Basic components of a proposal
Usually, the foundation will indicate what questions it wants answered, and that should be your first point of reference. If there are no precise requirements, the following is a good guide to structuring your proposal.
- Abstract/Summary
- Try to keep to one page
- Use highlights or a topic sentence from each section of the proposal
- What will be done, by whom, for what purpose, for how long, at what cost, what are the outcomes, and who will benefit?
- Statement of Need
- What is the issue you are addressing?
- Why does this matter?
- Why is what you propose necessary?
- Who benefits? Make sure you can indicate the public good achieved.
- Why hasn't this issue been addressed sufficiently in the past? Who else is working in this field, what have they done, and why wasn't that enough? Demonstrate your knowledge of the field.
- Assure that there is no duplication of other work. Replication of someone else's work in a new environment is legitimate.
- Project Activity and Outcomes
- Why did you chose to address the issue in the manner that you have? Are there other approaches? If so, why aren't they appropriate to the situation you are seeking to ameliorate?
- What will be the specific outcomes achieved?
- What are the specific activities involved? Who will do them? How?
- Present a timeline of activities.
- Why is your organization the best one to do what you propose to do?
- Evaluation
- The Office of Assessment and the Center for Teaching help programs (existing or proposed) develop evaluative tools.
- Dissemination
- Dissemination should be linked to your project goals and objectives. For example, if you are trying to affect policy, your dissemination plan should target policy-makers, media, and affected populations.
- Be creative. Sending an article to a professional journal is only one of many options. Consider op-ed pieces to newspapers or articles to more popular periodicals, conference presentations, community outreach activities, a web site, convening work groups of your peers, presentations to policy-makers, reports, briefing papers, press releases, videos, an interview on your local radio station; asking the foundation to provide an opportunity to meet with grantees doing similar work, newspaper coverage, presentations to community groups such as the chamber of commerce, listing yourself on speakers bureaus.
- Budget and Continuation Funding
- Show your budget in table form and use a budget narrative to explain each item.
- Include other sources of funding, both cash and in-kind. Do not overlook the value of all in-kind contributions, including those of your collaborators.
- Indicate how the project will be funded after the grant has run out.
- The Office of Grants and Contract Administration makes available all university policies covering all legal, fiscal, human resources and intellectual property issues. They can also work with you one to one to assess your project.