{"id":10519,"date":"2021-09-28T12:39:36","date_gmt":"2021-09-28T16:39:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.virginiawestern.edu\/grants\/?p=10519&preview=true&preview_id=10519"},"modified":"2021-10-01T09:54:19","modified_gmt":"2021-10-01T13:54:19","slug":"innovation-grant-lab-series-what-problem-are-you-trying-to-solve-october","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.virginiawestern.edu\/grants\/2021\/09\/innovation-grant-lab-series-what-problem-are-you-trying-to-solve-october\/","title":{"rendered":"Innovation Grant Lab series: What problem are you trying to solve? (October)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Hello, and welcome back to the Innovation Lab!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We just started an asynchronous workshop series: How to Design a Successful Innovation Grant<\/strong>, and there’s plenty of time to catch up. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The series began in September, and it will end in March 2022, the same month Innovation Grant proposals are due to the Virginia Western Educational Foundation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hopefully this approach will help you slowly explore your ideas — on your own time, at your convenience — as you continue to juggle your regular to-do list. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let’s review some of our Lab Lessons<\/strong> so far, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 #1: Grant proposals are not time wasted … even if you FAIL<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 #2: Know the rules of the game<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Image by bluebudgie from Pixabay<\/sub><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Now we’re ready for Lab Lesson #3<\/strong> — which I consider one of the most important in my grant journey: Focus on NEEDS first, solutions second<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was a difficult lesson, because I’m obsessed with creative ideas. I collect them like some fans collect Star Wars action figures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You have probably arrived at this blog post with some ideas already in mind, especially after reflecting on the Thinking Cap questions<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We come up with a clever solution, fall in love with it, and think the grant proposal is basically done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is totally normal, and also totally wrong<\/em>. (cue the sad horns<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you really understand the problem you are trying to solve?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Experience has taught me that sometimes the problem we thought we were trying to solve wasn’t the real problem at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let’s turn to one of the best guides to grant writing to help us avoid a common mistake: Declaring that the problem is the lack of your proposed idea.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Here’s a good example from “Grantsmanship: Program Planning & Proposal Writing”<\/a> <\/strong>by Norton Kiritz (which I highly recommend for beginners):<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let’s say a grant applicant wants to create a teen center, and therefore states that the problem is that there is no teen center in the community. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Then the logical outcome would be that the community will have a teen center. The logical method would be to open a teen center, and the evaluation would assess if a teen center exists.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is not a convincing and logical argument for funding. A funder’s first reaction to it will likely be, ‘So what? Why should I care?’ Nowhere in this discussion are teens mentioned. …<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

To avoid this mistake, questions need to be asked. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is the problem the community is concerned about? <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who or what is affected, and how? <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is the magnitude and severity of the situation? <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why should we care? <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why is this happening? <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What’s the cause of the situation? <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

These are all excellent questions for your own project, and they can lead to a powerful proposal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And we’re going to go one step further. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We’re going to investigate our hunches and gather data to help answer these questions in a few different ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, we can’t ignore the needs of our institution<\/strong>. Your grant idea doesn’t necessarily have to address specific objectives in the new VCCS strategic plan<\/a> or Virginia Western’s Get REAL project<\/a> — but it wouldn’t hurt to align with the greater priorities, so we’re all moving in the same direction. This will absolutely give you an edge for funding. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next, we’re going to hunt for the “hard” data <\/strong>to better understand the needs — the facts, research, and survey results that already exist through our own Office of Institutional Effectiveness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carol Rowlett, our Institutional Research Coordinator, has made this easy for us, and she graciously provided a roundup of sources:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Institutional data: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n