By now you will have:
- Determined that your project fits within the funding requirements.
- A clear idea of what your project entails.
- A clear statement of the project aims.
- A clear statement of the project activities and/or resources to be developed.
- A clear statement of the project outcomes.
- A clear statement of how the project activities and/or resources to be developed will lead to the project outcomes.
- A clear idea of the target group that your project is for.
- A sense of the significance of this work to your community.
- Community backing, support and collaborating agencies.
- Decided on the methods and processes to put in place to achieve goals and outcomes.
- Estimated the length of time for the various stages of the work (allowing for risk management).
- An estimation of how much the project will cost.
- Identified and harnessed the skills and competencies of the personnel who would undertake the work.
- A clear idea of the facilities needed to do the work.
- A plan to put the arrangements in place if your application is approved for funding.
- A plan for an alternative course of action if your application is not approved for funding.
Once you are confident you are ready to write your submission, keep in mind that this is a legal document rather than 'just an application'. As such, you will need to be aware of the legal obligations specified within it.
The evidence base of your project - strengthening your case
Application processes for funding can be highly competitive. Your application will be considered in relation to those from hundreds of other groups, organisations and communities. All will have the same commitment and passion about their particular projects as you do about yours. Therefore, it is important that your application presents your 'case' as clearly and strongly as possible.
One key way to strengthen your application's quality and co m petitiveness is to clearly outline the 'evidence' that supports your project's proposed goals and activities.
The Stronger Families and Communities Strategy consistently outlines its interest in evidence-based projects and funding applications will be assessed to 'identify those that can deliver the best value' through 'an optimum combination of quality and cosf. The Strategy places 'strong emphasis an the role of evidence in early childhood interventions', with projects seen as having 'a unique opportunity to use the established evidence and contribute to the growing Evidence Base in both early childhood and community development'.
The Strategy glossary describes Evidence Base as follows:
Quantitative and qualitative data indicating that a proposed intervention will effectively address significant issues related to child or community development. The Evidence Base identifying significant issues in a community could include prevalence, trend data, long-term effects on children and families and impacts on other developmental areas. The Evidence Base indicating likely success of a proposed intervention could include results of Australian/international formal program evaluations, statistics (including baseline/post-intervention information), case studies, or structured client/ provider feedback (as in surveys or interviews). (Communities for Children, Stronger Families and Communities Strategy website.
The concept of an Evidence Base may sound very scientific and intimidating, but there are many ways in which your project can demonstrate its use of evidence in its planning and implementation. Think of'evidence' as anything that will demonstrate and support such elements as the:
- Strength of the need for your project.
- Rationale for your project goals.
- Legitimacy of the approach you are planning to take.
- Degree to which goals have been achieved.
- Nature of changes and outcomes that have resulted from the project.
- Impact that your project has had.
It is important to begin thinking in terms of 'evidence' from the early stages of your project development. This style of thinking should become central to your approach to your project. Keep in mind that finding and demonstrating evidence can be done in many ways, from the highly empirical (e.g. statistics) to the highly creative, descriptive or participative forms of evidence, including action research and stories.
Evidence of need
You must demonstrate that the proposed project will address a clearly identified need in your community. Strategies to strengthen your argument for the importance of meeting this need include:
- Thoroughly document the nature of this need.
- Thoroughly document its impact in the community.
- Thoroughly document the degree to which the perception of this need is shared within the community, including by the people expected to benefit from the project.
Needs can be determined in three different categories (Bradshaw 1972):
- Felt needs - what individuals or groups in the community say they need. Methods for determining felt needs include:
- Surveys
- Questionnaires
- Interviews
- Informal discussions, gatherings
- Public meetings
- Discussion/focus groups
- Letters of support
- Case studies
- Testimonials.
- Demonstrated needs - what is shown to be needed through observable actions. Demonstrated needs can be argued for through the documentation of:
- Numbers of people involved in need-related activities
- Inquiries about services
- Unsolicited requests for services
- Experiences of past programs
- Pilot program results
- Input from information displays
- Numbers of people notturning up or participating in community activities
- Gaps in services.
- Comparative needs - what experts and comparisons show might be needed. This type of need is determined by looking at what could/should be expected in relation to comparable groups, organisations or communities. Comparative needs can be argued for through such activities as:
- Comparing with other communities
- Comparing with other programs
- Comparing with past records of a service or program
- Using statistics, such as those published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics
- Consulting 'experts' - councils, human service workers, teachers, etc.
- Referring to needs studies done by others
- Citing relevant government policies.
Including information from a combination of the above methods and sources, rather than relying on only one 0 r two will strengthen the argument that a need exists. It is worth taking the time to plan ahead and accumulate information from such diverse sources for inclusion in your submission.
Previously funded Strategy projects determined the nature and extent of need through some of the following methods:
- Findings from research reports, scoping studies, local government planning documents, community surveys, and pilot projects.
- Reviews of professional literature, needs assessments, statistics regarding problems in the community (e.g. police stats re youth offences, school stats re school dropout rates) and socio-demographic data.
- Community-based processes such as community consultations, community round-tables, reference groups and 'active listening' to what the community is saying. Service-based indicators such as increased referrals, clinical experience that identifies gaps and changes in service needs and demands, and awareness of risk factors in specific communities or populations.
Evidence of community support/involvement
Further to demonstrating need, it will be important to show how the community that is affected by, or involved in the project supports the proposal. Community support will be demonstrated through the information discussed under 'felt needs' above. Another measure of community support might be the degree to which others are prepared to become involved in, or contribute to the project. Expressions of interest in the project, commitments to contribute to the project (e.g. in-kind donations, volunteer time, potential advisory group members), and projected or actual partnership relationships that will develop through the project all are indicators of community support. Enormity is an example of a Stronger Families and Communities Strategy project that demonstrates significant amounts of community support. A community-based teenage committee is supported by, and works in partnership with the local council, local youth workers, schools, local businesses (through monetary sponsorship/in-kind donations), organisations such as Lions Clubs and the local fire fighting groups. Enormity's work is based largely on volunteer person-power and time.
Evidence of intended benefits ond outcomes
Another factor that will be considered is whether the proposed project will provide 'value for money' in addressing the identified need. It is important, therefore, that you identify clearly the specific benefits and results that your project plans to achieve and reasonable costs for this. The benefits should be expressed in terms of concrete, observable changes that provide a clear picture of how the problem situation will improve as a result of the work done by your project. In addition to the broader goals or objectives of the proposed project (e.g. 'to strengthen parenting practices among young single mothers in our community through a mentoring program'), the application should include as much detail as possible about the intended specific outcomes or desired changes. The more specific, concrete, observable and measurable these outcomes are, the clearer will be the 'picture' of what can be achieved by funding your project. Intended changes and outcomes for a parenting project, as above, might be:
- At least X people will be successfully trained, using the Y model, as parenting mentors and matched with an equal number of single mothers below the age of 16 who have been identified as at risk of neglecting their children.
- In at least 80% of the matches, the relationship will continue for at least one year and involve, at a minimum, one face-to-face contact per week between the parent and mentor.
- Young mothers in the program will attend, with their mentors, monthly education sessions based on the Z program for strengthening parenting practices.
- The incidence of neglect situations, based on reports from Band C services, will reduce by at least 50% over a period of 18 months.
- Young mothers in the program will increase their involvement in education or employment activities to improve their financial situation and to increase their range of life skills.
In addition to presenting a stronger scenario of your project's intended ben efits and worth, setting out outcomes in such terms should assist the project in setting its direction and identifying the activities and tasks that will be necessary to achieve such outcomes.
Thinking about whether your costs are reasonable and if there are other less expensive options to this project will also help you demonstrate value for money.
Evidence supporting on intervention opprooch
How does this project demonstrate that the proposed intervention approach is an effective one, i.e. that it is likely to achieve the intended results?
This is a question that funders may consider. This focus on the evidence base of interventions is very much in keeping with the trend in social services. So, your project should give due consideration to how it can argue for the effectiveness of the approach it is proposing.
It is wise to strengthen your case by drawing upon the evidence-based literature and reso urces that are increasingly available. Fo r exam pie, the Cochrane Review website (www.cochrane.org) provides summaries of evidence-based findings in the area of health issues and health care. Perhaps even more relevant to SFCS projects is the Campbell Collaboration website (www.campbellcollaboration.org), which provides comparable summaries of evidence-based findings in the area of social welfare, education and corrections. The Campbell Collaboration includes evidence-based information about childhood interventions, parent-child interactions and similar themes relevant to the goals of the Stronger Families and Communities Strategy.
Specific professional journals that are strongly oriented toward evidence-based findings and reports are also available:
- Archives of General Psychiatry.
- Brief Treatment and Crisis Intervention.
- Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology.
- Research on Social Work Practice.
- Evidence-based Mental Health.
The Australian Institute of Family Studies Clearninghouse holds a collection of international and Australian research on family wellbeing in Australia.
Some previously funded Stronger Families and Communities Strategy projects have used other methods to demonstrate their programs' evidence base. One used successful results from a pilot project to show that the proposed larger program was based on sound practice, and another adapted the intervention approach of a highly successful program model that had established a strong body of evidence regarding its effectiveness. Another project used the following methods to establish the evidence base of its approach:
- Regular reference to the professional literature to inform their work.
- Consistent focus on monitoring best practices in their field of intervention.
- Use of an established and recognised program model, including purchase of the program manual to direct their practice.
- Consultation with a research institute to choose recognised family assessment measures.
- Attendance at a national conference related to their area of service.
- Attendance at workshops with experts in their field.
Evidence of obility to complete the project
Your 'case' for being considered for funding can be strengthened if your previous successes and achievements are 0 utlined in your application. The funder will wantto get a clear sense of the likelihood that applicants are able to carry through on projects put forward. Your 'track record' of successes can be presented by documenting and providing evidence of:
- Previous projects successfully funded.
- Specific results and outcomes from other activities/projects.
- Any recognition/awards received.
An important related aspect of your project is how it will build on existing community capacity, or how it will contribute 'added value' to your community. The application should demonstrate how the project draws upon existing resources and strengths in the community through such elements as advisory group members, volunteers, partnership relationships and consultants/experts. Other methods identified for documenting community strengths that can contribute to the project's potential for successful completion are skills audits/inventories and asset mapping (http://www.communitybuilders.nsw.gov.au/finding_funds/submissions/).
Evidence of activity ond impact
If your project is funded, you should expect to be asked to provide evidence of the activities undertaken (outputs), the impact and changes that have occurred (outcomes). More information about these areas is included in Module 2. However, atthis point in the preparation of your application, it is importantto anticipate these two elements of the project. Your application sho uld demonstrate yo ur awareness of these and include information about how the project plans to document its activities and impact.
Preparing the funding application
You have done a lot of thinking, planning, consulting and preparation in developing your project idea. You no doubt believe strongly in the value of your project but it is the project proposal application alone that will communicate your commitment and passion to those assessing the submission. In many ways, the future of the project rests upon the quality of the written application. The larger and more complex your project is, the more detailed information you will need to provide to support your application. The following suggestions will assist you to maximise the quality of your written application and reduce the chances of not being considered due to oversights:
- Follow application guidelines to the letter. Use the correct application form provided for the funding round and carefully consider the structure, sequence as you write your application. Read the questions and your answers and re-read them carefully so that nothing is overlooked.
- Assume that your audience (the funding body) knows nothing about your organisation, your community, the program or the issues that have led to your submission. Write clearly so that the audience understands the context and details of your ideas.
- Provide a context for the application. This may include information about the history of the idea, how it came alive in the community and how you consulted with the community to develop it. Show the reader how you moved from this point to the refined project concept.
- Draft and redraft written material. In the first draft, take account of such things as accuracy, clarity, consistency, emphasis and style. Redrafting should not be seen as an inadequacy or personal failure but an important step in enabling successful outcomes. Write the first draft, and then revise it before giving it to colleagues for comment.
- Seek colleagues' opinions. Be grateful for criticism. Colleagues can provide a great deal of help when you revise. Your choice of readers is very important. Some can assist with editorial matters, such as style, sentence construction and grammar. Others might be asked to read for clarity and the logical flow of ideas. Choose readers from a variety of backgrounds, including those who are familiar with your program and community, and those who are successful grant writers. It will be necessary to redraft the material after readers have provided comments.
- Ensure you present a watertight budget. This is one of the most important parts of the application. Justify every budget item. Remember that what is obvious to you may not be obvious to your audience. Reviewers should not have to wonder why certain items have been included. You may need to justify why you need to pay personnel at a particular salary level, why travel costs are important, why particular equipment is needed and so on. If the program is being funded for a longer period, consider whether repairs, new equipment or new appointments will be needed. In particular, large projects with large budgets will need to show how all the money will be used and it is important that this information is clearly presented. When this has been completed, check and recheck the budget's accuracy.
- Make sure that all requirements of the application guidelines have been met and that all sections of the application have been com pleted. Check on deadlines and ensure yo ur application meets these deadlines. Include all necessary signatures, as outlined in the application guidelines, and allow enough time for all necessary parties to receive, review and sign the application document.
- Ensure that you have completed ALL pages of the application and included ALL the attachments.
- Send the application to the correct address.
Checklist
Have you:
- Gathered evidence for the need that is driving your project?
- Demonstrated the evidence base for your project?
- Demonstrated the strength of community support for your project?
- Documented the specific benefits and/or outcomes for families and communities that you anticipate from your project, and how these will be measured?
- Presented evidence-based information that supports the effectiveness of your proposed intervention?
- Presented evidence that shows your project team is capable of successfully completing/ implementing the project within the given budget and time-frame?
- Documented your plan for gathering data about your project's activities and outcomes?
- Reviewed thoroughly the funding guidelines for your written application?
- Received feedback about your written application from appropriate others and redrafted it accordingly?
- Ensured that all sections of the application have been fully addressed?
- Obtained all the necessary signatures required on the application?
- Enclosed all pages?
- Correctly addressed the envelope?