Developing a Solution

Learning Objectives

• Match a solution to a problem or opportunity
•  Express a solution specifically and concretely
•  Begin the process of calculating a budget

The previous module (“4. Finding a Need”) explained that finding a need is about helping a particular population--one that is within the grant seeking organization’s purview and that is based directly on that population’s needs. Rather than write a grant to find funding for funding’s sake, writing a grant to help a population is the goal.

Another important factor for developing a solution is related to material in the first module (“1. Introduction to Grant Writing”). As explained there, proposals are always about the future; they are an argument to take a course of action, whether the proposal in question is a business proposal, a legislative proposal, or even a brief discussion with a friend about which movie to see next weekend.

Now that you have articulated a viable need in the previous module, there are two more questions to ask about the future [again adapted from Ramage, Bean, and Johnson’s (2013) articulation of proposal arguments (p. 323)]:

• How can the problem be solved? Your answer to this problem will become the actual program or course of action you will take to meet the need you articulated for your audience. This is what your organization will do, and in a case statement you should be both brief and concrete.
• What costs are associated with your proposal? Your answer to this question will help indicate how much your course of action will cost. You may or may not ask a potential sponsor for the full amount because there may be other sources of funding to consider, too. Note also that in argumentation, sometimes “costs” could indicate not only an amount of money, but also time and effort. One might also take into consideration in-kind costs if a project warrants it. In any case, you will need to know what dollar amount you will be asking for early in the grant writing process--before you contact any potential sponsors.
• Who will bear those costs? While you might not outline all the costs in detail in a case statement you will write in module 6, it will be important to know how much you think your project will require. You may ask a sponsor for a partial amount of money because you also have funding from other sources. Consider beginning to work on your budget now, too.  

Having said all the above, the solutions you’ll present in a case statement (which you will elaborate on in later stages) will be brief, and it will change and develop through the process. At the same time, a solution should also explain concretely what you plan to do. For example: a concrete solution for a program targeting childhood obesity might look like this: 

Food preferences and activity levels are mostly set in childhood, and, accordingly, our project focuses on children and young adults to prevent these conditions. Project AYUDA brings a unique strategy to bear: (1) activity offerings meet cultural preferences such as soccer, folkloric dancing, and bike riding; (2) cooking classes where the youth cook and serve their families reduced calorie versions of family favorites; and (3) educational information in diabetes and heart disease. (Coley & Sheinberg, 2017, pp. 120-121)

In later stages, you may find that your solution needs to be adjusted or elaborated on. For example: The author of the solution above adds things like the intended number of participants in the program when she writes the letter of intent. The solution you implement will be made even more concrete and specific when you are designing the program for the full grant proposal. Other things like the dollar amount you provide in your case statement will likely have to be justified in full detail in the budget you write later, so it will be important to start gathering data on costs now.

Reflective Questions

Is my solution concrete and specific?

It would also be very helpful to begin considering several additional questions posed by Mikeloni, Betsinger, and Kampf (2004) about gaining support within your institution for your grant idea (pp. 182-183). They offer a set of questions about the uniqueness, timeliness, and urgency about your solution to a problem, as well as how it fits into your organization's strengths and weaknesses. They also encourage you to begin asking questions about how it will help your target population.

Resources

libguides.gcu.edu/grants

Mikelonis, Betsinger, & Kampf. (2004). Grant seeking in the electronic age. New York: Pearson.  Pages 182 and 183 offer a very good heuristic for assessing the potential effectiveness of your grant proposal idea and encourage you to begin thinking ahead as you consider how to justify your idea both within and outside your organization.

Coley, S. M. & Scheinberg, C. A. (2017). Proposal writing: Effective grantsmanship for funding (5th ed.). Los Angeles: Sage.  Chapter 10 offers a quick overview of budget creation for line-item budgets and budget narratives (justifications of the line-item budget written in prose).

References

Coley, S. M. & Sheinberg, C. A. (2013). Proposal writing: Effective grantsmanship for funding. Los Angeles: Sage.