Posted: May 15th, 2022

ASSIGNMENT 2 – THE STATEMENT OF NEED, PROJECT SIGNIFICANCE

ASSIGNMENT 2 – THE STATEMENT OF NEED, PROJECT SIGNIFICANCE, AND GOAL AND OBJECTIVES (10 Points)
This Assignment has 3 sections:
-The Statement of Need -Project Significance -Goal and Objectives
A minimum of 4 pages, double spaced, is required for this assignment. Use headings for each section within the Assignment so they are clearly identified.
THE STATEMENT OF NEED (2 pages)
This is a very important part of your proposal. Your goal is to show the potential funding source (the foundation where you will send your proposal) that you have done your research and you know with certainty that your mental health program is needed. Needs can be identified in a variety of ways ranging from information found in websites, journal articles, government document information, book, newspapers and magazines, to surveys of potential participants, community meetings, interviews, and speaking with community leaders. THE PROJECT’S NEEDS MUST BE IDENTIFIED BEFORE THE PROJECT IS DESIGNED, NOT AFTER.
Please note that any information used in a grant proposal that is obtained from the web, journals, books, magazines and other sources MUST BE CITED AND REFERENCED IN APA STYLE.
. A citation is what you use in the text of the proposal to indicate where the information was found and, in the References section of the grant proposal, you present the list of citations (so we call these “references”. Please use APA Style to avoid loss of points.
Statistical data must also be used in terms of incidence of the disorder you will be addressing. For example, if you are going to write a proposal to address domestic violence, what is the incidence of domestic violence nationally? In your community? The information may be available in websites that can be cited and referenced. You must also use statistics to figure out how often the disorder you will be talking about happens. For example, if you want to write a proposal about domestic violence, you might want to know how common it is in the United States. In your neighborhood? Websites that can be cited and referenced may have the information.
The following topics should be clearly addressed in the Statement of Needs section:
• What types of needs are met? Describe them in detail.
• Whose needs are they? This should go beyond the individual needs to
community needs.
• How were the needs identified? List all sources of need identification.
PROJECT SIGNIFICANCE (1 page)
This is the section is where you will communicate clearly why the project is important and why it differs from current practice. The funding source will want to know if it is unique or if it is a replication of a previously implemented project. You are also required to use APA style for supporting information and statistics that are used in this section. You can include “interviews” with potential participants and community experts, such as judges, directors of major organizations, and other community leaders where they indicate the significance of the project.
If you already have an idea of the foundation that you will ask for the money to fund your project (the funding source), you should look at their website and ensure that their mission matches your project. For example, if their mission is to improve the environment, and your project is to prevent bullying, then the two missions don’t match!
The following topics should be clearly addressed in the Project Significance section:
• Why is this project important?
• Who is it important for? Who will benefit from it? Individuals, communities?
• How does the project differ from current practice?
• How does the project meet the mission of the funding source (if you already
know who that will be. If not, it should be included in the final proposal).
GOAL AND OBJECTIVES (1 page)
This section of your proposal is one of the most important, as the goal of the project and the objectives, or action steps, will guide the rest of the proposal. The goal of the project will be the MAIN PURPOSE, and the objectives will become the ACTIVITIES. In the Plan of Operation, you will describe all the activities of the project within each objective. Therefore, each activity planned for the project must meet a specific objective. Please do not confuse the GOAL with your OBJECTIVES!
For example, if one of your objectives is to increase the social skills of children with autism, then your Plan of Operation will list activities that will result in the improvement of social skills for the participants.
In addition to discussing your objectives in your Plan of Operation, you will also address the objectives in the evaluation section (in Assignment 3). Your objectives must be measurable in some way, whether qualitatively or quantitatively, and their successful achievement will be discussed in the evaluation section of the grant proposal.
For this assignment, please see the suggestions below for writing your goal and objectives:
o The goal should be one single, overarching, goal. Multiple goals are confusing and reviewers may feel that the project is too broad. Keep it tight
because if you include too many activities in the goal, it will be viewed as “too
broad” and you will not get funded.
o The goal should be holistic and have one purpose. Example of a Goal: The
goal of this project is to develop and implement a prevention program for adolescents who have exhibited signs of, or the potential for, substance use.
o The objectives of the project should be action steps which use action words. You should have no more than 3-4 objectives, otherwise your project may have too few or too many activities. The objectives are the main activities in your project that will produce the changes to meet the goal.
o Objectives should be measurable in some way.
o Use action words, such as identify, create, implement, provide, evaluate,etc. o Example of an Objective: The first objective is to provide a three-hour
psychoeducational program about substance use to 100 high school students who have exhibited signs of, or the potential for, substance use.