Grant Writing Insights: Enhancing Proposals & Professional Growth

2. Oh, you write grants? (No, I write proposals)Mitch Boretz, APMP FellowUniversity of California, Riverside

3. What do you think of when you think of a race car? This, of course. Right?

4. Or these?

5. There are lots of different kinds of proposal writers, too. We do the same things in different ways. Maybe some insights into what I do will help you think in new ways about what you do, how you do it, and how your profession can enrich your life.

6. Here’s what a race car driver looks like in my world!

7. And here is what we do: From the Shipley Proposal Guide: Most professional services proposal guidelines apply to grant proposals. Both respond to well-defined criteria but operate under a similar “no single right answer” concept.

8. Would you go after an opportunity with an 8% probability of win? • Grants are a fundamentally different environment, but we use the same tools in largely the same ways. In this hour we will discuss: • What the differences are among different funding mechanisms, and why they matter to the proposal writer. • What “contracts” writers and “grants” writers can learn from each other about value propositions. • What this means for you as a professional and as a good citizen.

9. Defining our terms: what is a grant? • And while we are at it: • Contract • Cooperative Agreement • Other Transaction • Gift

10. And what does a grant-maker want? Where does public purpose meet value proposition? Science agencies Mission agencies

11. A science agency: What is NSF’s mission? • To promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; and to secure the national defense; and for other purposes. • Intellectual Merit • Broader Impacts

12. Congress defines “intellectual merit” and “broader impacts.” • Under the old America COMPETES Act and the new American Innovation and Competitiveness Act: • 1. Increased economic competitiveness of the United States. • 2. Development of a globally competitive STEM workforce. • 3. Increased participation of women and underrepresented minorities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). • 4. Increased partnerships between academia and industry. • 5. Improved pre-K-12 STEM education and teacher development. • 6. Improved undergraduate STEM education. • 7.Increased public scientific literacy. • 8. Increased national security.

13. A mission agency: What is USDA’s job? The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) works to support the American agricultural economy to strengthen rural communities; to protect and conserve our natural resources; and to provide a safe, sufficient, and nutritious food supply for the American people. The Department’s wide range of programs and responsibilities touches the lives of every American every day.

14. And how is USDA organized to do this? • Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services • Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services • Food Safety • Marketing and Regulatory Programs • Natural Resources and Environment • Research, Education and Economics • Rural Development

15. So why did USDA fund renovation of a movie theater in Berwick, PA?

16. The value proposition would have been… The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) works to support the American agricultural economy to strengthen rural communities; to protect and conserve our natural resources; and to provide a safe, sufficient, and nutritiousfood supply for the American people. The Department’s wide range of programs and responsibilities touches the lives of every American every day.

17. And this really does have relevance to contract proposals. • Even if you don’t get points for broader impacts, you can highlight the small differentiators that can get people feeling good about going with you. • Made in America. • 5% of our profits go to charity. • We hire veterans. • Gluten-free. • Sustainably sourced. • We donate to refurbish small-town movie theaters.

18. Or, in the most basic APMP-speak, seemingly minor or irrelevant features can become benefits that differentiate you from the competition. Ooh! A key takeaway!

19. How does this translate to the competitive environment for grants? Riverside is bigger than most of the cities in the National League Central. We are a medium-sized university and a smallish engineering school among giants.

21. There is no magic to running with the big dogs: Find the points, and score them. • For the science agencies: • Intellectual merit. • Broader impacts. • Significance, innovation, impact. • For the mission agencies: • Relevance to the need.

22. A brief digression: fund-raising and the picturesque Box Spring Mountain.

23. Less brief and less digressive: The content and tone of a grant proposal. Some public purposes naturally carry emotional freight, but I don’t write late-night infomercials about how you can save a starving child for just 25 cents a day. A grant proposal wins by successfully addressing the sponsor’s requirements.

24. This can be meaningful for you as a proposal professional and as a citizen, too. Every library, animal shelter, and bicycle commission needs a grant writer. Every county Small Business Development Center needs advisors to help small companies. For some of these places, $25,000 makes a huge difference.