Proposal Basics
Introduction
This handbook has been prepared by the Government and Foundation Relations (GFR) staff to help St. Olaf faculty and staff members develop effective grant proposals in the easiest, most efficient manner possible. We serve as a resource to faculty members and others in the college community who seek support from government agencies, private foundations, corporations. We can help by gathering information about potential funding sources; asking good questions about project ideas; writing, reviewing, or editing proposals; developing project budgets; contacting funders to clarify questions or inquire about the suitability of a proposed project; preparing and mailing proposals; and celebrating your successes. We will also help keep track of reporting deadlines and other grant administration tasks.
This handbook presents the basics of developing an effective grant proposal. We hope you find it helpful, and that it will inspire you to think positively about launching your next search for funding. St. Olaf faculty members have had enviable successes attracting grant support.
The Elements of an Effective Grant Proposal
The Idea
A strong proposal begins with someone with a good idea. "Good" is a very relative term. In the context of fundraising, a "good" idea has intrinsic merit (such as intellectual vitality or innovative promise) and aligns with external funders' interests.
Ideas may be simple or complex, involve a single faculty member or the entire campus community, serve primarily the college's internal needs or reach out beyond our borders. The questions raised in a project may be of interest to specialists in a field, or may be broadly cross-disciplinary. While some ideas are more "fundable" than others, and some ideas are more germane to the mission and goals of the college, almost anything may serve as the starting point for developing a project proposal. Staff in GFR are happy to discuss even very preliminary ideas. We have experience in helping shape a wide range of successful proposals.
The Project Director
Someone must serve as the passionate advocate for the project. This is usually, though not always, the person with the original idea. The Project Director is responsible for framing the questions to be explored, for engaging others in the process of designing the project, for coordinating the preparation of the proposal, and, ultimately, for implementing the project.
One of the most important elements of the Project Director's work is that of building a constituency for the project within the college community. While there are some projects that are individual efforts, such as some sabbatical research projects, most activities for which external funding is sought involve many people. It is the Project Director's job to engage those with an interest in the project early in the planning stages so that multiple needs and perspectives can be incorporated into the project design. This may be accomplished by establishing a formal committee to guide the project, with the Project Director serving as chair, or through individual contacts by the Project Director. In either case, the important concern is that everyone with an interest in the implementation of a project be involved in the planning. The section on "Project Planning" below outlines the various people or college offices that must be informed or involved in the planning of a project, some of which may not be as obvious as others.
Timing
Timing is everything. Most funders have specific deadlines for submission of grant proposals, often quarterly, semi-annually, or annually. Grant review processes can take as long as a year or more from the time a proposal is submitted. It is important, therefore, that the planning of a project begin well in advance of the anticipated start date, and several weeks or months before the deadline for proposals. As a rule of thumb, an 18- to 24-month lead time allows for good project planning and a realistic review period prior to the anticipated need for funding. This long lead time will not be feasible in many cases, but it is a good target, especially for more complicated projects that may require funding from several sources, or for projects that are relatively difficult to fund, such as individual sabbatical research projects.
Preparing a Concept Paper
One of the first steps an aspiring Project Director should take is to prepare a one-page concept paper describing the proposed research or project. The concept paper:
- identifies the problem to be solved or question to be addressed;
- indicates why this problem needs solving or why the question needs an answer (including an indication of who is interested in the question, and how others will benefit);
- outlines how the project will be accomplished (What needs to be done? When will this work be done? How much will it cost?);
- identifies who will direct the project (Why you? Why at this point in your career?), as well as others likely to be involved (either named individuals or areas of expertise to be filled); and
- indicates the impact the project will have (What will happen as a result of your work? Where will it lead?)
- Outlines a preliminary budget
A concept paper may be a series of bulleted items, an outline, or a brief narrative addressing the points above. Form doesn't matter at this point: the purpose of the concept paper is to initiate discussions with others interested in the project, and to give the Government and Foundation Relations staff enough of an idea about what you wish to accomplish to identify potential funders. It should be circulated to colleagues familiar with your discipline who can provide a useful reality check of the viability of the idea as well as to others with no specialized knowledge of the area in which you work who can respond to how clearly the core idea is presented. (It is important to remember that in many cases, grant reviewers and decision-makers will not be specialists in your field. It is essential that a proposal make sense to the intelligent layperson, stating clearly, in jargon-free language, what the project will accomplish.)
A good concept paper, and the proposal that grows from it, should trace a clear path that connects the problem/question, the method of addressing it, the availability of the required intellectual and programmatic resources, and the expected results.
Project Planning
A competitive proposal depends to a great extent upon the underlying planning that has gone into the project. It is difficult to write persuasively if the project has not been carefully thought through and all relevant players fully involved in the planning, including other faculty members, various academic and administrative departments such as the computer center, physical plant, library,institutional resources (such as Academic Research and Planning, Institutional Research and Planning, Continuing Education, Summer Conferences, Auxiliary Services, Food Service, Human Resources, and the like), and any non-St.Olaf faculty, staff, and organizations.
The Grant Proposal Checklist included here is intended be a useful tool in considering the full range of questions and perspectives that are typically included in a strong project (and in a strong proposal). This list includes consideration of a number of issues that occur frequently enough to warrant standard college policies, such as faculty salary supplements, fringe benefit rates, student research stipends, negotiated indirect cost rates for federal grants, sabbatical pay, etc. To the extent practical, the college strives to have consistent policies in these areas to make project planning more efficient and to ensure equitable opportunities for all.
Project Evaluation
The purpose of grant project evaluation is to document as clearly and specifically as possible the implementation and impact of your project. The evaluation section of your grant application describes how you will collect evidence concerning project activities and their outcomes. A strong evaluation plan is a core element of your project and should be considered throughout the development of your grant application. The website for the Office of Academic Research and Planning includes a section with information and resources to support effective grant project evaluation. In addition, the ARP Director can provide advice and assistance in identifying appropriate evaluation plans and devloping or choosing evaluation tools. If you are having ARP assist with data collection and analysis, you will need to include funding for ARP work in your budget; consult with the ARP Director in preparing the evaluation component of your budget request.
Proposal Clearance Policy
Proposals prepared in the name of, or on behalf of, the college, or requiring any resources, commitments, or involvement on the part of the college, may not be submitted without the completion of a Proposal Clearance Form.
The Proposal Clearance Process
Most proposals require some commitment of institutional resources or matching funds. For example, fellowship proposals generally require the college to make some contributions toward the salary and benefits of faculty members on leave, or to provide a replacement during the fellowship period. Research proposals typically require the use of college facilities and equipment during summer months. Conference proposals often include services provided by college staff. In each of these cases, the claims a proposed project makes on the college must be thoughtfully considered and balanced against the available resources.
St. Olaf has a formal process for obtaining institutional commitments to a proposed project: the Proposal Clearance Form. This simple form identifies the project, the project director, the budget, the expected sources of funding, and the institutional resources required. This form requires several signatures, each of which represents a particular set of concerns. Early in the planning process, after talking with the individuals likely to be involved in the project, including staff in the library, physical plant, and other service offices, if appropriate, the Project Director completes the form and initiates the following steps:
- The Project Director obtains his/her department chair's signature. The Chair indicates that the proposed project is appropriate for a member of the department, and that the department understands and accepts any obligations levied against it, including the staffing implications of the proposal.
- The Project Director then submits the Proposal Clearance Form to the Government and Foundation Relations Director, whose signature indicates support for the project, that the funding sources to be approached are reasonable prospects, that this request will not conflict with other anticipated college solicitations.
- The GFR office will obtain the remaining signatures.
- The completed Proposal Clearance Form, with all of the required signatures, authorizes the Project Director to submit the specified proposal, and ensures that the college resources required to complete the project have been acknowledged and will be made available when needed.
Please Note:
Applications for fellowships or other grants made directly to an individual, and which do not involve college financial contributions or other forms of institutional support, do not require the completion of a Proposal Clearance Form. Faculty members should be aware that, in many cases of fellowship funding, questions about schedule adjustments, leaves of absence, payment of fringe benefits, and related questions do arise and should be considered in advance, through the Proposal Clearance process.
The Budget
The budget is the road map to the heart of the project. It is vital that the project budget and the proposal narrative align. The GFR staff can help prepare this budget and can serve as a double-check to ensure the narrative and budget agree.
To aid in planning, you may use a a generic budget template. Please be aware that funders prefer different budget formats, and that many projects span college fiscal years, so this form will probably not be adequate for most proposals. What it will do is enable you to identify all of the expenses necessary to complete the project. Armed with accurate numbers, the GFR staff can help you break the numbers down into different fiscal years, or into the format preferred by the funding organization to which you are applying.
While it is obvious that the proposed budget should include all of the expenses necessary to complete the project, many of these expenses are not at all obvious in themselves. It is for this reason that Project Directors are encouraged to speak directly with all of the college departments involved in, or providing services to, the project, and to carefully review the draft budget with the GFR staff.
Indirect Costs
The project budget should reflect all of the direct expenses the project director anticipates incurring. These expenses include salaries, fringe benefits, travel, library resources (new books and journals, as well as inter-library loan fees), on-line charges, equipment rental or purchase, service contracts, telephone, postage, etc. There are also a wide range of "overhead" expenses, known as indirect costs that are incurred by all projects. These indirect costs are the services the college provides that cannot be allocated directly to an individual project, such as most facilities, electricity and heat, and services provided by college departments such as the Academic Computing Center, the Treasurer's office, or the GFR office.
To account for these indirect costs, the college periodically negotiates with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to establish a standard rate at which to "charge" grant-funded projects. The current rate is 48.3% of the salaries and wages of the project, which is added to the project budget. This rate applies to grants from many federal agencies.
Some federal agencies impose caps on indirect cost rates, and most private funders do not allow the recovery of indirect costs at all, except as an in-kind contribution to the total project budget (see below). It is the Project Director's responsibility to be sure that the project budget includes all of the necessary direct costs, and adds a provision for indirect costs if the funder allows it.
Cost-Sharing
Some funders expect the college, and other funders, to share in the expense of the project. This expectation may carry different names, such as "cost-sharing," "institutional contribution," "institutional matching funds," or "other funding sources." The effect is the same: funders generally do not want to be the sole contributor to a project, and they want to see how committed the institution is to the project. The college may make its contributions to a project in many forms, from a straight cash match, to foregone indirect costs, to in-kind contributions of staff time, services or equipment. The Proposal Clearance Form should specify any contributions required of the college, and should identify sources from which these contributions will be made.
Conclusion
When you have an idea for a project of any kind, please call the Government and Foundation Relations at x3009 or send us an email at gfr@stolaf.edu. We welcome your ideas and questions. We look forward to working with you.
Grant Proposal Checklist
It is always appropriate to call the Government and Foundation Relations staff to talk about an idea for a project, no matter how speculative. The GFR staff will help clarify the project, identify potential funding sources, and gather information about deadlines and application requirements.
