The budget must give an accurate assessment of all cost items and cost amounts that are deemed necessary and reasonable. It should be complete and include all costs for any personnel, supplies, and activities that will be undertaken. If the project is funded, the budget will become the financial plan used by the funding agency to provide support. Once negotiated and approved, the budget will be etched in stone, and modifications will require the approval of the donor. It will also be a legal agreement between the institution and the donor and will be subject to audits to ensure compliance.

Where should one begin?

The solicitation – The first step in the process of submitting a proposal is to identify the appropriate solicitation. For federal grants, this could be a Research Funding Announcement (RFA), Request for Proposal (RFP), Proposal Announcement (PA), or Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA). If you are applying to a foundation, they may have different solicitation announcements that you would need to follow. It is vital to read the announcement in its entirety before starting. The solicitation will give funding guidelines and will state any budgetary restrictions. A budget template is often provided as well. It is critical to determine whether there are any limitations on direct or indirect costs.

Grants Office – The second step will be to outline your budget categories and discuss those with the staff in your research office or a grants office. They can assist you with personnel details, equipment, and other budget categories. If, on the other hand, you have to come up with a budget on your own, you will need to consider the following direct and indirect costs.

Putting the Budget Together

Direct costs are the expenses that the donor will pay for a specific project. These costs will include activities and expenditures that will take place during the course of the grant, such as personnel salaries, employee benefits, travel, equipment, publications and training. It is important to adhere to the allowable costs for personnel salaries and fringe requests.

• Personnel Costs – This category will always be the first part of the budget and will include the percentage of time dedicated by each of the key and non-key personnel. The Principal Investigator (PI) or the Project Director (PD) may devote a certain percentage of time to the project. The cost will be determined from his or her current salary and benefits. The non-key personnel, such as students or others not directly involved in the content of the project, also are included in the budget in terms of the percentage of time spent on the grant.
• Other Costs – Equipment (with acquisition cost of more than $5,000 as per most government grant guidelines), travel, participant support, consultants, statisticians, training costs and animal purchases will be categories for those doing research projects. Materials, supplies, publications, and computer services might be additional costs.
• Activity Costs – For project grants, the main areas that drive the budget will be the solicitation requirements and the objectives and activities of the grant. Thus, every activity should be budgeted according to personnel and non-personnel costs. For example, how much time will be dedicated to evaluation both in terms of personnel and non-personnel costs?

Indirect Costs – These are the costs that an institution will charge the grantor for conducting the project.

Often referred to as the “costs of doing business”, overhead, and facilities and administration charges, these costs are negotiated with federal and state governments. It is essential to adhere to the solicitation’s allowable costs for this category. Donors may restrict the percentage of allowable indirect costs. Some may allow the total amount requested, others a certain percentage, and yet others none at all. The latter is especially the case with foundations.

It is important to remember that a budget will not include any costs incurred prior to receiving the grant and any that will follow the life of the grant. Additionally, there are frequently total allowable funding limits and cost share requirements, all of which must be first taken into consideration.

Ultimately, the budget will tell the fiscal story of your proposal and must match the narrative of the project. It must be detailed, accurate, necessary and reasonable. Your story should begin with the narrative and end with the budget, and both need to match up perfectly.

The post Justifying Your Proposal: The Budget appeared first on Grant Training Center Blog.

Below I outline six major differences between the two contrasting styles and clarify how the two approaches require different skills:

Purpose

Academic writing is:

• A scholarly pursuit for publication in peer-reviewed journals that is centered on the theory and thesis of the idea. Attention is on the complexity of the subject and the effectiveness of the methodology that was used to prove the hypothesis. Ultimately, it is a scholarly publication that proves the ability and innovation of the individual author.

Grant writing is:

• Constrained by the Request for Proposal (RFP) and/or the sponsor. It is a plan that is centered on the goal, objectives, activities, evaluation and anticipated outcomes of the project. It becomes a business plan centered around the donor’s mission and goals.

Writing

Academic writing is:

• Expository and informs the reader about what has occurred that resulted in the publication. The text is organized around one topic and developed according to a pattern or combination of patterns.

• Written in the past tense, since it is research that has been accomplished. This often leads to writing in the passive voice.

• Not limited by length constraints, and if it is, it is not restricted by the number of spaces or words.

• Written in an impersonal tone, which is objective and dispassionate.

• Rewarded when it is written in difficult prose, which utilizes jargon, long paragraphs and numerous acronyms. It is assumed that the difficult prose is meant to be understood by the sophisticated reader.

Grant writing is:

• Written in persuasive language that it is meant to sell the idea to the sponsor. Innovative and transformative ideas are meant to be convincing through the “so what question”, preliminary data, and literature review.

• Written in the present and future tenses, since it is work that will be accomplished and proven via the hypothesis, objectives, and outcomes.

• Strictly constrained by the requirements specified in the RFP.

• Written in a personal tone that conveys salesmanship, passion, and impact.

• Encourages easy language that is written in short and precise sentences and paragraphs. Jargon and acronyms are highly discouraged, since those who review the proposal do not have the time to interpret what the prospective grantee is saying.

Ultimately, academic writing is primarily individualistic, whereas grant writing is a team effort that can include colleagues across disciplines. The transition from one set of skills to the other is not an easy one, since most academics have not been trained in the art of selling a product. This certainly does not mean that learning grant writing skills is an insurmountable task. It simply implies that a transition needs to be made in the presentation and description of ideas.

The post Want to Get a Grant? Change Your Style appeared first on Grant Training Center Blog.

1) Dates and Submission Procedures

Knowing and adhering to the deadline for proposal submission is critical. This section will also contain directions on where to submit the proposal, which in most cases will be through Grants.gov. If directed to submit through this venue, understanding how to do so is extremely important, otherwise it can be a difficult and taxing experience.

2) Eligibility

RFPs contain very specific parameters specifying who is eligible to submit proposals and who is not. It is vital to follow these requirements. One of the worst rejection reasons you can receive is that you are not eligible for the competition in the first place. This will occur if you or others on your team did not do their homework.

3) Instructions on Details of the Proposal

In this section you will find the instructions for formatting, organizing, and submitting your proposal. Whether or not including appendices and other components is allowed will also be described here. It is not unusual to see as many as 50% of submitted proposals rejected due to applicants not following these directions. It is highly frustrating to be eliminated for using the wrong font or incorrect margins.

4) Statement of Work

The RFP will define the goal and, in many cases, the objectives of the project. What the agency wants to fund and in what areas will be spelled out in this section. If your own goals and objectives do not exactly fit, you should have a conversation with the program officer to ensure that your approach will be allowed.

5) Budget

The amounts and categories for the request will be clearly outlined in the RFP, including matching requirements, amounts that can be charged for administration and other related categories. This will also be the section where you are told how to format your line items, what your budget justification should include, and what forms need to be completed.

6) Scoring Criteria

These are the criteria that determine how your proposal will be scored. When reading this section, look for the scoring method, score weighting and evaluation process. Knowing how your proposal will be assessed will give you an understanding of where to direct your efforts and how best to write your narrative. Ultimately, by understanding these criteria, you will be able to write in a way that reviewers can easily locate the areas for scoring. At all costs you should avoid making the reviewers work.

These six elements are the major sections of the RFP that pertain directly to writing the proposal. There will, however, be other information you will need to know and complete, such as certifications and various forms. The RFP tells you what the federal agency wants and expects in the grant solicitation. It is then up to you to inform the federal agency how you will carry out the program. Becoming a student of the RFP and paying attention to all the specifics will ensure that you will not be rejected because of minor details such as an incorrect font, or in the worst case scenario, for not being eligible for the competition in the first place.

The post Your First Step: Understanding the Request for Proposal appeared first on Grant Training Center Blog.

Ingredients

1. Understanding the Request for Proposal (RFP)
2. Excellent match between the request and the donor’s priorities
3. Answering the “so what” question
4. Simple prose and white space on the paper
5. Examples of the approach
6. Clearly written abstract
7. Explanation on what is needed to fill the gap
8. Methods to ensure the strategy works
9. The grand finale: the significance of the results

Preparation

Read the entire RFP, from top to bottom. Once you clearly understand the directions that the donor provides in the RFP, you can begin to put the pieces of the proposal together. You will use the same type of language given in the application; doing so makes your proposal more desirable to the donor. Double check that you and your organization are eligible for the grant you are seeking, and that your project or research aligns with the donor’s mission. This makes certain that the match is made between yourself and the donor, and preparation of the pieces can begin. These segments will be the product of extensive research on your part to move in the right direction. The pieces are:

1. Abstract – This will take careful preparation, since it is the most important part of the application. It is the first impression, the precise summary of the entire proposal, and the evidence that success is possible.
2. Introduction – Present the problem or question to be addressed. The “so what” question for your project or research must be apparent, and should begin or lead into the narrative.
3. Need Statement/Statement of Significance – This is where the convincing argument for the project takes place. You will tell your impressive story, citing research and examples with enthusiasm and clarity. Demonstrate that you have done your homework, defined your terms, developed your reasoning, and backed it up with examples.
4. Plan of Operation/Methodology – Logic and a tightly structured plan prevail here. This is the heart of the proposal, and it consists of the goal or hypothesis, objectives or specific aims, and activities. Each segment will clearly illustrate the way your proposal will unfold. The evaluation follows, which should be clearly outlined in the incremental measurements of each activity – and these will be used to ensure your success in meting your goal.
5. Significance of Results – In research proposals, this will be the way in which your hypothesis has been proven – or in the case of project grants – how your outcomes unfolded. This will be the section that shows the ultimate success of your proposal.

Presentation

Your presentation should be memorable. Don’t assume that the reviewers will overlook sloppiness because your idea is phenomenal. You can achieve a superior presentation with images, graphs, and Gantt charts, which are easy to understand and remember. Most importantly, if your proposal will have a significant impact, it should be stated as such. For instance, provide examples of how your work will make a difference, change the field, save lives, or set the stage for what will change. Whether the presentation necessitates the elegance of a fine dining restaurant or the simplicity of a well-prepared meal at home, the true mark of success lies in what was expected and what has been delivered in an impressive manner.

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