Part 1: Before You Begin to Write - University of Northern ... · PDF filePart 1: Before You...

Part1:BeforeYouBegintoWriteA. Thestartingpoint:YourIdea

B. IdentifyingSponsors

C. Reviewers:Whoreadsyourproposal?

D. Gettingreadytowrite:BestPractices

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Part1:BeforeYouBegintoWriteA. Thestartingpoint:YourIdea

1. Definetheproblemorneedthatyouwanttoaddress.

2. Collectandcriticallyanalyzerelevantbackgroundinformation/needsassessment.

3. Generateapreliminaryideaoractivitythatispertinenttotheproblemorcriticalneedyouhaveidentified.

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Part1:BeforeYouBegintoWriteA. Thestartingpoint:YourIdea

4. Assessyouridea’spotentialforsuccessandmodifyit,ifnecessary.

a. criticallyassessyourownabilitytopursuetheidea

b. criticallyassessyourcompetition

c. criticallyassessyourfundingpotential

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Part1:BeforeYouBegintoWriteA. Thestartingpoint:YourIdea

5. Seekconstructivecriticismofyourideafromknowledgeablecolleagues.

6. Refinetheideaoractivitytomaximizeitspotentialforimpactonyourfield.

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Part1:BeforeYouBegintoWriteB. IdentifyingSponsors

1. Knowyourfield,followtheliterature

2. Databases,emailalerts,OSP

3. Hanoverprospecting

4. Foundationsandindustry

5. Knowyoursponsor’smission

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Part1:BeforeYouBegintoWriteC. Reviewers:Whoreadsyourproposal?

1. Whatisthereviewer’slevelofexpertise?

2. Whatisthereviewer’slevelofinterestinyouridea?

3. Whyisthereviewerreadingyourproposal?

4. Willthereviewerbefairandimpartialinassessingthemeritsofmyproposal?

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Part2:Overview/ExecutiveSummary

A. IntroductionParagraph

B. Whatisgoingtobedoneandbywhom?

C. SpecificAims/Goals/Objectives

D. PayoffParagraph

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Referredtobyvariousnames:NIH—SpecificAimsNSF—BeginningofProjectDescriptionUSDA—BeginningofIntroduction

Conten

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Part2:Overview/ExecutiveSummary

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…itishighlylikelythat,bythetimethereviewershavefinishedreadingthis~1-pagesectionofyourproposal,theywillhavemadeanexecutivedecisionaboutwhetherornotthisisaninterestingornovelidea,aswellaswhetherthisisaproposalthatwillbeenjoyableorpainfultoread.

A. IntroductionParagraph1. Openingsentence(s)

2. Importantknowns

3. TheGap

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Part2:Overview/ExecutiveSummary

Tip:LinkageofindividualcomponentswithintheOverview/ExecutiveSummarysectionandeliminationofextraneousdetailarekeytoleadingyourreviewerstoapositionofadvocacy.

1.Openingsentence(s)• Shouldbewritteninawaythatitwillimmediatelycatchtheattentionofthereviewers

• Providesufficientinformationsuchthatreviewerswillunderstandwhattheproposalisabout—keywords

• Conveywhythisproposalshouldbeofinteresttothefundingagency—agencymission,objectives

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1.Openingsentence(s)• Example(s)

• professionalsmustdealwithcolleagues,competitors,andcustomersfromothercultures

• cooperativeR&Dandmarketingdependsonallcollaboratorsbeingfamiliarwithculturalexpectationsandperspectives

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2.ImportantKnowns• Themostimportantinforeviewersneedtoknowinordertounderstandwhyyourprojectneedstobedone.

• Beginwitholderbutseminalobservations(‘theforest’)andcontinueuntilyoureachthecurrentstatusofthefield(‘thetree’)

• Shouldflowlogically,oneintothenext

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2.ImportantKnowns• Example(s)

• Englishhasbecometheprimarylanguageforinternationalcommunicationandcommerce

• globalcorporationsandinternationalorganizationshaverecognizedtheimportanceofmultiplelanguagesandcultures

• onelanguageoroneculturalperspectivenolongerprovidesstandardforstudentsaspiringtoleadershiprolesintheglobalcommunity

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3.TheGap• Whatessentialpiecesaremissing—theGap?

• TheGapisholdingbackyourfieldorcreatingaproblemorcriticalneed.

• TheGap,asyoudefineithere,shouldbeexactlywhatyouintendtoaddressinyourgrantproposal.

• TheGapshouldflowobviouslyfromthe“ImportantKnowns.”

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3.TheGap

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• Example(s)• thereisacriticalneedtodevelopinterdisciplinaryacademicprogramsthatinterfacebetweendepartments

• interdisciplinaryacademicprogramsshouldfocuson:

• multilingualculturalliteracy

• corecompetenciesforsuccessinspecificprofessionaldisciplines

• thereisacriticalneedtodesigninterdisciplinaryprogramstomakestudyingotherlanguagesandculturesbothattractiveandfeasible

B. Paragraph2:Whatisgoingtobedoneandbywhom?4. Yourlong-termgoal

5. Objectiveofthisproposal6. Hypothesis-drivenvs.statement-of-need

7. Statementofrationale

8. Whyyou?WhyUNC?

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Part2:Overview/ExecutiveSummary

4.Long-termGoals• Whatisyourlong-termprofessional(career)goal?

• Whatisthecontinuumofactivitiesthatyouintendtofollowoverthecourseofyourcareer?

• Whatisthenichethatyouhaveeithercarvedoutorwanttocarveoutinwhichyouareplanningtobecomeanexpert?

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4.Long-termGoals

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• Example(s)• tobetterprepareourstudentstofunctioneffectivelyinaglobalenvironment

• tocreatelastingcollaborativecurricularprogramsbetweentheDepartmentofForeignLanguagesandLiteratureandISU’sprofessionalcolleges

5.ObjectiveofThisProposal• Defineexactlywhatyourspecificobjectiveforthisproposalwillbe.

• Whatisthenext(orfirst)stepthatyouplantotakealongthecontinuumofyourlong-termcareergoal?

• Attainmentoftheobjectivemustfillthegapinknowledgeorsolvetheproblemorissuethatyouidentifiedinthefirstparagraph.

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5.ObjectiveofThisProposal(continued)

• Avoidplacingemphasisonthemethodology

• e.g.‘…tousemybicycletoridetothegrocerystoretopurchasealoafofbread.’

• actualobjectiveisthepurchaseofthebread

• Remembertokeepthelinkagebetweensectionstight:makeitclearthattheobjectiveisonestepalongthecontinuumofactivitiesprojectedbyyourlong-termgoals.

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• Example(s)• tostrengthenthenewLanguagesandCulturesforprofessions—Engineeringsecondarymajor

• toestablishsimilarprogramsincollaborationwiththeCollegesofBusinessandAgriculture

5.ObjectiveofThisProposal

Tip:Tobetterlinkyourlong-termgoal,objective,and(ifneeded)centralhypothesisistoavoidthetemptationofinterposingexplanatoryinfo—extraneousdetails—betweenthem.Thesecomponentsshouldbeascloselyjuxtaposedaspossiblesothereisaseamlessflowoflogicfromonetothenext.

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6.Hypothesis• Statementofneed-drivenproposalsneednotincludeanhypothesis.

• Hypothesesshouldbeobjectivelytestableandcannotprojectapredeterminedconclusion.

• Objectiveandhypothesisshouldbelinked:theobjectiveisobtainedbytestingthecentralhypothesis.

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7.StatementofRationale• Describesexactlywhyyouwanttocarryouttheactivitiesproposed.

• Whatwillbecomepossibleaftertheproposedstudiesarecompleted

• Linkagebetweenthegapandwhatwillbecomepossibleiscritical.

• Rationaleshouldbeappealingto(themissionof)thefundingagency.

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• Example(s)• criticalneed:multinationalcorporationsexpressinterestinrecruitingstudentswithinternationalcultureandlanguageexperiences

• significantincreasesininterestamongstudentsinpursuingsecondarymajorsinforeignlanguages

• demandsofmostprofessionalprogramshavemadethisdifficult

• amajorspecificallydesignedforprofessional-degreeprogramswillreachamuchlargergroupofstudents

7.StatementofRationale

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8.Whyyou?WhyUNC?• Introducekeyimportantfactsthatmakeyouuniquelyqualifiedtoaddresstheissueorsolvetheproblem.

• Youandyourteamhavethecompetitiveedgetodotheproject.

• Workingenvironmentandinstitutionarehighlyconduciveforsuccess.

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• Example(s)• stronginstitutionalsupportforthisproject• ISU’sstrategicplanto“encourageglobalization…”• taskforceinitiateddevelopmentoftheLanguagesandCulturesforProfessionalsprogramsin2002

• Dr.M.Rectanus,Directorofthetaskforce,developedprograms

• eachlanguagegrouphasrepresentationonthetaskforce

8.Whyyou?WhyUNC?

C. SpecificAims/Goals/Objectives

9. Specificactivitiestobeundertakentoachievetheobjectiveoftheproposal

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Part2:Overview/ExecutiveSummary

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9.SpecificAims/Goals/Objectives• Detailedstepsthatyouwilltakeduringthecourseoftheprojecttotestthehypothesisoraddressthecriticalneedandachievetheoverallobjective.

• Brief,informative,attention-gettingheadlines.

• Twotothreespecificaimsareideal.

• Shouldlogicallyflowfromfirsttosecond,secondtothird,etc.

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9.SpecificAims/Goals/Objectives(continued)

• Itisnotnecessary(orevenadvisable)toprovidealotofdetailintheSpecificAims.

• Suggestedformat:SpecificAim/Goal#1(Writteninboldfaceitalics):Amplifyingstatement(workinghypothesisorinformativedescriptorasappropriate).

SpecificAim/Goal#2(Writteninboldfaceitalics):Amplifyingstatement(workinghypothesisorinformativedescriptorasappropriate).

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• Example(s)• Objective#1:ImplementasecondarymajoroptioninLanguagesandCulturesforProfessionalProgramswithintheDepartmentofForeignLanguagesandLiterature.<<amplifyingstatement>>

• Objective#2:CreatestrongerbridgesbetweencoursesinForeignLanguagesandLiteraturethatalreadyhaveaprofessionalfocusandthosecoursesthathaveanareastudiesfocus.<<amplifyingstatement>>

9.SpecificAims/Goals/Objectives

D. PayoffParagraph

10.Innovation

11.Expectedoutcomes

12.Impact

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Part2:Overview/ExecutiveSummary

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10.Innovation• Whyistheproposedworkpotentiallynovel,innovative,orunique?

• Being“thefirst…”isnotalwaysanappropriateargument.

• Notalwaystrueand/ornecessary:meritoriousprojectsarenotnecessarilynovelorinnovative.

• Optional,dependingonyourproject.

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• Example(s)• theLanguagesandCulturesforProfessionalsmajorwillbeuniquewithintheIowaRegentsUniversitysystem

• nootheruniversitiesinIowaofferaspeciallydesignedmajoroptioninforeignlanguagesforprofessionals

• theproposedprojectwillintegrateanddiffuseelementsofprofessionalcommunicationswiththoseofgloballiteracy

10.Innovation

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11.ExpectedOutcomes• Whatisexpectedfromthesuccessfulcompletionoftheproject?

• Shouldcollectivelyvalidatethecentralhypothesisorcriticalneed.

• Shouldattaintheoriginallystatedobjective(s)oftheproposal(breakdownby#).

• Accompanyeachwithaprecise,substantivestatementofwhythatexpectedoutcomeisimportant.

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• Example(s)• asignificantincreaseinthenumberofstudentsinprofessionalprogramswhowilldeclareasecondarymajorinforeignlanguages

• thestudentsenrolledinthisnewmajorcanbeexpectedtoachieveahigherleveloflinguisticproficiencyandgloballiteracy

11.ExpectedOutcomes

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12.Impact• Generallyconveywhyyourexpectedoutcomeswillhaveapositiveimpactonceknowledgeisappliedorneedisfilled.

• Shouldrelatetobothyourfieldandthefundingagency’smission.

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• Example(s)• platformandforumforglobaleducationatISUthatisembeddedwithintheprofessional

• createnewopportunitiesforcollaborationsamongstudents,faculty,andcorporateleaders

12.Impact

ExpandingyourExecutiveSummaryoutline1. Considerhowalloftheelementsrelateto

eachother.Logicallyandwell?

2. Doesyourlong-termgoalencompasstheknowledgegap?

3. Refineandperfectyouroutline,thenexpandintosentences.

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NextSteps

NextSteps:TheFullProposalA. ExecutiveSummary/Overview

B. Background/NeedsAssessment

C. SignificanceParagraph

D. PreliminaryStudies/PreviousExperience

E. ProjectedApproach/PlanofWork

F. Budget&BudgetJustification

G. Supportingdocuments

H. AbstractandTitle39