1. Four Components of Situation
1. Story/S1 (the current situation)
2. Questions (key issues)
3. Needs
4. Closing/S2

2. Situation--Story/S1 Causes Problem/Opportunity Effects
the history, the external and internal factors that gave rise to the problem or opportunity?
Problem/Opportunity
Effects
the actual effects of not solving the problem
the potential effects of not realizing the opportunity
Attempted Solutions
what has been done/attempted

3. Situation--Questions
What key questions must be answered to solve the problem or realize the opportunity?
encourage client’s interest
invite client’s participation
allow you to address client’s issue without having to take a position
force you to think hard about project issues, assumptions, and hypotheses

4. Situation--Need What is needed to answer these questions?
hot buttons (needs and desires of your client that impact the project)
evaluation criteria
counter to the competition

5. Situation--Closing/S2
Backward transition from needs component
Forward transition to METHODS
Project objective(s)
Briefly stated benefits, if not immediately apparent in the objectives

6. For Your Grant Proposal
Does the RFP include a section that’s identical or similar to “situation/problem/ need/justification for the project”?
If yes, great.
If no, decide where in your proposal you should weave some kind of a justification for the project.

7. Your Situation Section
An overview of the situation/problem/need
Causes—history, internal and external factors
A detailed definition and description of the problem
Effects
Actual effects of the problem
Potential effects of not solving the problem
A forward transition to the objectives (or whatever section comes next in your proposal

8. Your Objectives Your problem description is your S1.
Your objectives will be your S2.
Your S2 should match your S1.
Objectives could be a separate section or could be part of your situation section.
Your objectives section is also a transition between your situation section and your project plan/method section.

9. Evaluating Your Objectives
CLEAR? (well stated? not buried?)
ACHIEVABLE? (not too ambitious?)
SPECIFIC? (not vague?)
SIGNIFICANT? (not trivial?)
COMPREHENSIVE? (covers all aspects?)
NON-REDUNDANT? (not overlapping?)
JUSTIFIED? (rationale for the objectives?)