Week 12: Grant Writing in Reverse!

My time recently has been spent furthering my writing preparation and cultivating industry relationships; including budget research to be presented in a teleconference next week with the NPF's Communication and Financial Directors. All verbal indications are that this is going forward with the sponsor to be named later (May/June 2010).

Additionally, I tried to comment on most of your blogs last weekend. There were a number of great ideas, ideas that are truly going to impact and help many people (and animals)!

I have also been experimenting with Camtasia for Mac and am considering a video presentation to show to potential corporate sponsors for Packet #2.

Thanks for all of your suggestions, ideas, and support!

RB

Week 11: Progress!

As promised, I have completed a total rewrite for all of my blog postings through Week 8. Week 9's Gantt Chart will stay the same.

My contact at the NPF was excited to report that mobile apps were recently discussed at their National Meeting. She feels that my proposal in on target and strongly feels that we will be able to start my project this summer, pending medical/legal review. Therefore, my first packet will go toward a traditional government proposal contest, while my second will incorporate a more detailed budget and business-like model to facilitate corporate requests/submisssions.

We've already started to plan personnel appointments, meeting schedules, and app construction timelines. Our efforts to prevent "too many cooks in the kitchen" will allow for the following:

1-Leader, Grant Writer, and Translator (Me)

1-M.D. (Dermatologist)

1-PhD. (T.C.)

1-SDK/Computer Programmer

1-Pharmaceutical Corporate Representative

1-NPF Representative

A total of six professionals will participate in the design process. I will keep you posted!

RB

Week 10: Spring Break

While restful for some, I used the extra time to revise and catch up on my grants and proposal project. My contact and I were able to do some more brainstorming and early planning. Additionally, I was able to finish the rewrites for all of my past blog postings to reflect my new project. I also completed the Moo 3-10-10 transcript.

Moo 03-10-10

Many of us will be using Spring Break to revise, rethink, and rework various aspects of our projects. Some of the main talking points were:

1. Who benefits from evaluations the most?

-sponsors

-the grant writer(s)

-the organization (submitting the proposal)

-target audiences

-future grant proposals (old ones are the basis for new ones per Rich)

2. "evaluation is rhetorical"-Rich

3. formative (w/information and details) vs. summative (summarizes effectiveness) evaluation plans

4. implementation of Gantt Charts- to record, evaluate, and manage project progression and established expectations

5. Bea pointed out, "two sets of measurements"-

a.) getting funded and b.) implementing the project

6. evaluations have both monetary and time-consuming costs involved

7. Brett recommends a formative evaluation method with G.O.T (goals/objectives/tasks)

8. Rich agreed with G.O.T. and likened the "genre" to the basic grant writing process (i.e. problem--->solution--->funder's role in solution)

9. data reporting/data dissemination should be included in the 'evaluation process' and in the 'budget'; thus demonstrating that we, the writers, have "thought it through'

10. goals/objectives must be revised and measurable so that data can be measured, collected, and analyzed

11. sustainability (p.280) is important because:

-shows seriousness

-shows project can continue when their (funder's) money runs out

-plans for and keeps project momentum

12. sustainability- Which project can take the money the furthest?

(i.e. The most bang for your buck)

13. types of sustainability:

-financial

-managerial

-technical

-environmental

-social

14. B.I.O.R.- if you have style/typographical differences with participants and want to push the issue, then BIOR!

(Blame It On Rich) :)

15. our nation, on average, hates large blocks of uninterrupted words

16. Rich said, "just remember how cool I am on evaluations"

17. Spring Break jumped out of no where and started early!

Week 9, 2nd Attempt!

Week 9: Gantt Chart

Please forgive the smaller size. I will figure out an adjustment and repost!

Week 8: Overall Writing Progress

As previously discussed, my logistical delays with the TxDLA manifested itself with corresponding setbacks in my writing progress; however, it did not delay some of the valuable lessons I was able to learn. In the interest of gaining experience, and to better organize this beginner's first proposal writing attempts, I spent extra time this week reconnecting with my contacts at the National Psoriasis Foundation (NPF). For better or worse, they do not have a grant writer and do not write very many grants; therefore, they have appreciative of my help and have placed very few restrictions on my efforts.

I have chosen to continue to work at rewriting my past blog assignments. I have found the new focus, or rather a focus at all, to be both comforting and inspiring. Please find a new summary of the problem that I wish to address. While working with the NPF, I will concentrate on the medical specialty of Dermatology for obvious reasons; however, the successful completion and implementation of such a project can have far-reaching implications for many medical specialties in the future.

New Problem Statement (Week 1):

There is a discrepancy between the access to healthcare that is experienced by rural Americans and their urban-based cohorts. Both anecdotal and empirical research studies support such an analysis. While the short falls encompass several aspects, each with their own deficiencies; I would like to work on the limited access to specialty-based medical treatment (e.g. Dermatology, Urology, etc.) that some rural residents must face. Attracting, or retaining, healthcare providers, especially those practicing specialty-based medicine is difficult, costly, and often based on perceived geographical or cultural drawbacks associated with rural living.

Therefore, I wish to proceed in a different direction and wish to bring specialty-based information and treatment algorithms to the general practitioners already established in America's rural areas. The pilot project, or treatment algorithms, will focus in the treatment of psoriasis. While advanced therapeutic modalities in the treatment of patients with psoriasis can be difficult; most of the lower and moderately aggressive treatment agents can easily be implemented and monitored by knowledgeable primary care personnel, thus removing some of the economic and transportation problems keeping rural patients from urban-based specialty medical care. I would like to work with the National Psoriasis Foundation (NPF) since they are the premier catalyst for education, improvements, change, and research in the ever-changing field of psoriasis care. Their mission is "to find a cure for psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis and to eliminate their devastating effects through research, advocacy, and education".