Evaluations pinpoint what is really happening in your project so you can improve your project efficiency. Based on evaluation information, you can better allocate resources, improve your services, and strengthen your overall project performance. Beyond these immediate benefits, a project evaluation can uncover needs to be served in your next proposal and make it easier to get and sustain funding.

If you want to include an evaluation component in your proposal but know nothing about the subject, consider borrowing ideas from the evaluation plans developed for similar programs or ask a colleague or consultant to review the rest of the proposal and develop an appropriate evaluation strategy. Too frequently, proposals don't explain how the project will be evaluated. At best, they mention some vague process, such as holding a discussion meeting or assigning the evaluation to an expert, with no specifics on how the evaluation will be conducted or what will be learned from the evaluation.

Key Questions to Answer. As you write the evaluation section, answer these questions. Does your evaluation section

1. Describe why evaluation is needed in the project?
2. Provide a definition of what is meant by evaluation?
3. Clearly identify the purpose of your evaluation and the audiences to be served by its results?
4. Demonstrate that an appropriate evaluation procedure is included for every project objective?
5. Provide a general organizational plan or model for your evaluation?
6. Demonstrate that the scope of the evaluation is appropriate to the project? Demonstrate the extent to which the project is practical, relevant, and generalizable?
7. Describe what information will be needed to complete the evaluation, the potential sources for this information, and the instruments that will be used for its collection?
8. Clearly summarize any reports to be provided to the funding source based on the evaluation, and generally describe their content and timing?

Using Evaluators Effectively. Whether you use an internal or an external evaluator, or both, be sure to include them in the proposal development process. A common proposal-writing mistake is to budget an amount for evaluation costs and worry later about the evaluation procedure. Instead, involve evaluators in the proposal writing. Be sure to give them a copy of your project objectives. Remember that pointed objectives will simplify the evaluation process.

An evaluator should provide you with important proposal information. Specifically, ask your evaluators to identify precisely what will be evaluated, what information they will need to conduct the evaluation, where that information will be obtained, how often data will be collected, what data collection instruments will be used to get that information, what evaluation design will be used, what analyses will be completed, and what questions you will be able to answer as a result of the evaluation.

How to Evaluate. Evaluation is essentially a four-step process. As you will see, if the objectives and methodology sections of your proposal are precise, you are well on your way to completing the evaluation protocol.

1. Identify precisely what will be evaluated. If you wrote measurable objectives, you already know what to evaluate.
2. Determine the methods you will use to evaluate each objective. More precisely, you will need to describe the information you will need and how you propose to collect it.
3. Complete your evaluation design. Specify the analyses you plan to make and then carry out your evaluation by collecting and interpreting the data needed for each objective. Your evaluation design may be simply to observe the behavior of a particular population or something more complex like a rigorous experimental and multiple control group design.
4. Summarize the resulting data analyses and indicate its use. Consider including mock data tables that show what your resulting data might look like.

Note that of these four steps, the first two are completed as you write the objectives and methods sections of your proposal. In other words, you are half-done with the evaluation section before you start it.

Writing Tips for Evaluation Section. Include a separate evaluation component for each project objective. Strengthen your evaluation section by including examples of surveys, questionnaires, data collection instruments, data analysis forms, and other evaluation methodologies in order to demonstrate the credibility of your evaluation section. If you use outside evaluators, identify costs, credentials, and experience. Evaluation sections are less likely to be included in basic research than training grants. Replicability is the primary evaluation criterion in most basic science research proposals.

(--sections reprinted by permission, Miner and Associates, Inc.)

Next month.....Dissemination.....

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at ext. 5849.

Have a great month!             

   Amy Summerlin                 

Mathematics and Natural Sciences Projects

National Science Foundation -

Upcoming Deadlines, July & August, 2007

• Advancing Theory in Biology, July 3
• Ecological Biology, July 9
• Ecosystem Science, July 9
• Long Term Research in Environmental Biology, July 9
• Population and Evolutionary Processes, July 9
• Earth Sciences:  Instrumentation and Facilities, July 11
• Behavioral Systems, July 12
• Cognitive Neuroscience, July 14
• Developmental and Learning Sciences, July 15
• Linguistics, July 15
• Perception, Action and Cognition, July 15
• Social Psychology, July 15
• Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER), July 17
• Science and Society, August 1
• Biological Oceanography, August 15
• Chemical Oceanography, August 15
• Cultural Anthropology, August 15
• Geography and Regional Science, August 15
• Political Science, August 15
• Sociology, August 15
• Methodology, Measurement, and Statistics, August 16
• Decision, Risk and Management Sciences, August 18
• Economics, August 18
• Conferences, Workshops, and Special Meetings in the Mathematical Sciences, August 23
• Instrument Development for Biological Research, August 31

Environmental Protection Agency

EPA is seeking applicants to conduct voluntary comprehensive environmental assessments and develop and review nutrient management plans (NMPs) for livestock operations. The goal of this project is to provide confidential no-cost technical assistance to livestock operations nationwide that will help the operators of these facilities prevent water discharges and reduce air emissions by identifying environmental challenges and learning ways of addressing the environmental challenges. The principal parameters for evaluation at these sites will be nitrogen and phosphorus and their component species (e.g., NH3, NOx, PO4, etc.). Livestock facilities to be assessed include operations in all animal sectors throughout the United States.

Deadline:  July 9, 2007

Arts, Humanities, & Social Sciences Projects

National Endowment for the Humanities - Upcoming Deadlines

Interpreting America's Historic Places:  Planning Grant

Planning grants are being offered as part of the Interpreting America's Historic Places program, which supports public humanities projects that exploit the evocative power of historic places to address themes and issues central to American history and culture. Projects may interpret a single historic site or house, a series of sites, an entire neighborhood, a town or community, or a larger geographical region. The place taken as a whole must be significant to American history and the project must convey its historic importance to visitors.

The goals of Interpreting America's Historic Places are to:

• enhance lifelong learning in American history by connecting nationally significant events, people, ideas, stories and traditions with specific places;
• foster the development of interpretive programs for the public that address central events, themes and issues in American history; and
• encourage consultation with humanities scholars and history organizations in the development of heritage tourism destinations.

Interpreting America's Historic Places projects should:

• interpret a place that played a significant role in American history;
• enrich the visitor experience at one or more historic places by interpreting these places in light of broader themes in American history;
• make use of the specific features of one or more historic places--the site, its location, buildings, or other natural or built features--as integral parts of the proposed interpretation;
• be based on sound humanities scholarship;
• involve humanities scholars in all phases of development and implementation;
• approach the subject thematically, analytically, and interpretively through an appropriate variety of perspectives;
• interest broad audiences; and
• employ appealing and accessible program formats that will actively engage the public in learning.

NEH encourages efforts to expand the number of people reached at historic places using means such as multiple venues, creative collaborations, outreach to new or underserved audiences, or effective models that can be emulated.

Deadline:  September 5, 2007

Fellowship Programs at Independent Research Institutions

Grants for Fellowship Programs at Independent Research Institutions (FPIRI) support fellowships at institutions devoted to advanced study and research in the humanities. NEH fellowships provide scholars with access to resources that might not be available at their home institutions.

Fellowship programs may be administered by independent centers for advanced study, libraries, and museums in the United States, or American overseas research centers or other organizations that have expertise in promoting research on foreign cultures. Individual scholars must apply directly to the institutions themselves. A list of currently funded institutions is available.  In evaluating applications from centers for advanced study, libraries, and museums located in the United States, priority is given to programs at institutions where library holdings or special collections, available either on-site or nearby, will be used by NEH-funded fellows in their research.

Deadline:  September 4, 2007

Faculty Humanities Workshop

Grants for Faculty Humanities Workshops support local and regional professional development programs for K-12 teachers and faculty at post-secondary institutions by providing such faculty with the opportunity to engage in vigorous intellectual inquiry with visiting scholars on significant topics in the humanities.

For school teachers, these intellectual enrichment projects typically respond to or align with humanities topics and subjects identified in state or other appropriate frameworks for learning. Such projects involve a series of meetings over periods of up to 18 months to pursue a well-defined, cohesive course of study. Participants will have opportunities to work with visiting humanities scholars as they carry out a collaborative program of readings, discussions, and other activities. Projects can involve teachers from a single school, a cluster of schools, or a school district, and draw upon humanities resources in the wider community, such as libraries, museums, historical organizations, and other educational institutions.  Projects for college and university faculty members should reflect and respond to institutional priorities and initiatives. These workshops enable a core group of faculty to pursue collaborative humanistic inquiry at a level that could not be accomplished with existing institutional resources. As the core group pursues its common course of study, it will draw upon expertise from within the institution(s) as well as from appropriate visiting scholars. Projects typically involve a cohesive series of meetings on a well-defined topic over a period of up to 18 months.

Workshops should:

• extend and deepen participants' knowledge of the humanities
• provide faculty with the opportunity for focused reading, reflection, and discussion supporting a sustained intellectual inquiry;
• involve scholars from outside the institution(s) who bring appropriate expertise on the topic of the project;
• use effective formats and programs to engage faculty members; and
• advance the study and teaching of the humanities at the participating institution(s).

Proposals to provide workshops for college faculty and school teachers with limited access to professional development in the humanities are encouraged. These workshops may include teachers at charter schools, parents who home school, private license school faculty, and community college faculty. If the workshop is designed for K-12 educators, project directors are encouraged to make arrangements with the appropriate state agency for participants to receive continuing education units (CEUs) or in-service credit.

Funds may be used to pay for visiting scholars, books and other materials, logistical support, and appropriate release time for project staff.

Deadline:  September 15, 2007

National Endowment for the Arts: 

Grants for Arts Project - Access to Artistic Excellence

The purpose of the Access to Artistic Excellence is to encourage and support artistic excellence, preserve our cultural heritage, and provide access to the arts for all Americans. This category supports projects that provide short-term arts exposure or arts appreciation for children and youth as well as intergenerational education projects.  Grant awards will range from $5,000 to $150,000. All grants require a nonfederal match of at least 1 to 1.  Support is available to organizations for projects that do one or more of the following:

• Provide opportunities for artists to create, refine, perform, and exhibit their work.
• Present artistic works of all cultures and periods.
• Preserve significant works of art and cultural traditions.
• Enable arts organizations and artists to expand and diversify their audiences.
• Provide opportunities for individuals to experience and participate in a wide range of art forms and activities.
• Enhance the effectiveness of arts organizations and artists.
• Employ the arts in strengthening communities.

Deadline:  August 13, 2007