A critical aspect of proposal development is the planning and preparation which must be undertaken prior to the actual writing of the proposal. The following is a worksheet of activities to complete in the preparation of a proposal. Step one. Decide on what you want to do. Consider your expertise, your interests, your experience, and the resources available to you. The decision to write a proposal should also be based on knowledge about the competition and the funding agency where the proposal will be submitted. This information can be obtained from sources like the U.S. Department of Education's Grants & Contracts page, the Federal Register, the federal agency itself (i.e., OSEP), foundations, state education agencies, requests for proposals (RFPs) or grant announcements, and/or requests for applications (RFAs). After reading the informational material thoroughly, the prospective grant writer should consider how their interests, experience, and the resources available to them can facilitate preparation and operation of the project. One must also consider the resources of the sponsor institution and all other institutions if collaboration with other institutions is anticipated (e.g., library facilities, laboratory space, computer technology, expertise of faculty, etc.). Step two. Conceptualize your project. Develop a concept paper which summarizes the entire project. To conceptualize your project complete the following sentences. The title of my project is: _________________________________________ The problem this project will address is: _____________________________ The goal of this project is: ________________________________________ The objectives this project will achieve to accomplish that goal are: ________ _____________________________________________________________ The anticipated outcomes resulting from this intervention are: ____________ ____________________________________________________________ The procedures for determining whether the project goals and objectives have been accomplished are: __________________________________________ The population served is: ________________________________________ The theoretical model upon (or conceptual framework within) which the project is based is: _____________________________________________ Step three. Gather several key references which discuss the theoretical model which will provide the framework for your project. Each project must be embedded within a theoretical model or conceptual framework which has been reported in the professional literature. You should be prepared with a few key references which discuss the model toward which you will direct the project. These references will provide the centerpiece for the literature review which you will need to prepare for the full proposal (See Literature Searches on the CMSE Online web page.) References 1)____________________________________________________________ 2)____________________________________________________________ 3)____________________________________________________________ Step four. Develop a budget for your project which will include: Personnel Costs; Fringe benefit rate; Consultant costs; Travel - Staff, & Consultants; Equipment and Materials costs; Supplies, etc.; Institutional indirect cost rate, etc. Step five. Determine what procedures must be traversed within your institution to get approval for submission of your proposal. @ the department level, @ the dean's level, and, @ the administration level. You should also determine how many days will be required to complete this process. Step six. Determine the time necessary to get a proposal through the university review process (i.e., the office of sponsored research). Many institutions of higher education have established an office of sponsored research. This is a central administrative office which is responsible for assisting faculty obtain administrative approval and the necessary signatures to move the proposal through the administration, as mentioned in step five. How many days will be required to complete the process?________ How many signatures are necessary to complete the review process on campus?___ Step seven. Obtain an institutional boiler plate information package. Boiler plate information is the routine informational material which describes the institution, its history, mission, organizational structure, student body, faculty, degree programs, course offerings, summary of accomplishments, resources, etc. In your proposal you should place particular emphasis on those resources and faculty which will be available to the proposed project. There should be a section describing or listing the institution or the department's history of getting and managing grants. Also included in the boiler plate are the signed compliance forms required by the federal government. All of this boiler plate material should be on file in or available through your institution's office of sponsored research or can be found in previous grants submitted by your department (other grant applications contain such boiler plate material). Please refer to CMSE's Research Proposal Development Guide or the Model Demonstration Proposal Development Guide for further direction. Research Guide Model Demo Guide CMSE Online