The Basic Components of a Government Grant Proposal 

The Basic Components of a Government Grant Proposal 

There are eight main components to creating a government grant proposal package: 

(1) Your grant proposal summary
(2) Your introduction of organization
(3) The problem statement (or needs assessment)
(4) Your project objectives
(5) The project methods or design
(6) The project evaluation
(7) Future funding (seperate article)
(8) The projects budget (seperate article)
The following should provide an overview of these grant proposal components for you.
 

The "Grant Proposal Summary" Should Contain the Outline of Project Goals

The summary will be most useful if it is  prepared after the grant proposal has been developed in order to include all the key summary points necessary to communicate your objectives of the project. The grant proposal summary outlines the project and should always appear at the beginning of your proposal. It can be in the form of a cover letter or as a separate page, but it should always be brief  and no longer than two or three paragraphs total. This document will become the cornerstone of your proposal, and the first impression it gives wil be critical to the success of your idea. The summary will probably be the first part of the proposal package seen by the government agency and will most likely be the only part of the package that is reviewed carefully before any decision is made to consider your project any further. 

You must select a proposal which is fundable and can be supported by a local need. Your should point out alternatives in the absence of Federal support. The influence of the project both during and after the project period should be explained. The end result of the project as a result of funding should be highlighted for the governing agency official.
 

Your "Introduction" Should Present a Credible Applicant or Credible Organization 

You should gather data about your organization from any and all available sources to you. Most grant proposals will require a description of your organization to describe your past and present operations. Consider some of the following inclusions: 

- A brief biography of your board members and staff members and their experience.
- Your organization's goals, the philosophy, your previous progress record with other grantors, and any success stories you can include. 
- Your data and information should be relevant to the specific goals of the Federal granting agency and it should also establish your credibility. 
 

"The Problem Statement" States the Purpose at Hand 

The problem statement (or needs assessment, as is commenly referred) is a key element of a proposal that makes a clear, concise, and well supported statement of the problem to be addressed. The best way to collect information about the problem is to conduct and document both a formal and informal needs assessment for a program in the target or service area. The information provided should be both factual and directly related to the problem addressed by the proposal. Areas to document are: 

- Your purpose for developing the grant proposal. 
- The nature of the problem (provide as much documentd evidence as possible). 
- The social costs and economic costs that will be affected by your grant proposal 
- How your organization came to realize the problem exists, and show what is or isn't currently being done about the problem. 
- Who are the beneficiaries and "how" will they benefit if your grant proposal is accepted
- The remaining alternatives that will available when the funding has been used. Explain what wil happen to the project and any impending implications. 
- Most important, the manner whereby problems might be solved specifically. Review the resources needed, considering how they will be used and the implied results.

There is a considerable body of literature on the exact assessment techniques to be used. Any local, regional, or State government planning office,or local university offering course work in planning and evaluation techniques should be able to provide excellent background references. Types of data that may be collected include:historical, geographic,quantitative, factual, statistical, and philosophical information,as well as studies completed by colleges, and literature searches from public or university libraries. Local colleges or universities which have a department or section related to the proposal topic may help determine if there is interest in developing a student or faculty project to conduct a needs assessment. It may be helpful to include examples of the findings for highlighting in the proposal. 
 

"Project Objectives": The Goals and Desired Outcome Program

Objectives refer to specific activities in a proposal. It is necessary to identify all objectives related to the goals to be reached,and the methods to be employed to achieve the stated objectives. Consider quantities or things measurable and refer to a problem statement and the outcome of proposed activities when developing a well-stated objective. The figures used should be verifiable. Remember, if the proposal is funded, the stated objectives wil probably be used to evaluate program progress, so be realistic. There is literature available to help identify and write program objectives. 
 

"Program Methods and Program Design": Your Plan of Action 

The program design refers to how the project is expected to work and solve the stated problem. Be sure to lay out the following: 

- Any activities that will occur along with any related resources and staff that will be needed to operate the project (inputs). 
- Your flowchart of the organizational features of your proposal. It's important to describe how the parts interelate, where the personnel will be needed, and what the staff are expected to do. You should also identify the kinds of facilities, transportation, and support services required (throughputs). 
- Explain what wil be achieved through 1and 2 above (outputs).  Project staff may be required to produce evidence of program performance through an examination of stated objectives during either a site visit by the Federal granting agency and/or grant reviews, which may involve some reviewing commitees. 

Whenever possible, try to justify in the description the course of action to be taken. Show the most economical method to be used that will not compromise the projects quality. Show the financial expenses associated with the operation of the project which might later become points of negotiation with the Federal granting staff. 

Carefully consider the pressures of the proposed implementation, that is, the timeand money needed to acquire each part of the plan. A Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) chart could be useful and supportive in justifying some proposals. Highlight the innovative features of the proposal, which could be considered distinct from other proposals under consideration. 

Whenever possible, use appendices to provide details, supplementary data, references, and information requiring in-depth analysis. These types of data, although supportive of the proposal, if included in the body of the design, could detract from its readability. Appendices provide the proposal reader with immediate access to details if and when clarification of an idea, sequence or conclusion isrequired. Time tables, work plans, schedules, activities, methodologies, legal papers, personal vitae, letters of support, and endorsements are examples of appendices. 
 

Evaluation: Product and Process Analysis 

The evaluation component is two-fold: 

(1) product evaluation; and 
(2)process evaluation. 

Product evaluation addresses results that can be attributed to the project, as well as the extent to which the project has satisfied its desired objectives. Process evaluation addresses how the project was conducted, in terms of consistency with the stated plan of action and the effectiveness of the various activities within the plan. 

Most Federal agencies now require some form of program evaluation among grantees. The requirements of the proposed project should be explored carefully. Some evaluations may be conducted by an internal staff member, an evaluation firm or even both. You should state the amount of time needed to evaluate, how the feedback wil be distributed among the proposed staff, and a schedule for review and comment for this type of communication. Evaluation designs may start at the beginning, middle or end of a project, but you should specify a start-up time. It is practical to submit an evaluation design at the start of a project for two reasons: 

1.  Convincing evaluations require the collection of appropriate data before and during program operations
2.  If the evaluation design cannot be prepared at the outset then a critical review of the program design may be advisable. 

Even if the evaluation design has to be revised as the project progresses, it is much easier and cheaper to modify a good design. If the problem is not well defined and carefully analyzed for cause and effect relationships then a good evaluation design may be difficult to achieve. Sometimes a pilot study is needed to begin the identification of facts and relationships. Often a thorough literature search may be sufficient. 

Evaluation requires both coordination and agreement among program decision makers (if known). Above all, the Federal grantor agency's requirements should be highlighted in the evaluation design. Also, Federal grantor agencies may require specific evaluation techniques such as designatedd ata formats (an existing information colectionsystem)or they may offer financial inducements for voluntary participation in a national evaluation study.The applicant should ask specifically about these points.Also, consult the Criteria For Selecting Proposals section of the Catalog program description to determine the exact evaluation methods to be required forthe program if funded. 

Government Grant Site Reviews