Mastering Grantsmanship Online

Course Description

Grantsmanship requires the successful mastery of various techniques, processes, and procedures. The purpose of this course is to assure teachers and school administrators not only know the techniques, processes, and procedures, but have the knowledge and skill to gain an edge in the competition for grant funds.

Education is a dynamic enterprise. New ideas, solutions to new and old problems continually emerge, and very often, unexpected problems and needs occur without warning. Too often the resources to address new concerns, issues, and problems are not available. When this happens, advice, most likely unsolicited, is “Why don’t you get a grant?” Unintended, but certainly implied, is all you have to do is complete an application and wait for the money. It is possible of course, but not likely. There is intense competition for grant money. This course will provide an edge in the competition for “limited” funds available from potential grantors. This course is designed for those who have little or no experience in grantsmanship. However, anyone working as a grantsperson in the field of education will discover many useful ideas presented during the course.

Objectives

• Initiate the development of a problem, issue, concern or need about which you want to write a proposal to acquire funds.
• Review the parts that are most often required in a proposal.
• Identify and practice using three tools to get an edge in grant writing.
• Compose the problem statement for your proposal.
• Effectively critique a problem statement.
• Create a final version of your problem statement.
• Identify the parts of an outcome objective.
• Compose objectives for your problem statement.
• Compose a design and description of your solution approach.
• Update/revise your GANTT Chart.
• Review the parts of a comprehensive evaluation design.
• Describe an evaluation design for your solution approach.
• Examine schedule and variance forms and their use in a proposal.
• Use graphics to show the results of your summative evaluation.
• Make connections between your objectives and the achieved results of your solution approach.
• Prepare a budget for your proposal
• Develop a strategy to use “scoring sheets” to obtain an advantage.
• Compose a cover letter.
• Edit your proposal.
• Compose an Introduction and Abstract.

Curriculum Design & Time Requirements

This course is primarily a one-on-one tutorial. Participants working with the instructor will prepare each part of a grant proposal and assimilate into their proposal seven ideas to gain an edge in grant competition. Participants will complete a formal grant proposal and identify the most likely funding source. This is a sixty-hour, three credit online graduate level course completed over a thirteen-week period.

Hardware & Computer Skill Requirements

Students may use either a Macintosh computer or a PC with Windows 2000 or higher. Students should possess basic word processing skills and have internet access with an active e-mail account. Students also are expected to have a basic knowledge of how to use a Web browser, such as Microsoft Internet Explorer, Safari, Mozilla Firefox etc.

Course Materials

The required text for this course is Getting an Edge in Grantsmanship: Seven Ideas that Work by R. Hayman Kite, Ed.D. The textbook and course materials will be provided for all students. A variety of readings will be referenced throughout the course. Other supplemental readings will be provided.

Session Outline

Session 1: Identifying and Naming the Problem
Contents:

1. Personal Introduction
2. Define "problem"
3. Review and define the parts of most grant applications:
• Abstract
• Introduction
• Problem statement
• Objectives
• Plan-of action/method/program/proposal
• Evaluation
• Future
• Necessary funding
• Budget
• Cover letter

Session 2: Program Planning Tools
Contents:

1. Continuity matrix
2. GNATT chart
3. Modified flowchart
4. Compose a "problem statement"

Session 3: Critique of a Problem Statement
Contents:

1. To develop criteria for assessing the problem statement
2. Use the criteria to critique a problem statement
3. Edit problem statement

Session 4: Objectives Make a Difference
Contents:

1. Define "criteria," "verb," and "conditions" in a proposal objective
2. Compose objectives that reflect the problem statement in numerical terms
3. Maintain proposal continuity - connect problem statement with objectives
4. Review logical structure
5. Separate means from ends

Session 5: Solution Approach
Contents:

1. Define "solution approach," "method," "program," and "proposal"
2. Use data and information compiled on "program planning tools" to compose a solution approach to the problem statement
3. Revise the GNATT chart
4. Use a syllogism format to compose the narrative description of the solution approach
5. Describe a reasonable scope of task, events, and activities

Session 6: Evaluation
Contents:

1. Planning evaluation
2. Formative...implementation...progress evaluation
3. Avoid assessing a "non-event"
4. Summative evaluation
5. Comprehensive evaluation design
6. Complete: Schedule Control Chart and Variance Chart

Session 7: Gathering (Collecting) and Presenting Summative Evaluation Results
Contents:

1. Organizing evaluation design information and data
2. Sources of data and information
3. Issues of clearance
4. Gathering/collecting information and data
5. Using graphics to display information and data
6. Connect proposal objectives with summative evaluation results

Session 8: Budget
Contents:

1. Develop estimate of cost
2. Budget format
3. Budget summary
4. Budget detail
5. Fringe benefits
6. Personnel
7. Budget checklist

Session 9: Grant Criteria, Cover Letter, and Funding Sources
Contents:

1. Score sheet - neglected scoring items
2. Quality of key personnel
3. Simulate grant scoring
4. Compose and assess cover letter(s)
5. Identify potential funding source(s)

Session 10: Introduction and Abstract
Contents:

1. Write an introduction for a proposal
2. Write an abstract for a proposal
3. Submit a completed proposal (The completed proposal will be assessed by the instructor and returned with corrective feedback.)
4. A second submission will be evaluated to determine student grade

Grading

		Assignment	Points			Grading Scale
		Group & Online Participation	10			100 – 93	A
		Reading Assignments & Reflections	55			92 – 85	B
		Completed Proposal	35			84 – 77	C
		Total Points	100

Student Requirements

	1.	Forum activities - each participant will post in the course forum their problem statement, solution strategy, and funding source. Each class participant will respond to each posting using course criteria.
	2.	Reading Assignments: Students will complete all assigned reading in the textbook, Web sites, and research articles or best practices and answer questions in the appropriate Forum thread.
	3.	Final requirement - each participant will send to the instructor a completed proposal that will be assessed and returned.

Student Academic Integrity

Participants guarantee that all academic class work is original. Any academic dishonesty or plagiarism (to take ideas, writings, etc. from another and offer them as one's own), is a violation of student academic behavior standards as outlined by our partnering colleges and universities and is subject to academic disciplinary action.

Register

To register to take TEI's Mastering Grantsmanship Online course, go to the Course Registration page.