Transcript Proposal Writing Workshop

Counting Down the
Top Ten List for
Proposal Writing
Royal Roads University
Office of Research
February 26, 2010
Top Ten List for Proposal Writing
 10. Opportunity and Fit
 9. Prep Work
 8. Presentation
 7. Goals & Objectives
 6. Context, Rationale & Literature Review
 5. Methodology
 4. Research Team / Training
 3. Budget / Budget Justification
 2. Knowledge Mobilization & Dissemination
 1. The “So What” Question
10. Opportunity & Fit
 Funder orientation and mission
 Program overview/objectives
 Program evaluation criteria
 Your record/experience/expertise
(publications, presentations, etc.)
9. Preparation
 Do the groundwork
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Discuss with potential research team
members and partners
Complete previous research/projects that have
a bearing on the proposed project
Talk to the funder
Find out who will be reviewing and making the
decision
 Give yourself lots of time – to think, write, re-
write
8. Presentation
 Follow formatting guidelines and follow the rules
 Readability – headings, paragraphing, sentence length, white
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space.
Carefully edit for fact, grammar, spelling, redundancy
Ensure clarity
Avoid “academese” and disciplinary jargon
Define terms and concepts
Use active sentence construction
Convey your ideas with confidence
Be concise AND explain
7. Goals
 A goal statement indicates what the proposal
seeks to achieve in a broader sense
 Consider impact at level of:
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individual, organization, community, national,
international level
environment, social, cultural, economic,
political
scholarly/intellectual
7. Objectives
 are specific and concrete – what you are
going to do in the timeframe of the research
 can be articulated in the form of questions
 lead directly to outcomes that support the
overall goal
 need to be consistent throughout the
proposal
 need to be doable/realistic in the parameters
of: funding level, research team, timeframes
6. Context
 4 elements:
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rationale – significance
context (a) literature review
context (b) situate how this fits within your own
expertise;
theoretical approach(es)/framework that you
are using and why they are relevant
6a. Context – Rationale
 Make the case for the need for this project
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Will it create new knowledge, advance knowledge in
some manner?
What identified problem will be addressed?
What is the scholarly, intellectual, social, economic,
cultural significance of the project - to Canada and
beyond?
What impact will it have?
Who will benefit?
Who will be interested in the results?
6b. Context – Literature Review
 Identify what’s been done in this field
 Identify the gap the research is addressing
 Not all gaps need to be addressed - state
why this one should be
 Make sure your lit review is thorough,
includes recent citations, peer-reviewed
journals
6c. Context – Theoretical
Framework
 Be explicit about the theoretical approaches
and/or framework you are using
 Present differences in approaches in a
positive and constructive manner
6d. Context – Your Research
 Situate the proposed project within your
overall record
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Is the project a logical progression from
previous work and research?
If not, why not?
 If appropriate, indicate where this project may
lead in terms of future projects
5. Methodology
 Thoroughly explain and justify your choice(s)
of methodology – for data collection and
analysis
 Demonstrate rationale for choice of
methodology in terms of achieving objectives
 Positioning applied research
 Timeline
5. Methodology – The Details
 W5: Who, What, Where, When, Why & How
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if using case studies, criteria/rationale for selection of cases?
if using surveys, interviews – nature of the questions? who
will be interviewed? how many interviews? need to consider
sample size? setting of interviews? ethical/confidentiality
issues noted? language/cultural barriers?
if using workshops – where? when in relation to research?
duration? goal of workshop(s)? who will attend? format of
workshop?
workplan: phases/timeframe(s)?
for research teams, who will do what?
evaluation component?
risks? potential pitfalls?
4. Research Team / Training
 Key component for many funders is training the next
generation of researchers
 Be specific about the actual roles and responsibilities
employees/ contractors will have - try to use creatively
 Detail benefits in terms of experience/learning provided
 Are the right people/organizations on board to do the work
and to facilitate the work?
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individual v. team
co-applicant v. collaborator
partners
3. Knowledge Mobilization –
Dissemination
 Identify the stakeholders of the results –
academic and non-academic (community,
policymakers)
 Identify how you are going to get the results
out to those stakeholders – presentations,
reports, journal articles, interviews on
radio/TV
 Ensure dissemination activities flow logically
from the progression of the project
2. Budget
 Follow funder guidelines
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minimum/maximum funding amount
overhead
direct costs of research
teaching release time
matching and in-kind
 Fully justify each budget item in terms of:
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need for expense to realize overall objectives
budget amount
Tips
 Need to grab the reviewers’ attention early and get
them excited, interested
 Address why this is important/ original/ significant/
relevant?
 Locate the project in your field/ expertiese – what gap
does it fill?
 Indicate the overall proposal goal(s), objectives, key
outcomes, innovations, benefits
 Methodology should be clear and logically laid out
 Is the language appropriate for a lay audience?
1. The “So What” Question
 Look at the Big Picture impact
 Be clear about:
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why you are proposing this research
why it is important
what problem/gap it addresses
what impact it will have
why should others care about it
how it is unique/different