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“The problem statement (or needs assessment) is a key element of a proposal that makes a clear, concise, and well-supported statement of the problem to be addressed.
Areas to document are:
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The purpose for developing the proposal.
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The beneficiaries—who are they and how they will benefit.
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The social and economic costs to be affected.
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The nature of the problem (provide as much hard evidence as possible).
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How the applicant organization came to realize the problem exists, and what is currently being done about the problem.
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The specific manner through which problems might be solved.
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Review the resources needed, considering how they will be used and to what end.
Types of data that may be collected include: historical, geographic, quantitative, factual, statistical and philosophical information, as well as studies completed by colleges, and literature searches from public or university libraries.” (From The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance—Developing and Writing Grant Proposals).
There are three very common ways to support your needs assessment:
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A quote from an external expert
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Data both from public records and from internal sources
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Quotations from published literature on the subject.
In addition to defining the problem, an effective statement of need also explains the importance of addressing the problem before it worsens or becomes much more expensive to address and correct.
After the project research has been analyzed, the following questions should be answered in the statement of need:
An effective statement of need refers to similar projects, the efficacy and timeliness of which have been researched by the grant proposal writer. Some valuable resources for learning about similar projects are:
Answers to the following questions about similar projects should be included in the statement of need:
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What did past projects learn?
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What are the strengths and weaknesses of past projects?
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What makes your project unique? |
