Presentation on process from proposal ideas to award at MENA NWC Muscat Meeting Day 3, December 5-8, 2011

1. Middle East and North Africa
_____________________________________
Network of Water Centers of Excellence
From proposal ideas to award
MENA NWC
Policy, Research and Development
(PR&D) Grants
December 8, 2011

2. Getting Started:
A Cartoon Tale

3. Research MENA NWC research
Interaction between you
challenge opportunity (PR&D)
and MENA NWC
Partners
Developing the Developing the
Fitting Your Idea to the
Concept, Worki Proposal – seed
Guidelines, Working
ng with grant, concept note,
with your Partners
Partners or full proposal

4. Need Assistance?
Technical Resources Targeting and Submitting the
Persistence Proposal
(Possible)
Technical Review
Revision and Congratulations!
Resubmission

5. Important to Consider
• Limited funds available – proposals must be
competitive
• Justify your budgets
• US University costs do not count against your
budget

6. Understanding the Grants Process
• Some common terms…
– Seed Funds, Concept Note, and Full Application and other similar
mechanisms are simply terms used to indicate the ways granting
organizations (e.g., MENA NWC) provide funds to applicants
– Sponsors - in addition to USAID MENA NWC - may include local
agencies, private foundations, private sector, national
agencies, private individuals, or a mix of these and other sources
– Applicants should be in the MENA NWC and may include member
Centers, educational institutions including research centers, non-profit
organizations or groups, private sector, states, municipalities, etc.

7. Types of Awards
• Seed funding – Seed funds are to be used for
conceptualizing a project and developing the
concept note and full grant application
• Concept note – Short description of the research
problem and steps to address the problem
• Full PR&D Grant Application – the full proposal
containing all relevant information including
budget, partners, timeline, and indicators of
success

8. Terminology
• A proposal --document that describes (according to the
sponsor’s specified format and requirements) what will
be done, who will do it, how much it will cost, and other
details.
• Concept note - before a proposal is submitted, you
should develop the ideas and “float” these by your
colleagues at your center and with your partners.
• The purpose of the proposal is to persuade the sponsor
that the applicant has the
knowledge, capacity/resources, skill and qualified
personnel to accomplish work proposed.

9. Key Individuals and Structures in
PR&D
• Interim Management Unit (IMU)
• Grants manager, Ken Ludwa
• Director of Research, TBD
• R&D Lead, Mac McKee
• Selection Committee
• Technical Reviewers
• Award Committee

10. What is MENA NWC looking for?

11. Thematic Partnerships and Research
Priorities
• Thematic partnerships • Research priorities
– 3 or more centers – A research topic that is
best addressed, via the
– 2 or more countries NWC, by a Research
– 1 or more US university Team
partner(s) optional

12. Seed Fund Application
• Open at any time
• Up to $25,000 available, managed by FABRI
• Used for
travel, consultations, meetings, training, literat
ure in support of proposal development
• Subject to review
• Meant to lead to a concept note and full
proposal

13. Concept Note
• Open at any time
• Subject to review
• The review helps you refine and improve the
proposal ideas
• Your concept note will be accepted or
declined
• A declined concept note may be resubmitted

14. Full Application
• Use results of concept note and reviews
• Up to $100,000 per center
• Quarterly application cycle
• Approx. 2-year timeline maximum
• Review/decline/resubmit as in concept note
• Key:
– Address a thematic partnership
– Address a research priority
– Develop a research team

15. Should you apply for seed funds?
Yes if you need: No if you:
• Site visits • Already know the research
• To hold a planning meeting question you wish to
• Get training address
• Do some initial data • Have your partnership team
gathering/analysis in place
• Bring in expertise • Are ready to write the
concept note

16. Writing the Concept Note
• If you received seed funds, you will have used those to
gather information and partners for your research proposal
• Brainstorm the project with partners and colleagues to
develop a framework for the full proposal application
• Clarify your research question(s) for the project
• Identify who will develop each section, what other
information is needed, and how partners will work together
• Build the budget using budget form (TBD)

17. Forming a research team
• Identify the research priority/activities
• Identify the resources
– Human resources
– Facilities
– Data
• Identify the research team leader
• Figure out your communication strategies
– Google docs?

18. Form
Research
Centers research
question
team
• Identify • Identify • Identify team
centers resources leader

19. Center
2
Center Center
1 3
Research
Question

20. The Function of a Proposal
– Presents a compelling argument for
funding to the NWC
– Represents both the researchers and
the partners’ credibility and capacity
– Describes the project in persuasive
terms
– Provides mechanisms for evaluation
– Tests your ability to
articulate/conceptualize: If you can’t
state it well, you probably can’t do the
project!

21. The Essential Components of a Proposal
• Introduction
• Statement of Need/Rationale/Thesis
• Goals/Objectives/Methodology
• Environment & Organizational Support
• Personnel and Institutions Involved
• Expected Outcomes
• Evaluation Plan
• Budget and Budget Narrative

22. Description of the Approach
to Solve the Problem
• Identifies then
modifies, corrects, improves, expands, innova
tes, replicates or otherwise adapts previous
efforts; may suggest a novel or
transformative approach that has not been
tried before
• Discusses specific
actions, approaches, methods, timeline
• Justifies these in terms of the outcomes to be
achieved
• Provides information as to how the process
and outcome will be measured

23. Links Between Actions to be Taken and
Statement of Problem
The problem you are addressing is always the
essential element.
– Each action should link the proposed
solution to the problem
– Whenever possible, each action should
also tie directly to how you will measure
your success (Note: USAID indicators
will be one measure)
– Who are the stakeholders?
– Budgets evolve from the actions
required

24. Who Will Perform the Work?
• Identify the persons/centers/partners who will perform the
proposed work
– Identify the team leader!
• Identify collaborators, in the NWC and possibly
outside, e.g., private sector, civil society, government, US
universities
• State their expertise, roles on the project, and capacity to do
the work – who will do what and how will they be held
accountable
• Network early with potential collaborators

25. Partners Required!
• MENA NWC requires collaboration and
partners
• The work will be done in different locations
• Facilities or expertise may be needed from
other researchers or centers

26. Your colleagues and partners
• Include colleagues in your
proposal as appropriate to this
research; acknowledge their
contributions.
• Have colleagues participate in
writing and reviewing the
proposal for clarity before you
submit it.
• Make sure your administrators
are supportive.

27. Monitoring and Evaluation
• Reporting is Required
– Quarterly updates
– Annual reports
– USAID Indicators must be used
• Two Types
– Fiscal
– Programmatic
• Accountability
– External Evaluation will be required
– Formative (what is happening) and summative (what
happened)
– Self-Correction and Opportunities

28. Impact and Outcome
• Provides the sponsor with evidence that the project is
progressing (milestones) and is completed:
– First milestone will be the work plan
– Quarterly progress updates
– Annual report
– Reporting form will be developed
• Provides documentation of impact (e.g., indicators)
• Identifies areas for future improvement
• Identifies “dead ends” – can be helpful in identifying what
doesn’t work
• Describes how the outcome and useful information can be
shared with others

29. The Review Process, or Writing
Backward for Progress
• Identify the criteria for success
• Highlight and define specific
elements as priorities when
appropriate
• Be redundant if the point is
essential….
• Remember, this is a “sales pitch”

30. General Comments
• You are writing for the reviewers, not for a journal
• Write to the guidelines, don’t leave out anything
• Page limits and deadlines are “set in stone”
• Follow the guidelines even if they don’t “flow” as you
would like
• Be realistic about the work involved and the time you
have to complete the work
• Get to know the PR&D team… Ken, Mac, and ?

31. Your ideas
• Must be interesting and understandable to a
broadly-trained audience
• Your policy-relevant research question should be
clearly stated
• Clear communication - don’t get lost in the details
• Include a summary diagram or model early in the
proposal to highlight the problem and specific
aims

32. The review
• Clear communication
• Concisely worded
• Easy and interesting to read
• Communicates the importance of your work to
science, technology, and education
• Budget is sufficient to get the work done, not
overly inflated or too low
• If declined, use the opportunity to
figure out why and try again

33. Basic Tips on Getting Started
• Read and understand the guidelines for the concept note
and the full application
• You must develop a concept note
• Identify the supporting data you will need
• Establish a timeline for completion of the proposal
– Work backwards from the due date, being sure to
include time to get all the approvals you’ll need
• Identify the primary writer and the role of the other
colleagues, partners, and collaborators
• Don’t be afraid to contact the Grants Manager (Ken) or
other partners for information as needed

34. The 90% Rule of Grant-writing
• Understanding the guidelines, instructions
and requirements
• Contacting the sponsor, whenever
appropriate
• Developing a sound project concept, 90%
including data
• Identifying and correcting the gaps in
required information
• Expanding the concept to match the
guidelines
• Identifying costs
• Writing/submitting the proposal 10%

35. Concept Note
• Project Title
• The Investigators/Centers/Partners
• Background
• Objectives
• Work Plan
• Project Organization and Management
• Expected Benefits of the Project
• Budget

36. Budget
• Equipment
• Materials
• Travel
• Training
• Other costs such as student wages or research support
• Publications & outreach materials
• Administrative costs
• Matching
• Templates will be provided – list expenses by expense type and by activity
• Each center to provide separate budget, rolled up into overall project
budget

37. Middle East and North Africa
_____________________________________
Network of Water Centers of Excellence
Questions?