Writing for Publication: Transitions and Tools that Support Scholars’ Success - Mary Renck Jalongo, Olivia N. Saracho 2016

Writing Tasks Associated with Grants
From a Single Work to Multiple Scholarly Spin-Offs
Writing as Professional Development

Our purpose here is not to duplicate some of the books on writing grant proposals that have survived to multiple editions (e.g., Gitlin & Lyons, 2014; Locke, Spirduso, & Silverman, 2013). Our goal is to look at grants from a writing perspective. The writing tasks can be categorized as three phases:

· Pre-proposal: This is all of the work that goes into applying for the grant. Some typical writing tasks at this phase include the title, an abstract, preparing a letter of intent, filling out an application form, and abbreviated methods of envisioning the project (i.e., creating tables and flow charts of the process or a timeline).

· Proposal stage: This is when the grant proposal is fleshed out. The online tools that follow will guide you through that process.

· Post award stage: After the contract is issued, multiple types of data will need to be gathered and compiled to chart progress toward achieving goals, make adjustments to the original plan as needed, and document that results were achieved.

· Grant completion stage: Recipients of grants will need to write an evaluation report. If there is an opportunity to reapply for another year, a new proposal may need to be prepared. Dissemination of the project through presentations and publications often is the most persuasive evidence of effectiveness.

Online Tool

Review University of Michigan professor Levine’s (2015) suggestions on writing each part of the grant proposal and examples of each one (title, background, problem statement, goals and objectives, project detail [clientele, methods, staff/administration], available resources, needed resources [personnel, facilities, equipment/supplies/communication, budget], evaluation plan, and appendix). http://www.learnerassociates.net/proposal/

When it comes to working with grants, it is important to be realistic about what you can accomplish and the demands associated with successfully completing the work. A colleague who collaborated with several other universities to secure a federal grant was fond of saying: “The good news is, we got the grant; the bad news is, we got the grant.” As his statement suggests, applicants for grant funds need to be aware that the work has barely begun until after the contract is awarded. Grant projects represent huge investments of time and energy.