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1. What funding agencies want your proposal to answer.
2. Preliminary work: why you need to do it before writing.
3. IRB Warning
4. Typical Pages and Sections of a Grant Proposal.
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Funding Agencieswill need your grant proposal to answer these questions.
How much money do you want?
Why should we give it to you?
What will you do with it?
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Grant WritingTIPS
The first and most important
thing to do is to read the
advice and instructions in the
Request for Proposals offered
by the funding agency.
The second most important
thing is to construct an
argument by making a case
for why you should receive
funding to do your research
or implement your project.
Next, do the preliminary work
necessary to show you do, in
fact, have good idea.
Your preliminary work will be part of the case you make. It is the evidence your idea is worth funding.
You won’t get funding unless you can make this case.
It is no good saying "give me the money and I will start thinking about how to test this hypothesis, answer this question, solve this problem, or meet this need.“
You need an idea.
It needs to be an idea that worth funding.
It needs to be an idea that you can do.
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Preliminary Research is Necessary.
Conduct Preliminary Research
The most common reason
students earn low grades on
this project is not conducting
preliminary research or not
doing enough of it.
Use the preliminary research
handout to identify what
type of preliminary research
you need to conduct based
on your grant idea.
Getting a grant idea is just a start.
Conducting preliminary research
will help you determine how
feasible it is for you to propose
and will help you refine and focus
your idea.
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Types of Preliminary Work
Not all of this work will be needed.
It depends on the focus of your research or project.
If your idea changes as you do the preliminary work, that’s fine.
• situate your idea.
If you are proposing to
conduct research to
advance your own
knowledge and abilities, you
won’t be situating your idea
within the context of others.
But, you will need to explain
why funding your research
project will be of benefit to
you. And the benefit must
be in terms of how the work
will prepare you for future
work in your field of study.
If you are proposing to
conduct field, bench, or
investigative research, you
need to situate your work
within the context of others.
Be realistic. You can situate
your work within the context
of other undergraduate
work.
If you are proposing a
creative or other hands-on
project, identify similar
projects. Finding a similar
model will help you address
any questions about
feasibility the funding
agency might have.
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Types of Preliminary Work
Not all of this work will be needed.
It depends on the focus of your research or project.
If your idea changes as you do the preliminary work, that’s fine.
• identify subject matter experts
and/or stakeholders.
Take notes to help you
synthesize responses in
ways that will help you
situate your proposed work.
This work involves critically
thinking about those who
have an economic, political,
social, cultural, or other
interest in the research or
project focus of your
proposal.
Set up one or more
interviews and prepare for
these by writing down the
questions you want to ask.
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Types of Preliminary Work
Not all of this work will be needed.
It depends on the focus of your research or project.
If your idea changes as you do the preliminary work, that’s fine.
• Find a framework.
What principles or theories
can you apply as a
framework to support
qualitative and/or
quantitative methods you
intend to propose such as
tests, experiences, field
studies, surveys etc.?
• Identify facilities.
Will you need access to a
lab and equipment to
conduct a test or
experiment? Find out who
has the authority to grant
permission for use of these
facilities.
Determine any costs you
will need to budget for in
order to use the facilities.
If you will be granted free
access, it still is necessary
to identify who is
contributing this access to
your project.
• Determine costs of
materials.
What materials will you need
to do the research or project?
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Types of Preliminary Work
Not all of this work will be needed.
It depends on the focus of your research or project.
If your idea changes as you do the preliminary work, that’s fine.
• Identify a partnership
need and determine
feasibility of the
partnership..
What principles or theories
can you apply as a
framework to support
qualitative and/or
quantitative methods you
intend to propose such as
tests, experiences, field
studies, surveys etc.?
• Identify facilities.
Will you need access to a
lab and equipment to
conduct a test or
experiment? Find out who
has the authority to grant
permission for use of these
facilities.
Determine any costs you
will need to budget for in
order to use the facilities.
If you will be granted free
access, it still is necessary
to identify who is
contributing this access to
your project.
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If you are proposing to use humans or animals in your research:
WARNING
By law, you must obtain
approval from an
Institutional Review Board.
The IRB is responsible to formulate
and implement procedures to assure
compliance with federal, state and
institutional regulations for the
safeguarding of the welfare and well-
being (physical, mental, social, legal,
etc.) of human and animal subjects
involved in research projects.
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For this project, you will not need approval from an IRB.