ETEC 579 Technology Grant Pre-Proposal Project…

In the Proposal project you are to create a complete written pre-proposal for an unsolicited grant. The general purpose of this grant pre-proposal will be to provide for the implementation of emerging technology in an educational or commercial environment. You are urged to design a relevant and timely proposal that could serve a useful purpose in your district, discipline, business, or area of educational interest. The primary focus of the proposal must be on technology for use in an educational setting. The final product must be a work of sufficient quality to submit to an entity for funding consideration.

The pre-proposal can also serve as a framework for a future proposal written in response to a solicited grant. The required elements of this grant proposal are typical of information required by a request for proposal, or RFP. Your end product will contain enough information that it could be submitted as a pre-proposal or quickly and easily modified for submission in response to a specific RFP.

If you have the opportunity to apply for funds based on an RFP, it is critical that you follow the directions provided by the funding agency to the letter. Provide only the information they request in the form it is requested. No more. No less. Print out the agencies guidelines for proposal submission and use it as a checklist to ensure that you are submitting all of the required material exactly as requested. Grant applicants will typically be required to complete specific forms as part of the application process. Be sure that these forms are complete and submitted in the proper order. For our class project, the guidelines provided will be the basis of evaluation and project scoring.

As with the development of a technology plan, stakeholders should be involved in the grant application process if actual submission for funding consideration is intended. Funding agencies want to see evidence of a local commitment to the project. The executive summary, which is written by highest ranking member of the local administration at the organization is one way this is shown.

A financial commitment by the organization is also expected. The typical grant requires that 10% matching funds be allocated by the organization. This means that if you are proposing a $100.000 project, your organization must contribute $10, 000 from local funds. In some instances, it can cost an organization a substantial amount of money to receive a grant or even be cost prohibitive. Your organization’s financial situation should be carefully examined prior to submitting a grant application. Several past projects from this class have been submitted and funded. I’ll look forward to hearing that yours has as well.

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