CRC Workshop US Department of Education Dr. Laura Lang Dr. Carol Connor 05/04/2006

1. CRC Workshop US Department of Education Dr. Laura Lang Dr. Carol Connor 05/04/2006

2. What is a Successful Proposal? • What is the best indicator of a successful grant proposal? Weight of the proposal in pounds and ounces. Evidence of the psychic ability of the proposal writer to divine the evaluation criteria of the grant awarding institution. Number of hours spent by writer in a caffeine induced mania, scribbling the grant proposal by candlelight.

3. What is a Successful Proposal? None of the Above

4. Writing a Successful Proposal • Read the RFP – Not only once or twice but three times. • Notify sponsored research and identify the representative who will process your proposal. • Create a proposal strategy • Survey the terrain - know what’s been done what was funded and what wasn’t. • Assemble a competent team and roles - interdisciplinary and multi-institutional if possible. • Call the program officer and run your idea by him/her; arrange a visit if possible. • Create a budget that matches and supports the proposed program. • Write persuasively, thinking of: why would they buy the idea, not how you will sell it. • Fill in appropriate forms and follow agency’s guidelines and procedures very carefully. • Read the entire application and obtain feedback on your draft from experienced grant writers – the flow is important. • Obtain necessary signatures. • Submit to sponsored research. • Submit the application. • Do what you can to influence the outcome, (visits, follow-ups,…) - confidantes (spies), ammunition. • The more you repeat this process, the better you will become at grant writing. • Don’t give up after the first or second or third… battle.

5. Writing a Successful Proposal1. Read the RFP • The RFP will help you identify: • the needs of the agency; • the scope, timeline, and size of the projects to be funded; • the procedures and guidelines on submissions. • Create a list of items you need to submit. • Write down all your questions and keep a running list until you call the program officer.

6. Writing a Successful Proposal2. Notify Sponsored Research • Call sponsored research: 850-644-5260 to identify your representative. • Forward the RFP to the representative. The more time you give them, the better. • Double check on the procedures you have to follow for submitting the proposal. • Keep them informed about your submission timeline. • Check on the items you need to submit for FSU and add them to your “to submit” list. You can get sponsored research information and forms at: http://www.research.fsu.edu/contractsgrants/index.html

7. Writing a Successful Proposal3. Create a Proposal Strategy • Nothing beats a great idea. • Make sure you address the needs in the RFP. • Your plan should include: • Creating a research plan with clear hypothesis and backup: • Ask questions that can be answered; • Provide tantalizing preliminary data as evidence that the questions are worth asking and answerable; • Propose technical approaches which are within the realm of your published technical expertise OR provide preliminary data; • The volume of work proposed should be proportional to the time of support requested and your other obligations preliminary data when possible; • Broad Impact is always great. Bigger bang for the buck! • Forming a team. • Developing a supporting budget. • Creating a timeline for the proposal development activities. • Implementing an evaluation plan as drafts are developed. • Planning for proposal processing

8. Writing a Successful Proposal4. Survey the Terrain • Check for previously awarded grants: • Check their program to make sure no there is no duplication of work. • Check the performance sites – what universities, what impact, etc… • Some awardees publish their proposals; if you can find any, make sure you read them. • Identify some key points that you need to address.

9. Writing a Successful Proposal5. Assembling the Team • A team member is the person who can add value to the proposal and be able to perform the work when the award comes in. Picking the team is one of the most important steps. Multidisciplinary and collaborative proposals are usually encouraged and favored. Don’t be limited to your colleagues in your department/college. • Identifying the PIs and CoPIs: how does this work? • I am the PI because I found it? NO! • The PI is the one who can lead the team, has the background and credentials to support the proposed research plan, and has the time to do it. • Being a Co-PI on a funded project is better than a PI on an unfunded proposal.

10. Writing a Successful Proposal6. Call the Program Officer • Program officers’ job is answering all questions you might have. • Knowing the program officer can be very helpful. • It is always a good idea to send a brief description of your plan and get feedback from the program officer. If you have a longer document, they might not get to it. • Although program officers usually do not influence decisions, they will be in the meetings when the proposal is reviewed and can answer questions that might come up. • In most cases, the program officer is not the decision maker.

11. Writing a Successful Proposal7. Creating a Budget • The budget has to match what the program you will propose. Your justification should be detailed and in support of your narrative. • The budget and justification are not separate items in the proposal, and they very much affect final decisions. • A detailed budget justification is very important. The justification should reinforce your proposal activities and nothing more or less. • Make sure you budget for all your needs. • Check the facts sheet for the latest rates. http://www.research.fsu.edu/contractsgrants/facts.html

12. Writing a Successful Proposal8. Writing the Proposal • Persuasive writing with an emphasis on your plan, how it will address the needs, and how will you get it done. • Follow the guidelines on the formatting and setup. Proposals can be denied if they do not follow procedures. • The entire proposal has to sound as one document and not multiple. This includes the narrative, budget, budget justification, bios of team members, facilities, etc… • Build in internal and external evaluation components (whenever possible). • The proposal should be easy to understand by anyone and not necessarily someone from your field. Do not assume the reader knows anything about what you are proposing or the literature you are using. Assume total ignorance on the part of the reviewer. • Provide the simplest conceptual background. • Use no abbreviations or acronyms without definition. • Tell the reviewer what he is supposed to think and write. • Do not force the reviewer to hunt through the application for information. • Use diagrams to illustrate concepts. • Be realistic, make it simple and clear, and easy to read. • Present yourself as the greatest expert in the field: • Know the literature in depth and breadth; • Do not make statements without attribution or preliminary data; • Do not be reluctant to admit shortcomings;and • Seek collaborators or mentors when your expertise cannot be documented.

13. Writing a Successful Proposal9. Fill in Appropriate Forms • You can identify the requirements from the RFP. • Get familiar with the forms before you start inputting information. • You will need FSU and agency specific forms. • All the forms you need have instructions or guidelines. Some of these guidelines are heavy books. • It is helpful to work with someone who has done it before; if you cannot identify this person, your sponsored research representative can help you or direct you to someone else at the university. • Allow time for this step and make sure it is done correctly. • Most federal agencies are switching to use the www.grants.gov application; make sure you download the software and the application for the RFP beforehand in order to know your way around it. • Call the program officer or the help line if you cannot find an answer.

14. Writing a Successful Proposal11. Evaluating the Proposal • Before you submit the proposal, it is good idea to get feedback from peers who have funded projects. • It is also a good idea to have feedback from someone who does not necessarily understand the technical aspects of the proposal regarding how it flows, how convincing and how easy it is to understand. • Read it one last time: You might want to just get it out but a final read is very important. Here are 10 tips on evaluating a proposal: • Winning proposals have clearly defined needs and describe how those needs were identified. • Winning proposals describe solutions. • Winning proposals present the material in a logical manner. • Winning proposals are written in positive terms. • Winning proposals do not overuse jargon. • Winning proposals present detailed budgets that match the proposed program. • Winning proposals give something back. What is it? • Winning proposals follow all the guidelines specified in the RFP. • Winning proposals are professional in appearance. • Winning proposals are complete.

15. Writing a Successful Proposal12-14. Signatures and Submission • Every PI and Co-Pi signs the proposal DSR form (Transmittal). • PI and Dean/Director sign the budget. • Chairs and Deans/Directors for all PIs and Co-PIs sign the DSR form. • The entire application goes to office of sponsored research for review, approval and submission. • PI is responsible for filling all the forms (online or offline) – sponsored research reviews and submits. • Keep a copy on your file. • Be open to making changes at the agency’s request.

16. Federal Department of EducationEd.Gov • http://www.ed.gov • Offices • Office of English Language Acquisition, Language Enhancement and Academic Achievement for Limited English Proficient Students (OELA) • Institute of Education Sciences (IES) • Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE) • Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE) • Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) • Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE)

17. Federal Department of Education • Offices (con’t) • Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools (OSDFS) • Office of Innovation and Improvement (OII) • Office of Indian Education (OIE)

18. Federal Department of EducationEd.Gov- Institute of Education Sciences • Goals of IES discretionary grant programs • Rigor of research • Relevance of Research • Utilization • Three operational divisions: - National Center for Education Research - National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance- National Center for Education Statistics

19. A Brief Walk Through an IES Grant Proposal CRC Grant Writing Workshop US DOE Institute for Education Sciences Carol McDonald Connor cconnor@fcrr.org

20. The Letter of Intent • Posted on line • Identifies the RFP and program to which you are applying • The goal (1-5) under which this proposal will fall • Abstract

23. The Abstract • Absolutely critical • I write this first – for the letter of intent • Then revise after the proposal is complete • Write with busy reviewers in mind • Note word and page limits

24. Use the Template • Title • The RFA goal under which the applicant is applying: • 2. The potential contribution the proposed project will make to the solution of an education problem: • 3. The population from which the participants of the study will be sampled: • 4. The proposed research methods: • 5. The proposed intervention:

25. 2. The potential contribution the proposed project will make to the solution of an education problem: • “More complex cognitive views of first grade reading instruction indicate that the effect of instruction depends on the widely varying language and literacy skills children bring to school.” • List the research aims • “Broadly implemented, individualized instruction has the potential to maximize students’ reading skill growth, to meet the goal of all children reading at or above grade level, and to improve pre-service and professional development efforts. • The technology will offer researchers more sophisticated methods for modeling instructional strategies effects within complex and dynamic classroom systems.”

26. 3. The population from which the participants of the study will be sampled: • “First grade teachers (n = 20) and students (n = 540) from a school district in the Detroit Metropolitan area that is economically and culturally diverse.”

27. 4. The proposed research methods: • “Teachers will be randomly assigned, by lottery, to treatment and control groups. • Treatment includes individualized instruction training and technology. • The control group will receive the treatment the following year. • Using multi-level HLM analytic strategies, it is anticipated that the treatment group teachers will provide more individualized instruction than will the control group. Students in the treatment classrooms will demonstrate greater reading skill growth in 1st grade than will children in the control classrooms. Dosage effects, using video-coding of classroom instruction, will be examined.”

28. 5. The proposed intervention • HLM interaction algorithms indicate that early reading growth is maximized by matching specific amounts and types of instruction to students' language and reading skills. • Teachers will be taught how to characterize their teaching using dimensions of instruction derived through cognitive research and how to match student abilities with amount and type of instructional activity for each student in the classroom. • Assessment-to-instruction software, using student assessment results to drive interaction algorithms, will provide daily lesson plans, with recommended amounts and types of instruction, and student progress reports. • The training and software will be designed and developed by a team of experts from psychology, computer science, and education.

29. Writing the Proposal • Use the format provided in the RFA • Parts of the proposal (using handouts) • Significance – contribution to an educational problem or challenge • Research Narrative • Research questions and hypotheses • Methods • Participants • Measures • Intervention • Research evidence and rationale • Description • Study design and analytic strategies – including power analyses • Personnel • Resources • All in 20 pages!

30. Significance • Contribution to solving an educational problem (page 1) • The problem -- We are failing to provide effective reading instruction to all children • The possible solution – individualize student instruction based on assessed language and literacy skills • Research evidence to support claims

31. The intervention • Be very specific about what it will look like • Provide solid empirical evidence as to why it should be effective in promoting student outcomes • Screen shots or photos help the reviewers conceptualize the intervention

32. Research Narrative • Research evidence and rationale – p 2 • Research questions and hypotheses – p 11 • Methods – p 12 • Participants – p 12 • Measures – 13 • Intervention – p 15 • Research evidence and rationale • Description • Study design and analytic strategies – p 17 • including power analyses and random assignment

33. Personnel & Resources • Brief and succinct • Pages 19-20

34. FSU

35. The rest of the proposal – Don’t do last minute • A complete reference list that is not included in the page count – p 21 • Vitas – p 26 • May want to use the NIH Biosketch form

36. Vitas

37. The rest of the proposal – Don’t do last minute • A complete reference list that is not included in the page count • Vitas • May want to use the NIH Biosketch form • Section C of form 524 – p 42 • Budget Justification – BJ.1 p 47 • Appendix A – p 49 • Figures • Letters of support and agreement

38. Letters of support

39. The rest of the proposal – Don’t do last minute • A complete reference list that is not included in the page count • Vitas • May want to use the NIH Biosketch form • Section C of form 524 – p 42 • Budget Justification – BJ.1 p 47 • Appendix A – p 49 • Figures • Letters of support and agreement • Appendix B – p 64 • Intervention detail

40. And that’s it! • Questions?