Getting it Funded! Grant-Writing Tactics For Federal Funding

Getting it Funded! Grant-Writing Tactics For Federal Funding

Competitive Federal funding is perhaps as competitive as its ever been Funding cuts followed by the 2012 sequester have meant that even applications found to have merit are not necessarily funded Struck all areas of federal research; basic science, social science, demonstration and service projects, and evaluations Funding reductions have not been applied equally across topics and disciplines. Examples include: HIV/AIDS remains strong Biological interventions for addiction also remain strong Firearms deaths remains banned (but lightly funded) Federal funding is typically directed to interests of elected and appointed officials, who respond to constituents & activists

Step 1: KNOW YOUR ISSUE Thoroughly acquaint yourself with the state of your topic, both scientifically and 'politically' 'Political' means understanding this issues: Trends in your topic; what's hot and what's not, we may not like fads but fads get funded Is there significant support or opposition in Congress? How do they understand your topic? This can give you clues as to how to frame your application What are the perspectives of the leadership (political appointees) of your funding agency? Congress appropriates funds, but appointees approve funding guidelines and criteria

Knowing More Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs) is the usual means of communicating funding desires Some repeat (often every 4 months or yearly) Typically for on-going issues and may include R01, R03, and R21 FOAs. Funding levels drive how many ranked applications get funded Some are one-time that may address special topics, emerging issues, demonstration projects, etc. These include Cooperative Agreements and Contracts Read past (old) FOAs How much? How long? What theories or concepts? Find out who got funded, if available

Step 2: Know the Federal System The federal government is a vast, sprawling bureaucracy staffed by an equally vast cadre of mostly well-paid, educated, capable persons interested in their portfolios People who read applications are very likely to be GS11s and up or contracted experts People who administer grants are likewise GS11s 15s The funding agency will receive dozens, if not hundreds, of applications. They will first subject them to review by a low-ranking staffer who will vet them for compliance Were the technical requirements followed? In on-time? Meets page limits? Required sections? Etc. Fail to meet these basic requirements and you won't even make it to the substantive review process

Federal System, part 2 If you meet the technical requirements, then your application will be read by someone with substantive knowledge of your topic (fed or contractor) The first piece of the process is often to put applications into a top or bottom half group by perceived quality The bottom half of applications are summarily rejected The remaining (top) half are scored using the criteria listed in the FOA then ranked There's significant 'wiggle room' in this process Funding decisions are made based on rank AND a few other nonsubstantive criteria such as geographical location, applicant characteristics, etc. (these vary by FOA & agency) Final decision is by federal staffers unless FOA is very large and/or sensitive then it may be done by an appointee

Step 3: The Search Your search begins with Congressional funding watch (and forecasting) services UALR subscribes to such services and information can be found through Deans' offices, the library, and others These services watch legislation as it winds its way through Congress Knowing what's coming gives you time to gather resources and information you'll likely need Build community and/or scientific partnerships Get MOUs developed and signed Find team members Collect background research

Searches & Time When an FOA is posted, you may have 30 to 60 days to submit so time is your enemy Getting these forecasts gives you months of extra time to get the most time-consuming parts of an application done: Partnership negotiations Background literature collected, read, and analyzed Keep in mind that it's probably better to not submit an application than to submit a bad/weak/unpolished one so here's some extra time to prepare Especially if the FOA is on-going and you can submit in 4 months or next year

Search Services Search services to help you identify funding opportunities are all but necessary UALR uses Grants Resource Centers, among others But many federal agencies have tools as well http://www.grants.gov is the best place to start Common point of access for federal funding Search-able by keyword or agency Most federal departments consist of many agencies within them so learn how they fit together Agencies often have overlapping portfolios

Step 4: Writing the Grant Notify ORSP that you're planning to apply for a grant and provide them with the URL or FOA number Ask them to verify F&A (indirect) costs allowed You'll need to give them at least a week so that means your deadline is one week BEFORE the application deadline Immediately assemble your team Confirm participation and buy-outs Identify and confirm goals Assign writing and other application-related tasks

Reading the Application Read the application and make note of the aims/goals of the FOA. These must be addressed. Many have numerous aims or goals listed The more you address, the stronger your application You may address other aims/goals, but these will carry less weight in the evaluation process Mostly they should address items that clearly support 'good science' practices or are very obviously linked to the stated aims/goals of the project and the FOA Take note of the verbage, terminology, and references used in the FOA and duplicate as much as possible in your application

Parts and Parts of Parts Read the Description section carefully. Identify two items: What needs to be done? In the example, the key term used is build capacity Later (on p. 2), specific aims are identified Who needs to be involved? among child welfare agencies and early childhood systems So this means child welfare agencies (providers and DCFS) and early childhood (providers and DCCECE) Not specifically stated, but included, was the child welfarerelated court system Also need to identify geographical area(s) involved

More Parts So building capacity among child welfare and early childhood providers and state agencies For what purpose? Later on p. 2, the purpose is to improve well-being This is defined very clearly But well-being is a commonly used term in child welfare and should already be well understood by every applicant 'Safety, permanency, and well-being' is the unofficial tagline of child welfare agencies everywhere

Background not just a lit review It's tempting to skip the background You know your field, right? NO! You need to know what the project officers know What references did they use? How are problems framed? (e.g., what theory is being used to understand the problem(s)?) Notice the IMs (information memorandums) referenced. These are policy statements or recommendations to the field by the federal government Follow them to maximize funding More insights on project aims top of p. 6

Project Requirements Begins on p. 8, but aside from the duration (17 months), we already know this information Bullet points articulate the FOA's 'wish list' for projects Realistically, you probably cannot address all of them fully But whatever project activities you undertake, try to link at least one to each of these bullets Be explicit and abundantly clear in doing so Assume the reader is educated about the topic but make no assumptions about his/her ability to identify linkages leave nothing implied

Evaluation planning Most grants that are not research per se will require an evaluation plan Need not be complex or use advanced methods Does need to be sufficient to make a plausible claim of efficacy (or lack thereof) Pre-, post-test design Control v. intervention group Mixed methods Lead evaluator should not be the PI, if possible

Sustainability Note the reference to sustainability Need to show how the effects of the grant will persist beyond the end of the project period Even well-designed, high-impact projects that are not sustainable will not be funded Also true for foundation grants The rest of the bullet points here are jargon for what works? Hand in hand with sustainability is dissemination that is, but what means will you communicate this information with policy makers and practitioners?

Budgeting Total costs allowed are $250,000 One budget period of 17 months Indirect (or F & A or FNA) costs are included No cost sharing p. 24 lays out the budget categories Use these in preparing your budget Note that anything that costs less than $5,000 is a supply, even durable items like computers Otherwise supplies are grouped into general categories and not listed by line item

Budgeting 2 I like to begin grant-writing with the budget At least generate a set of expected costs to guide my project planning Use internet to briefly answer How much does this costs? Example: In ½ hour, I found out how much blank CD- ROMs and DVD-ROMs costs when bought in bulk (i.e., lots of 1,000 discs), including shipping AND that a duplicator would costs about $2,500. Having some basic numbers helps me establish the scope and breadth of the project

Grant-Writing Funding applications have several pieces. These are detailed in the sample application at the bottom of p. 16 This is why you need to read carefully this tidbit of information is easy to miss tucked away there In this case we have Background Aims & Objectives Description of Approach Description of Evaluation Logic Model Gantt Timeline Budget Organizational and Staff Profiles

Grant-Writing After the budget is estimated, I outline the approaches From these I build the logic model and time line Meanwhile, I'm getting CVs and organizational information via email and/or phone calls Meet with the team to show them what you have and get their input and buy-in Divide up the writing work as much as is possible Leave time to proof read it and for ORSP to do their work (minimum of one week) Note the page limits for the grant and each section. DO NOT GO OVER THEM FOR ANY REASON.

Most Important Tip/Guideline of All Attend to the details Follow each and every rule for preparing the application to the letter Connect the dots in your descriptions and narratives Be clear, specific, and concise do not assume or imply anything Use the terminology, verbiage, etc. used in the funding announcement

Questions, Comments, Concerns? E. Christopher Lloyd, PhD, LCSW School of Social Work, Ross Hall, 4 th Floor eclloyd@ualr.edu