Amount
Submission Eligibility
Grant Conditions
Deadline
Proposal Writing: The Required Components Of ACCD Mini-Grant Proposal
Sample Proposal
Reviewer Evaluation Form

AMOUNT: Maximum of *$600 per department/unit or employee group per year *lesser or greater amount may be awarded.

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SUBMISSION ELIGIBILITY: "All employees" are eligible to submit grants: full-time, part-time, permanent, temporary, and student employees. Due to budgetary constraints, the Council cannot accept proposals at this time for the development of single individuals. Exceptions will be entertained, however, for training of individuals who would return to the District and train others in some needed area.

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GRANT CONDITIONS: All development activities must be clearly job-related. Proposals for innovative instruction and continuing development of faculty members in their teaching capacity will not be considered by the EDC. For these types of proposals, contact the Instructional Innovation Centers at each college or the ACCD Instructional Innovation Council.
Beneficiaries

• All development activities must clearly benefit department/*unit or **employee group and not for the development of single individuals. Exceptions will be entertained, however, for training of individuals who would return to the District and train others in some needed area.* sub division of a department ** examples: college/district secretaries, work studies, house keeping, etc.

• Proposals must follow the format detailed in the following "Proposal Writing" supplement. Those that do not follow this format will not be considered by he Council.

• Proposal must indicate the time in which your proposal activity is to occur. The Council has a charge to carry out activities prior to the end of the current fiscal year, August 31. However, requests for future activities which will occur before October 31 of the next fiscal year, will be accepted if funds can be encumbered by August 31st of the current fiscal year. If you submit for an activity occurring after August 31 of the current fiscal year, please explain why that time frame is best as your proposal may be considered for funding at a later time.

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DEADLINE: Proposals may be submitted any time prior to August 1 of the current fiscal year. Submit proposals to :
Department of Human Resources
Building A, 201 W. Sheridan
The Council will respond to proposals within approximately one month.

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PROPOSAL WRITING: Basic Principles of Proposal Writing

1. The proposal should be neat, clean, and easy to read.

2. The proposal should be brief, not more than two (2) pages, single-spaced. Make it just long enough for you to clearly communicate your message but not so long as to overwhelm the readers.

3. Focus on the importance of usefulness of what you propose.

4. Support your "beliefs" with evidence and documentation. Present enough evidence to support your position, but don't overkill with pages of tables, charts, graphs, and statistics.

The Required Components of ACCD Mini-Grant Proposal I. The Problem Statement or Needs Assessment This is the most critical part of your plan. If you focus on "needs", you will describe what a particular group of individuals need at a particular time and place. If you focus on a "problem", you describe it, who is affected by it, and the potential benefit of your "solution". In either case, this section has basic requirements:

1. Clearly relate needs to purposes and goals of your department/unit/employee group. (Supports unit's plan.)

2. Provide evidence to document problem or need.

3. Can be achieved within time allotted.

4. Identify who will benefit (the constituents).

II. Program Objectives

This section focuses on the outcomes of the activities (solutions). Program objectives that are measurable will help you rate the effectiveness of your activities. They should tell who is going to do what, when, and how much. INCLUDE COMPLETION DATE AND TIME.

NOTE: If you submit for an activity occurring after August 31 of the current fiscal year, please explain why that time frame is best as your proposal may be considered for funding at a later time.

III. Methods

This portion of your proposal focuses on the steps taken to achieve the desired results. Methods should be understandable, practical and need to be accompanied by an explanation of why you chose them. Include in this section the sequence of activities and who will oversee the program.

NOTE: If requested services are provided by ACCD, a thorough justification needs to be made if outside vendors are preferred.

IV. Evaluation

The evaluation process should include the following items: Identify who will be performing the evaluation and how evaluators will be selected. Define evaluation criteria. Describe data gathering methods. Explain any test instruments or questionnaires to be used. Describe the process of data analysis. Show how evaluation will be used for program improvements. Describe evaluation reports to be produced.

This portion of your proposal is an estimate of what the costs will be to carry out the program.  Be specific!  Things to be included in this section are personnel/consultant costs, space/equipment costs, supplies, travel, and postage/printing.


>>>Note: Food or refreshments are NOT funded by ACCD Mini-Grant<<<

Also include information identifying other funding sources contributing to this project and the dollar amount of the contribution(s). Provide a cost/benefit ratio. Calculate costs, benefits and compare the results. How much will this training cost per person trained and impacted?  Amount requested from ACCD EDC not to exceed $600.00.

The proposal must include the signatures of the originator, supervisor and budget manager of the unit/department providing the additional source of funds.

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SAMPLE PROPOSAL

Problem Statement:

The ACCD has approximately 130 employees in secretarial positions. They spend, on average, 20% of their time on the phone. These individuals are often the first person a caller encounters when contacting a department within the District. Therefore, the need for professional telephone skills is highly important to the success of the organization. Callers must feel that their calls are being answered promptly and that they are being assisted in a courteous manner. Additionally, messages and information must be accurately conveyed. Currently there is no ACCD "in house" training system to address this need.

The objective of this program is to offer extensive training in telephone techniques to all secretarial staff members, and others, who spend a significant portion of their time answering the phone. The training will be offered in one full-day or two, half-day sessions during the week after the end of registration of the first regular Summer semester of the current fiscal year.

Chairs, Directors, Coordinators, and other administrators will be asked to identify their staff members who have telephone answering duties. Those people will be invited to attend the workshop.

Since currently there is no ACCD "in house" training system to address our need, the national consulting firm, XYZ Inc., will be hired to teach the course. They are nationally recognized for their success in this particular area. A copy of the brochure describing this eight (8)-hour class is attached. They are available at our convenience, with a two-week notification. They can accommodate up to 200 people per class.

The XYZ company will prepare a pre- and post-session test to gauge the knowledge acquired during the session by the participants. Additionally, all participants will be asked to complete an evaluation form at the completion of the course. That evaluation form will cover the content and length of the session, the presenters, and any handouts given to the participants. All items will be rated on a 5-point scale (5 - Very Good; 4 - Good; 3 - Acceptable; 2 - Poor; 1 - Very Poor) so that numerical averages can be reported for each item evaluated. General comments will also be solicited. The evaluation data gathered will be used to revise the program to better meet the needs of the participants in future offerings of the course.

The cost to hire XYZ, Inc. consultants for one, eight-hour course would be $1500.00. This includes airfare and other travel-related expenses. Estimated cost to "advertise" the course and prepare course materials is an additional $250.00. Additional funds in the amount of $1150 will be provided from the ABC department's budget. Cost benefit ratio is $1750/200 or $8.75 per person. REMEMBER: This is the document the evaluators will use to critique your proposal.

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EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL MINI-GRANT PROPOSAL REVIEWER EVALUATION FORM

Proposal Title _____________________________________________

Assigned Number: ______ Conforms to EDC program goals and basic proposal requirements:

Y N Meets the common development needs of all employees or meets the professional development needs of staff and/or administrators.

Y N Clearly (75%+) job-related and not instructional or curriculum centered

Y N Clearly (75%+) work-related and not mainly a social event

Y N Benefits a department and not just a single employee.

Y N Although services requested are provided by ACCD, a thorough justification was made as to why outside services were desired.

Y N Realistic implementation by August 31, of the current academic year

Y N Proposal written in five-section format detailed in "Proposal Writing" supplement

I. Problems/Needs Assessment: Clearly stated and documented. 0 1 2 3 4 5

Comments:

II. Objectives: Relate to department, specific, measurable and focused on outcomes. 0 1 2 3 4 5

Comments:

III. Methods: Practical, specific step by step explanation with responsibilities defined. 0 1 2 3 4 5

Comments:

IV. Evaluation: Criteria,methods and how reported defined. 0 1 2 3 4 5

Comments:

V. Budget: Specific estimates and cost/benefit ratio calculated. 0 1 2 3 4 5

Comments:

VI. Overall Evaluation: General impressions of importance, usefulness and other funding sources. 0 1 2 3 4 5

Comments:

• Proposal funding is NOT recommended because of "No" item(s) marked above it. • Proposal funding is PENDING correction of "No" item(s) marked above it. Additional information needed:
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________

• Proposal funding is RECOMMENDED for • Full Amount $_______________ or • Other Amount $_______________

Reviewer: ___________________________________________________

Phone: _____________________

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