CRC Workshop

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• CRC Workshop
• US Department of Education
• Dr. Stephanie Al Otaiba
• Florida Center for Reading Research
• And the FSU School of Teacher Education
• Spring 2009

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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.

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What is a Successful Proposal?

• None of the Above

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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 whats been done what
  was funded and what wasnt.
• 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.

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• Obtain necessary signatures.
• Fill in appropriate forms and follow agencys
  guidelines and procedures very carefully.
• 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.
• Dont give up after the first or second or third
  battle

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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.

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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

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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 provide 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

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Writing a Successful Proposal4. Survey the
Terrain

• Check for previously awarded grants
• Check their program to make sure 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.

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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. Dont 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.

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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.

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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

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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 shortcomingsand
• Seek collaborators or mentors when your expertise
  cannot be documented.

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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.

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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.

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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 agencys request.

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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)

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Federal Department of Education

• Offices (cont)
• Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools (OSDFS)
• Office of Innovation and Improvement (OII)
• Office of Indian Education (OIE) under OESE

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Federal Department of EducationEd.Gov- Institute
of Education Sciences

• Goals of IES discretionary grant programs
• Rigor of research
• Relevance of Research
• Utilization
• Four operational divisions
• - National Center for Education Research
• - National Center for Special Education Research
• - National Center for Education Evaluation and
• Regional Assistance- National Center for
  Education Statistics

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Application Process

• Posted on line at http//ies.ed.gov/funding
• Identifies the RFP and program to which you are
  applying
• The goal (1-5) under which this proposal will
  fall
• Grants are submitted at www.grants.gov
• www.grants.gov/applicants/get_registered.jsp

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IES Goalshttp//ies.ed.gov/funding/10rfas.asp

• Goals
• Goal 1 Identification/Exploration
• Goal 2 Development
• Goal 3 Efficacy and replication
• Goal 4 Scale-up evaluation
• Goal 5 Assessment measurement projects

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Goal One The Institute solicits projects to
explore the relations between education outcomes

• Exploration and malleable factors (i.e., factors
  that can be changed, such as child behaviors or
  education programs, practices, and policies), as
  well as mediators or moderators of those
  relations. Exploring the relations between
  malleable factors and education outcomes is
  translational research it is intended to inform
  the development of interventions programs,
  practices, or policies that can improve
  education outcomes. Exploratory research can be
  used to identify existing practices, programs, or
  policies that are associated with better
  education outcomes and that should be evaluated
  to determine if the identified practices are the
  actual cause of the better outcomes, as opposed
  to some other factor that has yet to be
  uncovered.

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Goal Two Development and Innovation

• Development programs, practices, products,
  policies or to improve existing education and
  Innovative interventions. To develop or improve
  education interventions requires an iterative
  process of designing, testing, revising, and
  testing to produce a product or system that
  functions in the way that the developer intends
  for it to function and that can be implemented in
  actual education delivery settings (e.g.,
  schools). This iterative process, sometimes
  called a systems-engineering approach, is
  important for producing interventions that have
  the potential to be potent and robust
  interventions.

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Goal 3 Efficacy and Replication

• Efficacy projects also provide estimate of how
  potent the intervention is for producing the
  desired outcome. By potent, the Institute refers
  to the strength of the impact of the
  intervention. For example, suppose a district
  has students who are two-years below grade-level
  expectations on reading assessments at the
  beginning of first grade and wants to have all
  students reading at grade-level by the end of
  fourth grade. The district might look for
  reading interventions that are potent enough to
  produce 1.5 years of growth per year in first-,
  second-, third-, and fourth-grades. An extra
  half-year of growth in each year could bring the
  students who are two-years behind in first grade
  up to grade-level expectations by the end of
  fourth grade.

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Goal 4 Scale up evaluations

• Scale-up evaluations determine whether or not an
  intervention is effective when it is implemented
  under conditions that would be typical if the
  district were to implement it on its own (i.e.,
  without special support from the developer or
  research team) across a variety of conditions
  (e.g., different student populations, different
  types of schools). Scale-up evaluations provide
  an estimate of how robust the intervention is.
  Will it work under a variety of conditions (e.g.,
  with novice teachers, with large or small
  classes, in well-organized and in poorly
  organized schools)?

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Goal 5 Measurement

• Finally, the Institute supports research to
  develop and validate measurement instruments that
  are intended for use by practitioners for
  purposes such as screening, progress monitoring,
  and outcome assessments.

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NCER FY2010 RFAsDue June 25 and Oct. 1, 2009

• Reading Writing
• Math Science
• Teacher quality
• Cognition/Stu Learning
• Teacher Quality
• Social Beh Context for Learning
• Ed leadership
• Ed Policy, Finance, Sys
• Early Childhood Prog Pol
• Middle High School Reform
• Intervention for Struggling Adol Adult Readers
  Writers
• Postsecondary
• Ed Technology

• Training Grant
• Postdoctoral Research Training
• Predoctoral Research Training
• National Research and Development Center
• Center on Teacher Effectiveness
• Center on Rural Education
• Center on Turning around Chronically low
  Achieving Schools
• Statistical and Research Methodology
• Evaluation of State and Local Education Programs
  and Policies

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NCSER FY2010 RFAsDue June 25 and Oct. 1, 2009

• Early Intervention and Early Childhood Special
  Education
• Reading, Writing, Language Development
• Math Science
• Social Beh Outcomes to Support Learning
• Cognition/Stu Learning in Special Education
• Teacher Quality
• Related services
• Systematic Interventions and Policies for Special
  Education
• Autism Spectrum Disorders
• Training Grant Postdoctoral Special Education
  Research Training

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Contents of IES Application

• Project Summary/Abstract (1, single-spaced page)
• Project Narrative (25, single-spaced pages)
• Bibliography and References Cited
• Biographical Sketches of Senior/Key Personnel
• Narrative Budget Justification
• Subaward Budget
• Appendix A (fig, tables letters resp. to
  reviews 15 p.)
• Appendix B (Optional Ex. interven/assessment10
  p.)
• Research on Human Subjects

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Summary/Abstract

• Title of project
• RFA topic and goal under which applying
• Brief description of the purpose
• Setting(s) in which research conducted
• Population sample characteristics
• Intervention or assessment, if applicable
• Control or comparison, if applicable
• Primary research method
• Measures of key outcomes, if applicable
• Data analytic strategy, if applicable

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Contents of the IES Application

• Project Narrative (limited to 25, single-spaced
  pages)
• Significance contribution to an educational
  problem or challenge
• Research questions and hypotheses
• Methods
• Participants
• Measures
• -- Intervention
• -- Study design analytic strategies
  including power analyses
• Personnel
• Resources

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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

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Change Model
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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

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Methodological Position

• IES supports a range of research questions, from
  descriptive questions to what works? and why?
• IES supports a range of methods and states that
  the methods employed must be appropriate to the
  question(s) being addressed.

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Research Investigators

• The strength of the research team is critical
• Is the PI a conceptual and methodological leader
  in this area?
• What skills do the co-investigators provide?
• Does the research team have a history of working
  together?
• Is the percent effort justified?

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Vitas
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Support from Educational Settings

• Does the research team have a track record of
  working in educational settings?
• Will administrators and teachers find the
  proposed project worthwhile and will they be
  motivated to participate?
• Is the methodology feasible in the proposed
  educational settings?

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Letters of support
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Peer Review

• IES has standing panels of peer reviewers
• Peer review criteria
• -- Significance
• -- Research plan
• -- Personnel
• -- Resources
• Put yourself in your peer reviewers shoes and
  write to convince them of the merits of your
  project!

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Use Critical Feedback to Strengthen
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And thats it!

• Questions?