Grant Writing and Project Management 2010

The complete syllabus for this course can be found online at http://open.byu.edu/ipt682/

This wiki page includes the course topics and schedule, which may evolve during the semester.

Course Participant Blogs

• David - http://opencontent.org/blog/
• Christijan - http://yancho.blogspot.com/
• Mary - http://maryidt.wordpress.com/
• Holt - http://zauggh.wordpress.com/
• David the Younger - http://deandp.wikispaces.com/
• Whitney - http://ipt682iscool.blogspot.com/
• Kim - http://kdavison.blogspot.com/
• Kathie - http://klmackay.wordpress.com/
• Seth - http://sethchamber.blogspot.com/
• TJ - http://gravytrain682.blogspot.com/
• Dan - http://haq8942nhnl.wordpress.com/

Course Topics

• Week 1 - Overview (Week of August 30)
  • Mosiah 2:17, Alma 37:7
  • The Hitchhiker's Guide to Making a Difference
  • "Ramen Profitable" - when not to write a grant
  • Good, Fast, Cheap, aka the "project triangle"
  • MEG Grant Information - This is an internal BYU grant that you as a graduate student can work with a faculty member on
  • Assignment: List your blog address by logging in and clicking "Edit" above. (If you don't have a blog, get a free one at http://wordpress.com/ or http://blogger.com)
  • Assignment: Personal interview with Brother Wiley

• Week 2 - Finding Your Passion (Week of September 6)
  • D&C 123:12-15
  • The Way of the Disciple, President Uchtdorf (April 2009 General Conference) Pay special attention to the paragraph titled 'The Way of the World'
  • The Shower, Dish Washing, and Lawn Mowing Test - When your hands are busy and your mind is not, where do your thoughts go? What in our field do you think about when no one is requiring you to think about the field?
  • Finding Your Question - Opportunity, Experience, Impact, and P. T. Barnum
  • Finding Peace with the Competition with "Bachelor Status"
  • The in-class exercise on Clarifying and Strengthening Your Question
    • Results of Kim's in-class question exercise
    • Results of TJ's in-class question exercise
    • Results of Kathie's in-class question exercise
    • Results of Mary's in-class question exercise

• • Assignment: Blog your passion and current question

• Week 3 - Finding Your Partners (Week of September 13)
  • More Question Strengthening exercises...
  • Mosiah 23:13-14
  • The Shopping Mall Test
  • Differences Between Federal and Private Foundations
  • Finding a Funder
  • Finding an RFP
  • Finding Co-PIs (and Coase's notion of transaction costs)
  • Assignment: Help compile a list of EIME and IP&T-related funding agencies on the Wiki
  • Assignment: Find and blog the most appropriate RFP for your passion / question on your blog

• Week 4 - First Steps (Week of September 20)
  • 2 Nephi 28:30
  • Reading and Highlighting RFPs
  • Talking to / Soft Pitching Program Officers
  • Finding and Reading Previous Successful Grants
  • Assignment: Highlight your RFP as per the directions above in Reading and Highlighting RFPs
  • Assignment: Personal interview with Brother Wiley

• Week 5 - Literature Reviews and Administrative Issues (Week of September 27; Guest speakers from the MSE and ORCA)
  • Matthew 5:18
  • Randolph, Justus (2009). A Guide to Writing the Dissertation Literature Review. Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation, 14(13). Available online: http://pareonline.net/getvn.asp?v=14&n=13
  • Video or audio from Karl White's Literature Reviews course in USU OCW (only what interests you)
  • Coordinating with Research Office (ORCA @ BYU)
  • Human Subjects Review
  • The Submission Process (e.g., Fastlane, e-grants.ed.gov)
  • Assignment: Begin your literature review, post your progress on your blog

• Week 6 - The Introduction (Week of October 4)
  • D&C 123:16-17
  • The First Impression
  • Writing the One Page Introduction / Summary
  • The Funnel Shape of the 1 Pager
  • The Cadence Toward the Question
  • Assignment: Blog (1) your one page summary, and (2) a description of the funnel shape and cadence of the summary

• Week 7 - The Money (Week of October 11)
  • 1 Timothy 6:10, Mormon 8:37
  • Budgets
  • Personnel
  • "Equipment"
  • Overhead / F&A Costs
  • Assignment: Continue working your literature review, post your progress on your blog

• Week 8 - Writing the Proposal (Week of October 18)
  • Ether 12:23-25
  • Literature Review as Framework
  • Connecting Literature to RFP Keywords
  • Credibility / The Named Team
  • Project Timeline
  • The Vita
  • D&C 128:6-9, The Angels May Quote From It (Spencer W. Kimball)
  • Assignment: Outline your proposal and complete your timeline and post on your blog
  • Assignment: Draft your budget and post on your blog

• Week 9 - People (Week of October 25; Guest speaker Tiffany Hall)
  • D&C 121:41
  • Hiring
  • The Netflix Approach
  • Crucial Conversations, Chapter 1
  • Style Under Stress Self-Assessment
  • Crucial Conversations Videos
  • Assignment: Work on your vita and post to your blog

• Week 10 - Why Do Projects Fail? (Week of November 1; Guest speaker Andy Gibbons)
  • Mosiah 4:29
  • 25 Best Startup Failure Post-Mortems of All Time
  • Andy Gibbons will tell us about...
    • iHawk - misperception of client need
    • Flight evaluator - scope creep
    • MD80 flight guidance - changes in the environment
    • SH2F subject matter experts and schedule
    • F16 subcontractor and schedule
  • Assignment: Interview a project manager or faculty member about a grant / project that went bad and blog the story in as much detail as you can (with their permission, of course)

• Week 11 - Instructional Design Project Management Technology and Practice (Week of November 8)
  • Alma 37:6
  • A list of "web 2.0" PM tools
  • Online Project Management Tools
  • A categorized list of different kinds of tools (bug tracking, invoicing, etc.)
  • Assignment: Continue drafting your project / dissertation proposal

• Week 12 - Areas of Concern (Week of November 15)
  • Mosiah 4:30
  • Communicating with Customers
  • Controlling Scope Creep
  • Changes in the Environment
  • Staying on Schedule
  • Assignment: Find and blog about one online resource in each of these areas

• Week 13 - The End? (Week of November 22)
  • 3 Nephi 15:9
  • Finishing and Closing Out Projects
  • Reporting / Final Grant Reports
  • Audits
  • Continuation Funding
  • Assignment: Continue drafting your project / dissertation proposal

• Week 14 - Putting the Course to Work for You, part 1 (Week of November 29)
  • 1 Nephi 19:23
  • Department Projects
  • Dissertations
  • Committee Management
  • Assignment: Continue drafting your project / dissertation proposal

• Week 15 - Putting the Course to Work for You, part 2 (Week of December 6)
  • Work Week
  • Assignment: Blog your final draft proposal
  • Assignment: Present your proposal in class for a mini-defense (answer relevant questions, etc.)
  • Assignment: Final interview with instructor and grade determination