Writing A Grant—From Start To Finish

Writing A Grant—From Start To Finish
Workshop 4: Three (Not So) Little Words: Collaborate, Document, Evaluate Educational Resource Development LCC Foundation April 18, 2017

Three (Not So) Little Words
Last week we discussed: Moving from case statement to grant proposal Steps to prepare a competitive grant proposal Project partners and work teams Planning tools (SWOT evaluation and logic models) Narrative, evaluation, budget and visuals Three (Not So) Little Words

This week we’ll discuss: Establishing collaborations and partnerships Holding effective meetings Documenting your grant proposal work Evaluating your grant preparation process Three (Not So) Little Words

Three (Not So) Little Worlds
Personal reflection What were you able to work on last week (research, writing, discussion, etc.)? What did you learn? If you were to continue working on this idea, what next steps would you take? Three (Not So) Little Worlds

Once you’ve documented the project’s: Need Fit with LCC mission, strategic plan, and Operation 100% Organizational Capacity Available Matching Funds or In-Kind Support Approval to Proceed And have prepared a Case Statement or similar document It’s time to prepare the grant proposal Three (Not So) Little Words

Establish the collaborator’s role Identify potential collaborators Invite them to participate Be prepared to discuss the project idea and why you want them involved Agree on their project role and responsibilities Does the grant require partners or predefine their roles? Provide a project role template Include them in planning meetings Three (Not So) Little Words

Establish the collaborator’s budget requirements Will they participate in-kind? Will they receive payment? If they will be paid, does the grant define a required payment amount or limit? Three (Not So) Little Words

If you’re asked to collaborate Thoroughly understand the project Is LCC a good fit? How will the college benefit? What is the time commitment? Follow LCC’s approval process Clearly define your project responsibilities and budget requirements Three (Not So) Little Words

Potentials and pitfalls of partnering Partnerships can be a powerful way to reach a broad constituency and maximize limited resources Intended goals are not always achieved Insufficient resources Tangential to mission Logistical difficulties Contention between partners Stanford University Review Three (Not So) Little Words

Make sure collaborators understand what they are signing up for Three (Not So) Little Words

Plan effective meetings When planning, consider both process and content Develop an agenda for group review ahead of time Consider key items and desired outcomes, and schedule accordingly Distribute reading materials ahead of time To begin, focus people’s attention with introductions or opener activity If possible, include time for feedback at the end If the meeting is longer than 90 minutes, include a brief break Distribute meeting notes within a day Three (Not So) Little Words

Establish the meeting’s purpose Do you want a decision? Do you want to generate ideas? Are you getting status reports? Are you communicating something? Are you making plans? Many meetings have more than one purpose. Three (Not So) Little Words

Establish the meeting’s outcome Determine what you want the meeting to achieve: At the close of the meeting, I want the group to ... With the outcome clearly defined, you can Plan the meeting’s contents and agenda Determine who should attend Adapted from: Three (Not So) Little Words

Down and dirty grant prep When pressed for time to complete an application, the LCC Foundation uses a three-step process where the content and focus of each meeting are predetermined: Meeting 1. Decide to proceed and assign parts Meeting 2. Review what is done and include budget people, discuss remaining tasks Meeting 3. Review budget, review entire final application, assign submission responsibility Three (Not So) Little Words

What facilitators are up against! Attention Span Statistics The average attention span in 2015 8.25 seconds The average attention span in 2000 12 seconds The average attention span of a gold fish 9 seconds Average number of times per hour an office worker checks their inbox 30 Three (Not So) Little Words

Create a positive environment Use a relaxed and inclusive facilitation style Treat people respectfully and ask others to do the same Don’t let a few people dominate the discussion Invite people who are not participating to share their thoughts If there’s low participation by everyone, divide into small groups to discuss a specific topic or question, then share with the whole group Keep discussion focused on each agenda item Start and end the meeting on time Three (Not So) Little Words

Pay attention to when the discussion is moving forward… …and when it is getting off track Some diversion from the agenda can be useful if new, relevant ideas are discussed—but don’t let it take over the conversation If discussion is wandering, refocus the group on the topic at hand Three (Not So) Little Words

Online resources GrantSpace – Contains a wealth of information on preparing grant applications, including information on collaboration Community Tool Box, Kansas State University – Includes practical, step-by-step guidance and resources for community-building skills Three (Not So) Little Words

Keep a paper trail Send s to all planning partners cc: as appropriate Keep notes about phone or in- person conversations (name, date, topic, main points) Send a follow-up summarizing main points Take meeting notes Distribute for comment Finalize If needed, write brief summary reports that document specific parts of the process. Three (Not So) Little Words

Track proposal drafts For each draft, include draft number, writer’s initials, and date In the electronic file name On the document itself Examples: First In The World Draft 1 (jd ) FITW Abstract Final (cg ) Keep all drafts Share all drafts with ERD (federal and state) or the LCC Foundation (foundation and corporate) Three (Not So) Little Words

The post application debrief meeting Process. Review the plan to set up and run the work group Did we properly assess group needs beforehand? Did we correctly identify the project’s key players? Did we have or get the resources we needed? Did we establish a clear and realistic timeline? Implementation. Review the actual work of the group Did we do what we intended? Did we have an effective team leader and outside consultants? Did we adequately address unexpected needs? Did we meet the timeline? Did we record what we did accurately? Outcomes. Review the work group’s results Did we prepare a complete and high quality grant application? Did we generate ideas we can use whether or not we get the grant? Did we work well together? -If so, what went well? -If not, how can we improve next time? Three (Not So) Little Words

Closing the circle Take debrief meeting notes and distribute to all Is any follow-up needed? If so, who will do it? Keep notes to yourself for future work— What did you learn? Steps to improve your grant process and/or group leadership skills Three (Not So) Little Words

Contact ERD and the LCC Foundation: ERD Jeanne Donado, Grant Development Coordinator ext. 1307 Vivian Keeney, Grant System Coordinator ext. 1581 LCC Foundation Dan McKean, Executive Director, ext. 1987 Peggy Hellwig, Scholarship and Operations Coordinator, ext. 1989 Three (Not So) Little Words

Writing A Grant—From Start To Finish

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