Use of Data in Grant Writing

1. Use of Data in Grant Writing Terry Richmond September 13, 2007

2. What have you done? How many have had to look for data for a grant, study, or other project? How many know where to find your agency�s IRS tax exempt certification? A list of board members and their characteristics? How many have used US Census data? How many have done an internet search? How many have been to the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) or NYSDOH web sites?

3. Could You Be a Data Geek? How many have saved a PDF file, data, or a graphic from an internet source on your own computer? How many know how to use Excel? Know what filtering is? Have made a pivot table? Have imported or pasted data into Excel from another source? How many have made a word table? A word graph? Have pasted data from Excel into word? How many have created data using a scanner?

4. Uses of Information/Data Grant Narratives Geographic/Demographic Profiles Description of Agency Characteristics/Experience Documentation of Need Rational for Proposal Prospects for Success Goals and Objectives Work Program Measures Budget Narratives Appendices Program Evaluation

5. Ways to Find Information Search data compendiums Get/request administrative data & other information Talk to experts/get testimony Understand what your agency has and who has it Interview community representatives/leaders Search the Web Review journals, literature, & news articles Look for professional presentations Consider making educated guesses & synthetic estimates

6. Data to Look For Characteristics of the target area, community, or population to be served (e.g. number of people) Incidence/nature of problem/need to be addressed (e.g. % of population). Why is it unmet or important? Documents and descriptive materials which promote better understanding of your own organization

7. Data to Look For (Continued) Information about are others doing in your community Information about whether anyone else has done or tried to do what you want to do Information about government policies and regulations Data on productivity norms, service standards, project costs Maps and graphic materials

8. Data to Look For (Continued) Evidence that suggests what you want to do will work Strategic Ideas and funding sources which could enable long range viability Ways to measure the impact of your solution through evaluation Letters of support Remember The best on-line data is not always free The most recent data is not always necessary. Close enough can be good enough

9. Presenting Information & Data Focus on issues the RFP asks for and address them in the specified RFP order!!! Make things easy on the reader/reviewer. Use short paragraphs where possible Develop a story line and data plan Use subheadings, lead sentences, and selective bolding for emphasis Tables can look better using different, smaller fonts (e.g. Arial 8-10 point with a 12 point Times Roman narrative) Use attachments for data as a last resort

10. Presenting Information & Data Avoid duplication when using different data presentation formats (i.e. text, tables, graphs) Numerical Precision � Be consistent (e.g. 10 percent, 10.5%). Sometimes approximation works best (e.g. almost half, slightly more than 80 percent, approximately 3 times) Geographic Aggregation � Use areas that make sense and are statistically relevant. Also use this issues as an opportunity to be creative or inventive

11. Story Tools � Data & Statistics Plain Old Numbers Great but not enough Incidence frequency during a time interval � usually reflects new occurrences of problem Prevalence frequency at a point in time � usually reflects total number with the problem Beliefs and Perceptions measures which reflect degree of relative frequency or importance

12. Statistics � Their potential is endless Service Use/Access users, unduplicated users, visits/encounters, units of service Provider Use/Availability number, volume, types of services delivered Rates frequency per user/provider; per capita; per 1,000, 10,000, 100,000, or million population Percents can be a rate per 100 but ...

13. The % . . . is much, much more Types of Percents Percentage as a measure of incidence or prevalence (rate per 100) Percent distribution Percent above and below (percent difference) Percent change Percent equivalence Be Careful with Calculations

14. Calculation Exercise Percent of Population, Percent Distribution

15. Calculation Exercise Answers Observation: Note that the rate for children and youth (12.0%) is almost 50% higher than that for the general population (8.4%).

16. Formula Percent of Population, Percent Distribution

17. Calculation Exercise Percent Change, Percent Difference

18. Calculation Exercise Answers

19. Formula Percent Change, Percent Difference

20. Formatting Tables Try to make tables tell or illustrate your story line in a fashion that highlights key points; population differences; or relationship, relevance, or consistency with grant criteria, goals, and objectives Try to make your main data point be the first item that people see (i.e. near top left corner). Avoid the accountant�s way of thinking.

21. Examples

23. Formatting Graphs Try to make graphs illustrate your story by highlighting key points; population differences; or relationships, relevance, or consistency with grant criteria, goals, and objectives Make sure the graph shows visible differences and select patterning that brings out the point Select a format (pie, area, line, bar, etc) that best shows the point you want to make.

24. Examples

25. Examples

26. Examples

27. On-line Sources for Information GOOGLE for general browsing and searching ... also Agency Home Pages & Data Portals US Census for Demographics NYSDOH & NCHS/CDC for Vital Stats, HIV/AIDS, Health Behaviors, Service Use NYSDOH & CMMS for Medicaid, Medicare, Insurance, and Managed Care SAMHSA for Mental Health/Substance Abuse Provider & Professional Organization Sites NYS Departments & Agencies

28. Google and more Search Engines � GOOGLE, etc. Be patient, use a wide variety of key words Links and Bookmarks ... can have limited life Global Agency Sites

29. Demographic � Census & Related

30. Vital Stats � NYSDOH and Related

31. Health � NCHS and CDC NCHS = National Center for Health Statistics

32. Medicaid/Medicare � NYSDOH, CMMS and related CMMS = Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

33. SAMHSA � Mental Health/Substance Abuse SAMHSA = Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Admin

34. Providers/Prof Organizations NYS Hospital Directory SPARCS SPARCS � Annual Rpts AHA Hospital Directory NYS Nursing Home Dir NYS Adult Home Dir NYS Physician Search AMA Doctor Finder Medicare Physician Dir ADA Find a Dentist www.health.state.ny.us/nysdoh/hospital/main.htm www.health.state.ny.us/nysdoh/sparcs/sparcs.htm www.health.state.ny.us/nysdoh/sparcs/annual.htm www.ahd.com www.nursinghomes.nyhealth.gov www.health.state.ny.us/nysdoh/acf/map.htm1 www.nydoctorprofile.com/search_parameters.jsp www.ama-assn.org/aps/amahg.htm www.medicare.gov/Physician/Search/PhysicianSearch.asp www.ada.org/public/directory/index.html

35. State Agencies NYS Depts/Agencies Local NYS Govt Sites Health Department Attorney General Dept of Family Assistance Education Dept Insurance Dept Dept of Labor Office of Mental Health OMRDD Office for the Aging Governor's Office State Assembly State Senate State Laws and Regulations www.state.ny.us/state_acc.html www.state.ny.us/local_acc.html www.health.state.ny.us www.oag.state.ny.us www.dfa.state.ny.us www.nysed.gov www.ins.state.ny.us www.labor.state.ny.us www.omh.state.ny.us www.omr.state.ny.us www.aging.state.ny.us www.state.ny.us/governor www.assembly.state.ny.us www.senate.state.ny.us www.nysl.nysed.gov/ils/topics/laws.htm

36. Downloading Data � Tricks of the Trade Save things as files/Don�t just print them Selecting from on-line text Selecting from PDF Files Downloading from the Census Pasting/Opening into Excel Files Scan when necessary On Line Exercises

37. Working with Excel � Tricks of the Trade Formulas Math operators ( +, - , * , / ) Math functions (e.g. sum) Absolute [$] and Relative References Formatting (Cell, Columns and Rows) Sorting Filtering and Copying Filtered Data Pivot Tables Copying and Past Special Function

38. Working with Word � Tricks of the Trade TABLES Make Tables with Tables � Not Tabs Formatting Tables Pasting Information from Excel to make tables PICTURES & OTHER GRAPHIC MATERIALS Inserting Pictures and other Graphics Formatting Pictures and other Graphics GRAPHS Making Graphs

39. The Evaluation Plan Most grants call for an evaluation component There are many bases and methods for evaluation (e.g. process, outcome, utilization-focused, impact) Make sure you understand which the RFP calls for. The RFP may also ask for a �logic model� which shows relationships between inputs and outputs The easiest evaluation to do is process evaluation (i.e. did you do what you said you were going to do?) Tip: Always try to have some process measures since other approaches almost always encounter data collection difficulties Make sure your indicators can actually be measured.

40. Process Measures

41. Outcome/Impact Measures

42. Utilization-Focused Measures

43. Impact Measures (Continued)

44. Logic Model Examples

45. Logic Model Examples (Continued) Diabetes Prevention and Management Program

46. and you could need .... an Asset Map Example: Oral Health Prevention Program Asset Map

47. Asset Maps � Step 1 Oral Health Prevention Program Example

48. Asset Maps � Step 2

49. Exercise � Sample Data Plan Determine what the grant might be needed for List the types of data you think you will need Identify where you might get the data Get some data that relates to your plan from one of the sources we talked about today Develop some statistics using these data Write a short narrative presenting the statistics Design a small table to present the data Design a graph to present some of the data

50. Discussion What was missing from your data plan? What other kinds of information/data would you have wanted? Do you think that kind of data exists? What can you do when you can�t find the data you want? What kind of assistance might further enhance your skills? Don�t forget to fill out the evaluation form!!

51. Use of Data in Grant Writing Terry Richmond September 13, 2007