Chapter 12, The Final Touches

• Importance of revising


• Write front matter


• Write back matter


• Revision process to finish and polish

Seeing the proposal as a whole - does it achieve the purpose and address the needs of the reader?

Front matter -

• letter of transmittal - introduce the readers to the proposal, steers the proposal to the right people (intro, body, conclusion)


• cover page - identify the subject and set the tone - Title, client's name, name & logo of submitting organization, date submitted


• executive summary - synopsis that can be read in minutes - includes current situation, plan, qualifications, costs - follow structure of the proposal


• table of contents - needed in any document of more than 10 pages - mental framework - most efficient way to read text

Back matter - appendices - labeled with # or letter for reference in body of proposal - opening paragraph should introduce the contents (importance of the material and how it reinforces the argument

• Itemized budget and narrative
• resume key personnel - employment history, education, publications, special training or skills, awards, memberships in professional organizations
• analytical reports
• news or magazine articles - if discussed in the proposal, small paragraph that discusses the background of the document
• prior proposals - if discussed in the proposal, small paragraph that discusses the background of the document
• formulas and calculations - properly labeled to explain how it is used
• glossary - name of the item, class to which it belongs, features that distinguish it
• bibliography - list of printed sources, interviews, and other outside materials that were cited or consulted (APA scientific & technical, MLA nontechnical)
• personal or corporate references

Revising the proposal - rework sections so that they tell a consistent story

• Is the subject still the same?
• Does it achieve the stated purpose?
• Does it address the motives, values, attitudes, and emotions of the primary readers? gatekeepers? tertiary?
• Is it appropriate for the physical, economic, political, an ethical situations where it might be used?

Rethinking the problem or opportunity

• look at beginning notes - did you address the issue?
• reconsider - what changed? elements?
• is this the correct type of proposal? research, planning, implementation, estimate or combination?
• give clients what they asked for an NO more

Rethinking the rhetorical elements

• content - complete? missing info?
• organization - logical order? funder specific format?
• style - appropriate tone or persona?
• design - balanced with appropriate, consistent page design?

It should be a story which is

• complete,
• organized,
• easy to read,
• well designed

Progress Report 6-12-2008

Date: June 12, 2008



To: Professor Holmevik



From: Virginia D. Baird



Introduction



This proposal will develop a course to teach technical and rhetorical skills needed to write research proposals to graduate Ph.D. students and faculty in the field of Landscape Architecture in the focus area of health and design.

Work Completed

I wrote the first draft of my proposal and got feedback from Professor Holmevik. In response I have reduced my "not need to know" information thereby reducing my overall length. My literature review was just a bibliography at this point and I have flushed it out. What I had in the bibliography was moved to the proper place. I still have a section on NIH currently funded grants in the bibliography and I'm not certain how this material should be used. I'm leaving out the "this is how you take current work with Cities and Counties and turn it into research" and I feel that this piece is integral to my argument. I had six points and that needed to be reduced to to five and I have now consolidated two of my points and filled in information that was just outline last week.

We addressed the budget section but it was not pertinent to my proposal since I am doing this as a thesis/project and will be putting considerable time into it but will probably not need materials to complete it. I hope to contact other universities offering similar courses but there should not be a cost. The Medical School of South Carolina is working on an online master's in research administration and there is currently a degree offered at Johns Hopkins for medical doctors.

We have covered writing in plain sentences and plain paragraphs and when this is appropriate. The main item I took from this conversation was to write to your audience using language they expect to hear. I will be writing to university professors but my proposal is not intended for a particular discipline and while this is a highly educated audience the language will be geared to research in general. I still need to go over my language and weave emotion words into the text at strategic moments. I have adjusted some sentence length to longer sentences to slow the pace while using short sentences to intensify the urgency at some points.

Using a set design I have balanced my pages and pulled out information that I want to emphasize. I think my alignment now works well but will continue to look at it and revise as needed. There is some grouping into smaller and larger text but all text is currently Times New Roman and I would like to make some of the headings different. My audience is more progressive than traditional and I need to add more progressive elements. I've used a pull out but need to set it up better. I would like to add a sidebar with a story within the story. I had created a style sheet but need to revisit after new ideas were discussed in class.

Next Steps

I need to look closely at my sentence structure to be certain that the emphasis is in the right places. Rework my design and pay close attention to balance, alignment, grouping, and consistency.

My chair will be available later this week and I will ask her to read my proposal and give me feedback. Next week I will meet with her and begin the process to set up my committee and have my GS2 approved.

Chapter 11, Using Graphics

• Importance of graphics
• Appropriate graphics
• Proper use of tables and charts
• Proper use of photographs and drawings

Graphics

• serve as "access points" that move readers to the written text
• break up large blocks of written text
• reinforce the argument as readers tend to trust what they can see

Graphics should - guidelines

• tell a simple story at a glance
• reinforce the written text, not replace it (never use to decorate)
• be ethical (can erode the documents credibility)
• be labeled and placed properly (can make it easy to move from the text to the graphic and back to the text)

Graphics to display information and data

• line graphs
• bar charts suggest a physical quantity
• tables are the most efficient way to display a large amount of data in a small space
• pie charts can demonstrate how a whole is cut into parts - generally use a large amount of space
• organizational charts illustrate relationships among people, companies, and divisions, usually placed in the appendix with qualifications
• Gantt charts illustrate a timeline where stages overlap
• pictures can visually reinforce claims make in the written text, photographs of people, equipment and places should include them doing something that relates to the proposal
• drawings can be used to illustrate where pictures include more detail than needed and confuse the issue
• other graphics might be, plots, maps, flowcharts, blueprints, scatterplots, pictographs, logic trees, screen shots, etc.

Is is best to create each graphic as you are writing the proposal. If you wait, you will probably run out of time. Our society is becoming increasingly visual and graphics can make the difference between success and failure.

Chapter 10, Designing Proposals

Design:

• Importance


• gestalt theory


• four principles for crafting effective page layouts


• five-step process for inventing, revising and editing pages

Good design gives easy access points where you an enter the text from a variety of place for a variety of reasons. Scan executive summary, read the introduction, scan each major section

Four principles of Design - Gestalt theory, humans instinctively look for relationship among objects, visualize larger relationships

Balance - weight on a page

heavier

• on right than left
• top than bottom
• big weigh more than small
• pictures than text
• graphics than text
• color than b&w
• with borders
• irregular shapes

Use grips to balance a page layout

Use pullouts, margin comments, sidebars to enhance body of text with supplemental information

Alignment

Use of vertical white space to identify various levels of information

Grouping

Break down the text into smaller parts more comprehendible for scanning

Use headings, font size, horizontal/vertical, borders

Consistency

4 techniques

• headers and footers
• typefaces - conservative versus modern
• labeling - tables, charts, pictures, graphs
• lists - sequential and nonsequential lists (use different styles for each)

Creating effective layouts -

• Consider the rhetorical situation - characteristics of readers, traditional or progressive
• Thumbnail a few example pages - possible designs
• Create a design style sheet - line, paragraph, page, graphics, document levels
• Develop a few generic pages - create a template as a basic pattern
• Edit the design - revise and edit

Chapter 9, Writing with Style

• Importance of Style


• Role of Style


• Plain Style


• Persuasive Style

Style reflects character by signifying the relationship you build with your readers.



It means choosing the right words and forming sentences that are easy to read, weaving your work together.



It illustrates your clear-headedness, your emphasis on quality, and your willingness to communicate and work with the readers.



Plain sentences -

1. subject is what the sentence is about


2. make the "doer" the subject


3. state the action in the verb


4. subject early in the sentence - anchors sentence


5. eliminate nominalizations - turn 1st draft nominalizations into action words


6. avoid excessive prepositional phrases - usually chained together in long sentences


7. eliminate redundancy


8. sentences "breathing length" - spoken in one breath

6 steps to plainer writing

1. identify who or what the sentence is about


2. turn that who/what into the subject and put it early in the sentence


3. identify what the subject is doing and move action to very


4. eliminate prepositional phrases - turn to adjectives


5. eliminate nominalizations and redundancies


6. shorten, lengthen, combine, or divide sentences to make the breathing length

Plain paragraphs -

• Transition Sentence - smooth bridge from one paragraph to another, "With these facts in mind let us consider..."
• Topic Sentence - 1st or 2nd sentence, sets a goal for the paragraph to reach
• Support Sentences - intended to help prove the claim made in the topic sentence
• Point Sentences - restate the topic sentence at the end of the paragraph

Aligning sentence subjects in a paragraph - related subjects

The given/new method to weave sentences together, begin with info the reader already knows and end with something new.

Passive voice - use when

• the reader doesn't need to know who or what is doing something
• subject of the sentence is what the sentence is about

Persuasive style -

• elevating the tone map out feelings associated with emotion and weave these words into the text at strategic moments, excitement (inspiring, motivating)(revolutionary, energy)
• Using similes "is like" and analogies "A is to B as X is to Y"
• Using Metaphors, familiar & new
• Changing the pace, longer sentences slow the pace, short speeds it up

Challenge is to match your proposal's style to the reader's needs and style

Chapter 8, Developing Budgets

• Important
• Vocabulary
• Different Elements
• Rationale
• Additional strategies

Grants are really about money, as soon as you have written rough draft, start identifying costs.

Basics -
Itemized, down to smallest elements - helps control costs and describe how you got your figures
Non-itemized, rough breakdown (research, modular budgets, increments of $25,000)

Fixed - total price will not change
Flexible - rewrittten periodically to suit changes in costs

Fixed cost - remain constant over time
Variable Costs - expenses that change proportionally with production
Semivariable Costs - expenses that change but not proportionally with production

Developing a budget -
Federal - follow their exact instructions
Other - Management, principal investigators, and salaried labor (% of time + fringe)
Direct labor or staff (hourly basis + fringe)
Indirect labor (support direct labor, hourly basis + fringe)
Facilities & Equipment (fixed and semivariable costs of buildings, equipment & machinery + insurance and maintenance supplies)
Direct Materials (products and services)
Indirect Materials (supplies, lubricants for machinery, etc.)
Travel (local, conferences)
Communication (phone, fax, letter, Internet)
Profit (above costs)
Facilities and Administrative (overhead)
Cost Sharing (matching(cash) & in-kind (non-cash))

Written as a stand-alone section (pros & cons - audience)
Opening - identifies the subject (budget), purpose (present and discuss the costs of project)
Body - explanation, highlights important parts
Closing - restate main point

More info about how the budget was developed, more likely they are to make a firm decision about whether proposed plan suits their needs.

Progress Report 6-5-2008

Date: June 5, 2008

To: Professor Holmevik

From: Virginia D. Baird

Introduction

This proposal will develop a course to teach technical and rhetorical skills needed to write research proposals to graduate Ph.D. students and faculty in the field of Landscape Architecture in the focus area of health and design.

Work Completed

Based on the Next Steps section of my May 29th progress report I've had some discussion with Landscape Architecture on the form my project should take. I have determined that projects for the MLA do not yet have a determined format. I will use the MAPC format for my proposal and then work with the Chair of my committee to make adjustments before I present it to my committee.

This week I learned to use Mindmap and how to convert it to an outline, a somewhat time consuming learning curve. But I feel in the future I will find many uses for this new found program. I first used the Mindmap to look at where I want to go with this project and why. Then I pulled out a section to set up my current situation.

I flushed out the current situation and after class discussion found a number of places where I have "not" need to know information. As I prepare my first full draft for next Monday, I'll re-write the current situation using feed back from my classmates. I will also go back to the chapter 4, Describing the Current Situation, and tighten up this section to be certain I lead into it and the conclusion leads out of it well. These are pieces I didn't dwell on for the first draft.

I looked in the Cooper Library for articles in my area, defining it as skills for writing and submitting research grant proposals. I found limited material and spoke with a reference librarian who suggested I use my professional association's material to find articles in this area and then use the references cited there to connect to others. I looked in the Architecture library for information on research in the area of the built environment and design but found primarily only information on projects with City and County governments and contract proposals rather than research proposals. The lack of research articles substantiates my point that there has been little research done on how we change the built environment affects health. I will need to continue the search for articles in the area of built environment and design.

Next, I developed the project plan again using mindmap. Following the Chapter 5, Developing a Project Plan, I mapped out a solution limiting my steps to 5 major areas and then adding a couple of minor ones to each major. I continued to flush this out and again have feedback from my classmates and will continue to develop this area.

I also developed a timeline for completing my thesis project over the next two years. As a full-time employee of Clemson and a part-time student and with 93 hours of classwork required for a MLA, I have 30 hours remaining. It will take me two more years to complete the classwork. I plan to have my committee set up shortly and hope to have them accept my project proposal during Fall of 2008.

We discussed qualifications today in class and determined that "what makes you different, makes you interesting". Normal is one thing I have always aspired, not to be, so I feel comfortable with this concept. I have added a profile to my blog but found it difficult to keep it to 250 words. Again, I will ask my classmates to help me view it from the outside and decide what pieces are most important.

Next Steps

I will need to concentrate on my first complete draft of the proposal checking to be certain that it flows well from one section to the next and that I have answered all the how and why questions. Again, I will need my classmates to look at it from an outside viewpoint for feedback.
I will contact my Chair by email. She is traveling but I need to talk about the MAPC requirements for projects and whether this will fit MLA. I also need to narrow down my list of possible committee members, ask those I choose and get started with the process.

Project Plan, 1st draft

Project plan
This is a proposal to develop a class to support faculty & graduate students in research activities thereby advancing Clemson University’s reputation through publishing in peer reviewed journals & obtaining funded research by the College of Arts, Architecture and Humanities, Department of Planning and Landscape Architecture in the area of health and design. Currently most projects in Planning and Landscape Architecture are developed as contracts with City and County governments and private developers to produce a deliverables for their use. Closer examination of this work can lead to developing research to explore how Landscape Architects are affecting human health with their designs. I propose 5 strategies to be used in this class to increase comprehension of the skills needed to produce peer reviewed articles and funded research in the design of healthy communities. Universities have many and varied resources but channeling those into a research class will be challenging. Everyone’s needs must be recognized and met to further the Universities research reputation.

First, in order to apply for research dollars you need to be able to find them. Available funding in health and design can be researched using a number of available search engines. With the advent of computer technology this landscape began changing dramatically in early 2000.

• On the Federal level all government agencies are currently being required to adapt their information to fit into the grants.gov system. As of early 2008 it is possible to look for request for applications, program announcements, broad agency announcements and request for submission using a number of other names. Anytime the federal government forces its agencies to adapt to one main program there is considerable resistance. It will happen but it hasn’t been pretty and isn’t moving quickly.
  


• On the private level a number of search engines have become available commercially. InfoEd is the system that Clemson University purchases for the use of faculty and graduate students to locate funding. It was developed in the late 1990s and was expected to be up and running for comprehensive use by several entities at the University by early 2000. With the dramatic changes made on the federal level massive changes have been made to InfoEd and we are still working on it. The search engine to locate funding works fairly well.
  


• There are a number of federal sites that list currently funded research projects under different programs. This is an area that is often overlooked in literature searches because it is in progress and the articles have not yet been written. But when reviewers read grant proposals they expect the researcher to know what they have already funded. Again all agencies are being slowly forced to fit these into grants.gov. The system is progressing forward but it isn’t ready for easy faculty and student use.
  

Second a grant proposal must persuade the funder that it is a good idea, the participants are capable of doing the work and have the needed resources. This requires a persuasive argument. Most faculty have spend many years focusing on one subject to obtain their Ph.D. As they graduate from research universities new faculty have had some exposure to grant writing. Those who don’t consider themselves research universities provide little or none. Writing skills need to be sharpened.

• Understanding the need for the persuasive argument may in itself be the first step.
  


• Since this class will work at some level for both faculty and students their different perspectives will need to be addressed.
  


• Instruction at the appropriate level should come from those for whom it is a profession. This will mean collaboration with the English department.
  

Third, if you can’t send the grant to the funder, it will never be funded. Technological aspects of grant submission have grown more and more complex. In the past you read the grant instructions, followed them, ran the appropriate number of copies and mailed them.

• Internal process changes with parent


• electronic submission - federal & foundations
  foundations
  

Fourth, research prepared graduate students

• specific class on grants/articles


• methodology


• filter into current classes

Relationship between peer reviewed articles/funded grants

• required for tenure


• required for reputation
  
  Evaluation -

Chapter 7, Introductions, Costs, and Benefits

Introduction - Framing the Body of the Proposal
Effective introduction defines -

• state the subject
• identify the purpose (one sentence)
  
• state main point that will be proven (beginning and end or paragraphs)
  
• stresses the important of subject - why need to take action
  
• background - information already known or not controversial
  
• forecast - identifies larger topics that will be covered
  

Introduction - Lays out the argument in brief for the readers
Body - supports that argument with facts, reasoning, and examples.
Conclusion - restates the argument concisely

Introduction - what the proposal is about
what is being proposed
why it is important

Concise
limited to 1st page of single-spaced proposal
after writing the body - write out the six moves
write the introduction

Timeline

Chapter 6, Describing Qualifications

The purpose of the Qualifications section is to certify to the readers that your team, company, or organization has the personnel, experience, expertise, and facilities to carry out the plan proposed in the Project Plan section. Your qualifications will probably help to build a relationship with your customer or funder.

There are several types of qualification sections but each should include who should do the project, why, and what resources that will bring to the project.
· Business to business, or organization to funding source – introduce yourself and your team and the resources you will bring to the project.
· Team to Management – show management why your team is capable of carrying out the plan.
· Recommendation – recommendations of specific outside contractors, consultants or companies who might carry out your plan.
· No qualifications sections – short proposals may stand alone

Qualifications should include what makes you different – what makes you attractive

Identify main strengths but mention apparent weaknesses and how you will overcome them.

Content of the Qualifications Section should include –
History of success with similar projects, education and training, necessary facilities

Description of personnel, company/organization and experience.
Personnel –

• concise biographies of the management team,
  A description of the labor force, and
  A description of the support staff.
  

Company/Organization – experience and successful past projects
· History
· Mission Statement
· Corporate Philosophy
· Facilities and equipment
· Quality-control measures

Opening – identify the purpose of the section and state a main claim (main strength) about the qualification of your company/organization
Body – needs to back up the main claim you made in the opening
Closing – reinforce or restate the main claim you made in the opening, smaller proposals may not need a closing

Create a main persona – what makes us different/attractive? Develop key words and us them frequently but in moderation. Back up key words with actions that reflect the persona you are creating

Anytime you use boilerplate information be certain to tailor it to your project and customer. Use only that information that is important to this project and your

Current Situation

Opening - Clemson University, a land-grant school, opened its doors as Clemson Agricultural College of South Carolina in July 1893 with an enrollment of 446 as an all-male military school. Its purpose was to focus on the art and science of agriculture. In 1955 it made the change to "civilian" status and became co-educational and in 1964 gained the designation Clemson University. Clemson's vision today is to become, "one of the nation's top-20 public universities." To reach this vision Clemson has set five goals in academic, research and service for the year 2011.
1. Increase research and sponsored programs to exceed $100 million a year in research support. 2. Foster Clemson's academic reputation through strong academic programs, mission-oriented research and academic centers of excellence, relevant public service and highly regarded faculty and staff.
3. Seek and cultivate areas where teaching, research and service overlap. President Barker has pointed out, "Top-tier universities are more successful at generating external funding, are more likely to generate spin-off companies, and attract more high-technology industries."

To reach these goals, President Barker has challenged each College to show where it falls in the University’s eight designated research emphasis areas and given them a goal to help Clemson reach top-20 status by the year 2011.

Body – To become a top 20 public university Clemson’s President, Jim Barker, and the Clemson University Board of Trustees has called on its five Colleges to help it increase Clemson’s research status. To do this it has given each College research goals. The College of Art, Architecture, and Humanities (AAH) is making great strides in the areas of publications and external funding but the need to increase continues. “External funding is a means to the end of published, peer-reviewed work. Our college has a significant record of publication which continues to grow. Parallel to this increase is a significant expansion in the level of externally funded research. In fiscal year 2007, AAH had over one million dollars in external funding, compared to $800,000 in FY 2006.”

Planning and Landscape Architecture is one of the ten departments that make up the College of Arts, Architecture, and Humanities. This department, like its College and the University, sees its future in increasing funded research and peer reviewed journal articles as well as graduating research prepared graduate students. This change for Clemson University to become a Top-20 comes at a time when obtaining external research funds are particularly difficult. 9/11 made many changes in American life; in the research world it dramatically reduced the available research dollars. After September 2001 federal monies are shifted to the war against terror. As the price of oil rises, the dollar drops, and the stock market plunges grant dollars disappear. As these dollars disappear it follows that competition soars. At the same time, on-line submissions of grant proposals create another layer of complexity. Skills required for securing research dollars and therefore data to publish change and become more complex. This complexity changes the skills required to secure research dollars. Now the researcher must communicate well his “good idea” while following complicated grant preparation instructions. He must understand the differences between research grants, intervention grants, clinical trials, federal grants, foundation grants and how to apply and where to find them.

Closing - The Department of Planning and Landscape Architecture sees the need to continue forward on this front by developing a research skills class specific to its discipline for both its faculty and graduate students.

Mindmap

Chapter 5, Developing a Project Plan

A proposals Project Plan typically offers a detailed step by step process you will follow to solve the problem and should identify the deliverables.

By reading the request for proposals and talking with your point of contact, develop a list of your readers objectives and then merge it with yours to create one set of objectives for the project. Use their words as much as possible. These will be the goals that your project will be designed to achieve.

How are you going to achieve these objectives?

1. Identify and 2. map out a possible solution. You may do this with several solutions but begin with the most promising. Identify 2-5 main steps needed to make this solution work. Connect minor steps necessary to make the main steps a reality.

Limit your plan to 5 or fewer major steps, if you have more, consolidate or develop larger phases.

You should always have an outcomes assessment or evaluation phase. This should be your way of measuring whether the project was a success and is usually the last step in the plan.

3. Review your top rank and secondary objectives. Does your mapped solution meet those objectives? If not, look for another solution and begin again.

To organize the project plan section list the major steps in the order they will be followed. As you fill in the minor steps you should begin to see the outline of the project plan. Then set up a why table and answer why each step is necessary and why is it done in this way.

Deliverables are the tangible results of each major step and you should identify one for each.

Writing the project plan -

This should begin with an opening designed to set a framework for the information leading the readers from your description of the situation to your description of the plan. This section needs to be as optimistic as possible concentrating on the advantages and benefits of solving the problem a particular way.

• Transition signals your reader that you are starting your discussion of the plan.
• A statement of purpose of the section tells the reader that you will provide a detailed step by step plan.
• Statement of the Plan's Objectives lists the objectives that any successful plan would be able to meet.
• Naming of the overall solution in a sentence or phrase, identifies your overall strategy.
• Forecast of the Plan briefly lists the major steps.

The body of the project plan section describes the plan and tells the readers why the problem should be solved in this way. State the major action up front and support it with a discussion of the minor steps needed to achieve it. Flesh it out by answering the why questions that the readers will be asking at this point. End the discussion with your deliverable.

Closing the project plan section should not offer any new information but summarize the major points and stress the importance of the plan as well as summarize the deliverables. The closing puts an endpoint on the description of the plan and prepares the reader to make the transition to the qualifications section.

Develop a project plan time line. Give each major step a completion date. Begin by giving the project a completion date and work backwards.

Research Methodologies -

A methodology section in a research proposal describes how and why a subject will be studied in a particular way. It should tell the reader why your approach is the most appropriate. If you are using a methodology adapted from other studies, describe and cite it. When inventing a new methodology, justify your decision to blaze a new path.

Executive Summary - 2nd Draft

In academia research and publishing are the life-line to tenure. 9/11 made many changes in American life; in the research world it dramatically reduced the available research dollars. After September 2001 federal monies are shifted to the war against terror. As the price of oil rises, the dollar drops, and the stock market plunges grant dollars disappear. As these dollars disappear it follows that competition soars. At the same time, on-line submissions of grant proposals create another layer of complexity. Skills required for securing research dollars and therefore data to publish change and become more complex. This complexity changes the skills required to secure research dollars. Now the researcher must communicate well his “good idea” while following complicated grant preparation instructions. He must understand the differences between research grants, intervention grants, clinical trials, federal grants, foundation grants and how to apply and where to find them. This proposal will develop a course to teach technical and rhetorical skills needed to write research proposals to graduate Ph.D. students and faculty in the field of Landscape Architecture in the focus area of health and design.

Chapter 4, Describing the Current Situation

The importance of describing the current situation accurately for the reader - A proposal is a pattern. The proposal genre includes:.

• Introduction
• Current Situation
• Project Plan
• Qualifications
• Costs and Benefits
• Conclusion

Guidelines for drafting the current situation, explaining cause and effect of the problem.

• Problems are the effects of causes
• Ignored problems tend to grow worse
• Blame change, not people

Explain the what caused the change in the current situation to create the problem using logical mapping. Identify major causes, then identify minor causes that created the major causes. Keep asking "what changed". Ignored problems continue to change and create urgency. Blaming people will always create friction, blame the change.

Mapping points research in the direction highlighted by the logical relationships that structure the problem. Triangulation cross-references sources.

• Electronic sources
• Print sources
• Empirical sources
• Typical section -
  
• Opening, subject, purpose or main point (usually one paragraph)

Typical section -

• Opening, subject, purpose or main point (usually one paragraph)
• Body, provides the major details mapped (one or more paragraphs)
  
• Casual approach- causes of the problem, education readers
• Effects approach- effects of not taking action, urgency of the problem
• Narrative approach - tells the story of how the change created the situation, evolved over time
• Closing- summarize the main point of the section and transition to the next section
• Causal or Narrative - discuss some of the effects of not taking action
• Effects - generally discuss the need to solve the problem

Special case - Research grants and literature reviews, research proposals suggest ways to solve problems, gaps or inconsistencies in our current knowledge of the subject.
Current situation is referred to as background, research problem, or literature review
Goals:

• show where proposed research adds to or differs from prior research on the subject
• discuss significance of the research and its potential impact
• establish credibility of the study and authors
  

To meet these goals -

• summarize previous research on the subject
• identify a gap in the knowledge base
• raise questions about prior results

Two types of information needed are

• a review of the existing literature
• a summary of the principle investigator's prior research

Literature Review - published research that has been done on the subject
Prior Research - describes the empirical research into the subject

The current situation section either explains the problem in detail or if the problem is understood along with its causes and effects, it proves you understand the situation.

1. In a research proposal, how do you use logical mapping?
2. As you map out the effects of the problem, if you could hit a emotional hot spot with the funder. How do you avoid that situation?
3. Are you blaming people for a situation if you use positions, not individuals?

Context Analysis Worksheet

Environments

Physical

• Primary Readers - Evaluated in office or home office environment. Probably will be done at stressful time at the end of the semester.
• Industry/Community - Conference presentation to Research Administration community, probably in hotel conference space. Should have necessary technology available.
• Writers - written in a number of sites, office, library, coffee shops, classroom, home office.

Economic

• Primary Readers - Is this proposal economic reasonable for the number of students

Ethical

• Primary Readers - In academics a major concern will be plagiarism possibly original research ideas

Political

• Primary Readers - How will this course be received by Ph.D. students and research faculty?
• Political - There may be some competition. There are a number of viewpoints in the professions with different federal regulations, hospitals, universities, for-profit and non-profit.

Reader Analysis Worksheet

Primary Readers, committee and Professor Holmevik:
Motives - to assure a well prepared and relevant academic proposal
Values - to evaluate it against other proposals in the Landscape Architecture department and in English 839.
Attitudes - Both will begin the process with a positive attitude expecting a well done proposal.
Emotions - My committee will be professionally tied to my work, good work with create joy and pride while poor work will result in anger and frustration. Professor Holmevik will expect me to reflect his teaching ability and produce a good proposal.

Secondary Readers, my advisor and professors in other departments with significant grant experience:
Motives - will want to help me prepare a paper that reflects well on both of us.
Values, Attitudes, Emotions - similar to the primary readers due to their related positions in academia

Tertiary Readers, student peers in English 839 and Landscape Architecture:
Motives - There might be some competition but I have found that because I am an older student most of the time I am able to seek help of younger more technologically adapted students to help me with new programming while I provide a different, more experienced viewpoint. I hope the English 839 students will help me with the rhetorical aspects of writing a proposal while I hope my knowledge of world of grants will help them with mechanics.
Values, Attitudes, Emotions - I expect the wide diversity in this class to bring many viewpoints and opinions and help create an unusually strong proposal.

Gatekeepers, my advisor, Clemson Graduate School, the Department of Landscape Architecture:
Motives - their job is to be certain that I have met the requirements for my thesis/project
Values - reflect concern for the reputation of Clemson University
Attitudes - an expectation that certain levels of expertise at the graduate level
Emotions - Pride in a job well done and frustration at a project not completed at an expected level

Progress Report

Date: May 29, 2008

To: Professor Holmevik

From: Virginia D. Baird



Introduction

This proposal will develop a course to teach technical and rhetorical skills needed to write research proposals to graduate Ph.D. students and faculty in the field of Landscape Architecture in the focus area of health and design.

Work Completed

I have decided that there is a need to work with Landscape Architecture graduate students and faculty to help them become more effective research proposal writers in the area of health and design, a primary focus for the Department of Landscape Architecture at Clemson University. The University is striving to become a top 20 research university in the United States and is requiring faculty to become much more involved in research than in the past.

The research component has been enhanced in the tenure process and could be a major stumbling block to acquiring and retaining high caliber professors in the field without grantsmanship support. It will also be a necessary component in the education of graduate students in the field to further Clemson's presence in academia another milepost for obtaining status as a top 20 research university.

Adding a research procedure and process proposal writing course would help to solve this problem.

This will be a planning proposal for a course to be offered for graduate students and faculty in Landscape Architecture. After discussions with the Chair of the Department, Professor Nadenicek, I have concluded that is a class that they would like to add to the curriculum. I have secured Professor Cari Goetcheus as my committee chair. She and I have discussed who might serve as the other members of my committee but I have not made any decisions. She has agreed to work with me on this proposal.

I have researched the rhetorical situation and decided that the proposal should be about increasing Landscape Architecture student and faculty abilities to writing research grants in the area of health and design. My purpose will be to produce a course to be added to the graduate curriculum. Since this will be my thesis my primary readers will be my committee and Professor Holmevik who is teaching this course, English 839, Proposal Writing. Secondary readers will be my advisor as she helps me prepare the final proposal for my committee and a number of professors in other content areas who have more experience in grant writing. My tertiary readers will be the students in this class who will be reading my work and comparing it to those of my classmates. Gatekeepers are my advisor as my work will directly reflect on her professional career, the Graduate School who determines the mechanics for all thesis at Clemson University and the program requirements in Landscape Architecture.

My primary readers will be reading this thesis near the end of a semester, a stressful time. They will be looking at the economic feasibility of teaching this course and the number of students that can be accommodated, and they will be concerned with plagiarism in the academic environment. The industry that will be impacted by this course would primarily include two professional groups, The Society of Research Administrators International and the National Council of Research Administrators. In the future I hope to be able to present at conferences on this course and research that I conduct on its effectiveness.

Next Steps

The Master in Landscape Architecture program is quite new and is only in its third year. I need to acquire more information on the specifics of the required thesis/project to be certain I am including all necessary information along with the mechanics of how it should be delivered.

I need to meet with the Chair of Landscape Architecture to discuss my thesis/project and be certain it meets his approval. He has been instrumental in my decision to take my project in this direction. I will also be meeting with the Chair of my committee to work with me on this project and to determine who will be my other committee members.

Conclusion

I think my progress on this project is moving forward well but I look forward to developing an outline.

Purpose Statement

This proposal will develop a course to teach technical and rhetorical skills needed to write research proposals to graduate Ph.D. students and faculty in the field of Landscape Architecture in the focus area of health and design.

Chapter 3, Strategic Planning for Proposals and Grants

Strategic planning is a process of setting objectives and developing a project plan to meet those objectives.

Identify - what, why, and who for your plan

Rhetorical situation - all the elements that will influence how readers intrepret proposal

• subject - what is proposal about? need to know
• purpose - what will it achieve?
• readers - primary (decision makers), secondary (advisors), tertiary(evaluators), gatekeepers (supervisors)
• context - physical, economic, ethical, and political environments

1. Determining the "need to know" versus the "not need to know" could be an excellent way to shorten a first draft and make it more focused.
2. I find the psychology of your readers and important an interesting topic for discussion. As our book indicates, the motives, values, attitudes, and emotions of these people guide the shape of a proposal.
3. Context in research proposals is critical. You should always assume that yours will be one of many proposals that the reviewers will read and evaluate. The idea that their first step would be to form a "keep" pile and a "reject" pile would probably not be a conscious decision but certainly faced with a stack of work, we all do it unconsciously. Viewing a proposal in a first scan scenario is a critical part of writing it that I hadn't considered.

Proposal Opportunity Worksheet

Project Title:
Addressing Changes in the Early 21st Century World of Proposal Research

Solicitation Number: LARCH 891

Date Received: May 2008
___________________________________________________________

Client:
Point of Contact: Professor Cari Goetcheus
Deadline for Proposal Submission: May 2010
Address for Proposal Submission: Dept. of Landscape Architecture, Graduate School, Clemson University, Clemson, SC
___________________________________________________________

Summary of Proposal Opportunity
To develop a class to teach research skills in he filed of Landscape Architecture and the built environment using 21st Century technology and effective language and communication.
___________________________________________________________

Comments and Recommendations:

• Increase research activities funding in Landscape Architecture, a profession that has primarily done contract work for governments and private development.
• The timeline for the course will consist of creating several modules which build on each other:

Generic knowledge specific to Clemson University

Grant opportunities available in the field

Federal versus foundation funding

Generic knowledge specific to research proposal writing

Electronic submission process

___________________________________________________________

Accept or Reject

Accept, there is a need to address change in the field of research proposal writing and this course will address that need in the area of Landscape Architecture.

Chapter 2, Analyzing Problems and Opportunities

Chapter 1 -

proposal - tool for managing change

rhetoric - art of persuasion, study of what might be, could be, should be

interpretation - mental framework of the facts, impose order

expression - performance side of rhetoric, inventing content of proposal

Proposal Genre -

Introduction

• current situation
• project plan or methods
• qualifications
• costs and benefits

Conclusion

1. planning and research
2. organizing and drafting
3. improving style
4. designing
5. revision and edition

Chapter 2 -

2 Basic reasons for proposal - what changed and why?

problem is an opportunity to improve, sense of urgency

1. Is there a problem? (fact)
2. What is the problem? (definition)
3. How serious? (quality)
4. What kind of proposal is needed? (policy) research, planning, implementation,sales

solicited and unsolicited - point of contact, letter of inquiry

RFPs - describe project to be completed

Statis of an opportunity -

• who
• what
• where
• when
• why
• how

1. I would like to discuss federal RFPs/RFAs and the wide range of ways in which they are written, how to determine who writes them and what might be the typically required credentials for those people. It would also be interesting to compare these federal grant writers to those of foundations.
   
2. In the section Applying Stasis Questions the idea of pre-proposals is mentioned. I would like to discuss federal research pre-proposals and why they aren't required more often.
3. The examples of comments or questions to a point of contact person best fits a foundation. I would like to discuss how these questions can be adapted to a federal funder.

Executive Summary, 1st draft

In academia research and publishing are the life-line to tenure. 9/11 made many changes in American life; in the research world it dramatically reduced the available research dollars. After September 2001 federal monies are shifted to the war against terror. As the price of oil rises, the dollar drops, and the stock market plunges grant dollars disappear. As these dollars disappear it follows that competition soars. At the same time, on-line submissions of grant proposals create another layer of complexity. Skills required for securing research dollars and therefore data to publish change and become more complex. This complexity changes the skills required to secure research dollars. Now the researcher must communicate well his “good idea” while following complicated grant preparation instructions. He must understand the differences between research grants, intervention grants, clinical trials, federal grants, foundation grants and how to apply and where to find them. This proposal will explore the best ways to teach these skills to graduate Ph.D. students as well as experienced and inexperienced faculty.

Intro to Proposals & Grants

3 questions for discussion