the review criteria in the RFP)

Cautions as You Begin• Don’t just “chase” the money – must relate any grant to your school mission, strategic plan and current needs• Choose the right grant!

generic grant - you fit but many applicants can applyspecific grant - fewer applications but yours must “fit”

• ONLY words matter - plan to “wordsmith” each section over many iterations (this takes time and team support)• There is a downside to a cut & paste approach• Don’t assume that reviewers will be familiar with content (explain acronyms/jargon)• “Chutzpah”- boldly market your ideas and school• Watch “hot button” issues (e.g. school violence v gun control; inclusion v special programs, civil rights v safety)• Clear your schedule as best you can; assume “crunch time” in the last week including time for “processing” the proposal

Grant Writing Process• Best project doesn’t necessarily get funded - the

best written, highest scoring grants get funded (specific/detailed, clear outcomes, useful evaluation)

• Your focus should be to write a “reviewer proof” grant - specific, clear, responds to each item

• Tell them, Tell them what you told them, Tell them their conclusions

• Should be cutting edge (next great idea or solution for emerging problem)

• Organize effective grant team and partners• Take time up front to clearly conceptualize

project and goals/activities

Organizing an effective grant writing team

Colleagues you can count on not only to write the proposal with you but who will be productive collaborators in its timely completionExpert editors who love you enough to tell you the truth even when you don’t want to hear that the Impact section needs another revisionA Project Director with a grant record who gives you credibility, understands the process and time constraintsAdd specific expertise you need to complete the proposal and carry out the project – content skill (e.g., literacy, science, mental health), curriculum development, budget, technology, teaching, instruction and/or evaluation

Possible Grant Goals

• Identify/explore programs, practices, or policies associated with better results (e.g., determine what works under what conditions to improve mental health, limit bullying)

• Serve new populations or make program more inclusive (i.e., involve non-disabled students with students with disabilities)

• Develop new interventions (e.g., training, instructional practices)

• Develop/enhance program or program elements• Link program elements with outcomes (e.g., graduation) • Evaluate the efficacy of interventions • Develop or validate assessments/diagnostics (e.g., screening,

diagnosis, progress and outcome assessments; test cost accounting tools or impact).

• Foster collaboration across agencies/institutions

Specify your grant focusActivity

Your statement should include• What you want to do• How you want to do itExample: We will identify which students with mental

health issues are at high risk for becoming violentOR

We will develop a new program to foster improved employment through instruction and job shadowing

Write your grant statement:

Grant Conceptualization Work with your team to develop the key grant ideasGoal: To enhance the safety of students in our school through effective

emergency procedures, identifying “troubled” students and strengthening mental health supports.

Activities: Provide staff development in school safety procedures, identifying students with mental health problems with a focus on potentially violent outcomes, or tiered services for identified students.

Participant Outcomes:• A revised school safety plan developed by all stake holders

• Staff who are proficient in implementing the school safety plan

• Teachers, administrators and support personnel who can identify the severity of student mental health needs and the appropriate intervention

HOW - What “potentially” evidence-based strategies to implement that foster the development of these skills? Possibilities could include implementing proven staff development techniques, validating a specific program, adapting recognized school safety ideas, etc.

Importance of the Abstract

• basis for outline of grant & Plan of Operation,• promotes consistency, forces clear conceptualization of

grant proposal• informs collaborators, letter writers, review agencies

(state approval),• first thing reviewer reads - must get reviewer interested

and excited about project• may be used as to step one in two step process that

wants to see a preliminary proposal• May provide much of the information for a basic grant

proposal (e.g., state grants which ask you to “fill in the blanks”)

Writing the Abstract• organization of abstract (whatever RFP calls for)• specify need and/or problem to be addressed• symmetry for goals and activities(1-4, 1-4)• action words - bold, authoritative, convincing (you are marketing your

project and yourself - don’t be reticent)• goals /objectives must be behavioral (VERBS are critical)

1. design, plan

2. implement project including select sample, describe intervention and evaluation process

3. evaluate, analyze data, compare

4. disseminate, use, revise, distribute

• activities - how accomplish each goal/objective* Look at the Abstract in your Packet

* I’d like each “team” to develop an abstract from the rubric provided

in your packet

Project Narrative• Writing your grant narrative following the sequence that the

reviewer will use to evaluate your grant (i.e., so they don’t have respond to the gestalt of the narrative but clearly see your response to each item)

• Let’s again look at the Review Criteria in your packet• Make sure you respond to every item whether you think it is

relevant or not• You and your team will want to keep revising each section

until you are confident you have earned all the points and you’ve edited out material that doesn’t contribute to your score

• Space devoted to each section corresponds to the number of points - with caveats

• Page limits, font, margins are typically specified in RFP – these are NOT suggestion (don’t mess - a cautionary tale)

Only QUALITY Grants are Funded?

The key to getting funded is demonstrating that the quality of your project, methodology, interventions, and/or services is exceptional. How do you do that?

• See Proposal Review Questions - Identifying a Quality Project in your packet

Why Use an Operational Table

Now we’ll focus on developing an operational Table that goes in the Plan of Operation section because it sets the stage for writing all the parts of the proposal

• easy to grasp (much more so than narrative sentences & paragraphs)

• linear (picture worth a thousand words)• face validity (looks sequenced and complete until

proven otherwise)• forms basis for rest of narrative (e.g., Plan of

Operation, Personnel, Budget)• use to evaluate project; use later to run project

Writing an Operational Table• perfect relationship Concept > Abstract > Table > Plan of

Operation > Personnel > Budget• it should be written to allow replication of project by

someone else • format of Table I (Operational Table) is determined by what

the RFP calls for• sequence and detail are critical; when in doubt be very

specific• any future changes you make in the narrative or budget will

have to align with or come from Table ILook at an example of a Table I in your Packet

Writing an Operational TableActivity

For the Table I in your packet, I would like you to write objectives and/or activities for Goals 2 & 5

Please work with your team. Afterward we will review your efforts together.

Importance (10) • research literature, numbers (% impacted, # impacted, local, state or national), needs assessment

(yours, others), prof org or govt agency info (e.g., White House Plan for reducing violence)

• current theory or practice questionable• outcomes poor• fiscal issues - cost to society if resolved/unresolved• no info or research, new issue/concept or approach/age

group - make lemon-aide from lemons• use of “letters of support” (in Appendix) to fill in holes

or shore up weak points (how do you get letters of support?)

Impact (10)

How will the grant outcomes change, improve things?

• expected numbers (bold but realistic)• extend impact (trainer of trainers, # use

product, if/then, effect over 10 years)• how impact different constituencies

(e.g., parents, students, professionals, organizations

• utility of dissemination to foster use and replication

Plan of Operation (35) Build the Plan by adding details in the narrative that did not “fit” into

Table I

What to Watch for:* lack of consistency (Table I/Plan of Op.-personnel-budget)* confusing PROGRAM (training, product development, etc) with PROJECT (OPERATION OF GRANT, goals/objs/activities or dealing with one not both)* plan that is skimpy, incomplete, unclear, confusing, unrealistic* TIME - doesn’t fit RFP, personnel time and support not consistent with activities; poor time sequence or time allotment to complete tasks* Activities - poorly designed goals/objectives, activities don’t fulfill goals or aren’t detailed/complete, lack of project management and oversight

Evaluation (15) 1) evaluate project (i.e., grant operation - did you do what you promised to do)

PROCESS EVALUATION2) evaluate program outcomes (i.e., evaluate each outcome -products, results)

SUMMATIVE OR PRODUCT EVALUATION• provide quantifiable data - make commitments to specific outcomes

such as how many students served, what skill level did teachers develop, or what skills, attitudes, behaviors did students develop (80% met standard?, 90% scored 75%+)

• add qualitative data - tell student stories in their own words or parents words

• outcomes must be demonstrated - impact, long term, effect on subjects• in-house vs. outhouse (external) evaluator• present evaluation instruments or sample thereof in Appendix

See Evaluation Plan (Table 2)

Quality of Key Personnel (10)• document training and experience related to the activities each staff

member will perform (teacher, researcher, trainer, evaluator)• experience, training and research related to the content• administrative and management skills for the PI or Coor. (e.g., success/experience with GRANT management & budget)• FTE, time commitment• specify role and responsibility of each staff person• use grant titles (PI, Proj. Coor, evaluator, trainer, research

coordinator, dissemination specialist, technology or distance education specialist) – provides flexibility when it is time to hire

• NOT institutional titles (teacher, learning specialist, counselor) – allows flexibility in budget

• equal access

Adequacy of Resources (5)Possible items to include• collaborating agencies, organizations, labs - explicit

written commitment from other agencies and institutions• access to students• access/availability of special equipment• personnel with history of success with this kind of project• related projects/research• availability of field sites (training; field testing)• dissemination (availability and/or history with

newsletters, web sites, organizations, conferences, resources, journals)

Continuation (5)If it all disappears after the grant, you will NOT be funded? Possible items to include:• *Letter from official promising continuation• Show history of continuation of grant programs• Trainer of trainers model continues and extends grant• Continuity - institutionalize program developed by grant • Dissemination guarantees ongoing use of

knowledge/products of grant programDissemination• Plans (speak at conferences, publish, mail, train others, use of

TECHNOLOGY such as webinar, video, online)• Track record (publishing, speaking, history, organizations,

network)• Facilities (newsletters, mailing lists, technology, organizations)

Budget - Three Parts

There may be three different budget elements

–Budget Forms (fill in the numbers)–Budget Figures with Explanation (FTE,

which personnel, what materials) and Justification (why travel to Orlando?)

–Budget Section in Narrative (explaining why you should receive all the points)

Grant Budget (10)

• cover all grant responsibilities including fringe benefits for personnel and indirect costs/facilities & administration/overhead* (what is your percentage?)

• flexibility (hidden money for changes and surprises)• within stated budget range but cheap does’t help• justify and explain all expenses thoroughly (especially

travel, equipment and any potential “red flags” (e.g, participant incentives, electronic “toys”)

• narrative must support all expenses• timeline must support expenses (summer salary,

dissemination usually not in the first year)

OMG! I Got Funded• thank supporters, contact collaborators, writing team• review/revise budget• get reviewers evaluations; improve plan• formalize collaborative agreements with partners• publicity on grant (status, recognition, information - send

press release to professional/community agencies and “media”)

• HIRE NEEDED PERSONNEL a. job spec and salary, publicize, interview, hire

b. look for COMMITMENT, people skill, content• review/revise Table I and Table II (Eval.) - use them –

develop data collection and annual review approach• set up budget system so you keep track of expenses

Where Do You Go from Here?

• Review your Strategic Plan to identify ideas for future development

• Work with your colleagues to conceptualize grant ideas (Who can help? Partners?)• Begin searching for relevant RFP’s• Develop and work with a grant writing team• Get on a grant review panel to hone your grant

skills• Be a “partner”or site on another agency’s grant• Write a grant

Summary• You can’t win if you don’t write• Don’t write unless you make a commitment to win

(e.g., time, pre-planning, effective team/partners with clear roles/expectations)

• Only write if the RFP fits your goals and mission• Specify optimistic and measurable grant goals and

expectations but recognize that those then become the basis for evaluating your efforts

• Final Questions• Wish you well. Let me know if I can help

(stan.shaw@gmail.com)