LSTA Grant Workshop Jennifer Peacock, Administrative Services Bureau Director David Collins, Grant Programs Director Mississippi Library Commission September 24, 2015

Redesign of Reporting Old Reporting:New Reporting:  Open-ended narrative fields.  Inadequate comparability across project fields.  One-way reporting process centered around compliance.  Structured, survey-like closed-ended fields.  Comparability across projects for assessing performance.  Two-way reporting process centered around access to project information. 2

New Reporting: Reasons and Benefits  Reasons  New federal guidelines  Better data drives better stories  Data transparency  Benefits  Bi-directional data now possible  Evidence-based data and stories  Facilitate collaboration, knowledge sharing, foster/support communities of practice 3

Goals  Build more dynamic/easy-to-use tool to capture better Grants to States data  Standardize reporting process to increase comparability of project reports  Highlight (and learn from) projects assessed  Share information to facilitate state library agency peer learning;  build a catalogue of library program information;  improve data for policy analysis and in-depth evaluation work

Competitive Applications Services/Resources and Libraries as Community Anchors Public Librarian Scholarship Program Non-Competitive Applications Consulting Assistance Focused Development Focused Technology Professional Development Previous MLC Grant Categories:

Competitive  Application process opens January 2, 2016  Application process closes April 15, 2016 Non-Competitive  Application process opens May 2, 2016  Application process closes March 31, 2017 or when the money runs out Now, there are only two categories:

Overview of the LSTA Grant Process 7

Project Intent Activity Mode Format Quantity Partner Beneficiaries Locale

Projects What is a project?  Set of specific, interdependent activities carried out to achieve an intended outcome  Contains allocable resources (e.g., dollars spent, people responsible for accomplishing tasks, venue or service location(s), time spent) 9

Intents Each Project is assigned one intent.  An intent is an objective or expected result in a project.  Intents are mapped to the six focal areas.  For example: 10 Focal AreaIntent(s) Institutional Capacity Improve the library workforce Improve the library’s physical and technological infrastructure Improve library operations Information Access Improve users’ ability to discover information Improve users’ ability to obtain and/or use information resources

Intents Continued Each Project is assigned one Intent 11 Focal AreaIntent(s) Lifelong Learning Improve users’ formal education Improve users’ general knowledge and skills Human Services Improve users’ ability to apply information that furthers their personal, family, or household finances Improve users’ ability to apply information that furthers their personal or family health & wellness Improve users’ ability to apply information that furthers their parenting and family skills

Intents Continued 12 Focal AreaIntent(s) Employment & Economic Development Improve users’ ability to use resources and apply information for employment support Improve users’ ability to use and apply business resources Civic engagement Improve users’ ability to participate in their community Improve users’ ability to participate in community conversations around topics of concern

Activities  Activities are actions through which the intent of a project is accomplished.  Activity Types: 13 Instruction Involves an interaction for knowledge or skill transfer. Content Involves the acquisition, development, or transfer of information. Planning/Evaluation Involves design, development, or assessment of operations, services, or resources. Procurement Involves purchasing facilities, equipment/supplies, hardware/software, or other materials (not content) that support general library infrastructure.

Modes by Activity Type

Format  Digital  Physical  Combined physical and digital

Quantity Your quantity options vary based on the mode and/or format.  Examples:  Total number of items circulated  Total number of ILL transactions  Number of items digitized  Number of evaluations and/or plans funded

Partner Types  You may or may not have one  Options  Federal Government  State Government  Local Government (excluding school districts)  School District  Non-Profit  Private Sector  Tribe/Native Hawaiian Organization

Beneficiaries  Who directly benefited from the project  Were you targeting a specific group or population?  Economic status  Ethnic Demographics  Families  Intergenerational groups  Immigrants/refugees  Those with limited literacy or informational skills  People with disabilities

Locale  Was it statewide?  If no, can you identify the specific institution?  If you can identify where, provide information about specific institutions  If no, provide institution types

Miscellaneous Information  Provide any additional materials from a website (Enter URL)  PowerPoints  Webpage  Documentation

Comments from last year’s reviewers: These comments will help guide you through the grant- writing process.  Lack of evidence of local need.  Learners’ needs not clear.  Statistics provided were not relevant to your project.  Too expensive for identifiable need.  Measures of evaluation do not relate to the change you wanted to create.  Must have a defined baseline for measuring. (Know where you’re starting from so that you can track the increase or change.)  No surveys to support your project’s intent. (Patron satisfaction survey, etc.)

Questions?  Contact:  David Collins, Grant Programs Director   Jennifer Peacock, Administrative Services Bureau Director 