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Tip of the Month
Proving Your Point – Including Research In Your Grants “My dad can beat up your dad!” said the
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Tip of the Month
Proving Your Point – Including Research In Your Grants “My dad can beat up your dad!” said the
first boy. |
In life, we’re often asked to “prove” a point we’re making – or expect others to prove something to us. If our evening news broadcasts suddenly start making statements like, “Most adults will lose all their teeth by the age of 30,” without any scientific data to back it up, their phone lines would be jammed with viewers calling and demanding more information.
This principal of “proving your point” is very important when writing grants. You want to show the reader that you’ve done your homework and have the statistics to back up what you’re saying. In fact, many government grants now are requiring you to use scientifically based research in your grant application.
Let’s look at two examples. If your school is located in a high-poverty, high-crime area, you can state this in one of two ways. You could simply say, “Our school is located in a high-poverty, high crime area.” Or you can state, “Our school is located in the Highland Precinct, which had the highest crime rate of the six Springfield Precincts in 2002 (Springfield Police Department Crime Statistics, 2002). In addition, nearly 80% of our students meet eligibility requirements for the Federal Free and Reduced Lunch Program (Springfield Department of Education, 2002).”
From a grant reader’s perspective, the second example shows that the school did its homework and has prepared a more professional-looking document.
Here is another example. Let’s say your school wants to apply for funds to purchase books, computers, and applications to improve your students’ reading. You could write in your proposal, “By purchasing these items, we will ensure our students spend more time reading, which will improve their reading comprehension.” Or your could write something like this, “We will purchase these items to use in our silent sustained reading (SSR) program. Many studies show how SSR improves student reading. One of the most cited is entitled, ‘A Successful High School Sustained Reading Program,’ by M.S. Ozburn. In it, 60 ninth grade Texas students participated in SSR for 10-15 minutes a day over nine months and were encouraged to read at home. They took the Gatest MacGinite Reading Test before and after the program. By the end of the program, all the students had improved their reading level (Ozburn, 1995).”
Once again, the grant reader will see that you’ve done your research to show that the technique you plan to implement and the items you plan to purchase have been proven successful at other schools, which means they are more likely to be successful at your school.
In the age of the Internet, research does not have to be a difficult or time-consuming process. There are many reports in the ERIC database and in countless other locations about educational issues that will relate to the specific grant for which you are applying.
The next time you write a grant, take some extra time to research on why the technique, equipment, or strategy you plan to employ has been proven to work and then cite that information or data in your application. You will not only improve your chances of getting funding, but you also may uncover some information to help you improve your school’s operations and programs.
Submitted by Kelly Hurt, President of Kelly Hurt & Associates, Inc.
Funding Links
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