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Gathering and Substantiating Data for Inclusion
in the Need Statement
Part Four
One way to make time to write grant proposals is to organize
your approach to grant writing, in general, and to make a
specific plan for each grant request. We covered how to organize
your approach to a specific grant request last week. Over
the next few weeks, we'll focus on organizing your overall
approach. This week, we'll discuss gathering data to substantiate
your need statement.
Gathering Information from the Internet
Having the latest information to document the specific
problem or need your organization seeks to address is critical.
Ready access to the Internet demands that the need statement
in your grant request quote the latest studies and statistics.
Most organizations focus their programming on a specific
area of interest, such as hunger, the homeless, youth violence,
main street renovations, environmental education, etc. You
want to develop a system for maintaining and updating the
latest statistics in your particular area of interest. (This
is an excellent job for a volunteer or a board member.)
Today, most people will start their research by using the
Internet. The Internet allows access to so much information
that you can easily be overwhelmed. Narrowing your research
topic before starting your search can save a lot of time. Think
about what you're looking for, and if possible formulate
some very specific questions to direct and limit your search.
Yahoo, Google, and other search engines are fine for casual
research. They may even provide you with some good leads;
however, they can also be misleading. The most efficient
way to conduct online research is to be sure you are using
bona fide online research resources.
So, how do you find these resources? Your local library
(whether public and/or university-affiliated) is an excellent
place to start your research. Many libraries purchase memberships
to specialized online reference databases, and by asking
a reference librarian, you may be able to gain access to
these databases.
There are several high quality peer-reviewed subject directories
containing links selected by subject experts. What you want
to do is find a search engine that specializes in or features
research in your area of interest.
INFOMINE is
one example of a specialized search engine. Created through
the partnership of librarians at several universities, this
online resource contains databases, electronic journals and
books, articles, and many other types of information, and
is organized into several categories, ranging from the hard
and soft sciences, to government information, to the arts.
Doing research on the Internet inevitably means visiting
some sites that are useful and many that are not. Remember
to bookmark the sites you visit that turn out to be good
sources. Also be sure to document any data, statistics, quotations,
or other data you may use in your need statement.
We've provided you with a worksheet to
help you evaluate whether or not the information you're pulling
off the Internet is credible. Once you've determined which
Internet resources are going to provide you with the most
reliable, current information about your organization's focus
area, you can set up a schedule to regularly update any relevant
information (population demographics, unemployment statistics,
etc.) for your grantseeking needs. By setting up a regular
schedule, you will keep your information up-to-date, and
you won't waste valuable preparation time searching for a
single statistic at the last minute.
Next week we'll continue to discuss how to organize information
in order to save time by focusing on other ways to collect
information for the problem or need statement, as well as
time saving tips for other sections of the grant request.
Additional contributions to this article and worksheets
developed by Katy Mulcrone, Tracks to Success Editor. |
