Proposal Guidelines

Developing EOPC proposals involves the use of forms and templates that can be downloaded from hyperlinked appendices below.

"Forms" are Adobe Acrobat files that must be downloaded, printed, and filled out with a typewriter or edited directly on your computer and then printed out (when printing out forms that you have edited on your computer, you must make sure you click your curser out of all editable areas; editable areas that have cursers in them will not print out).

"Templates" are rich text format files that can be downloaded and then filled out using a word processor. When accessing templates, select the "save to disk" option; do not select the "open" option. If your Internet browser opens the template directly (i.e., it does not prompt you for the "save to disk" option but directly opens the file), immediately invoke a "save as" command and retrieve the file to a local drive before editing the file. After you fill out the template, print out a hard copy and submit it along with the rest of your proposal materials.

Please do not re-format any of the on-line forms or templates; use them exactly as they come to you when they are downloaded.



Each new proposal must include the following: (A) Title page, (B) Narrative, (C) Budget, and (D) Attachments. Proposals lacking any of these items will not be considered. The components of each section are outlined below.

A. TITLE PAGE

• Please keep in mind the following when completing the title page:
• Proposals begin with a title page (use the Summary Title Page form provided in Appendix 1).
• The proposal title should be brief (one line) and should accurately reflect the proposal's intent.
• Please identify one person as the project director. Both the "Project Director" and "Project Director's Name" lines should have the same person's name on them.
• The unit should be the administrative unit (see Appendix 11 for administrative unit titles).
• The "Department/Program Head" is typically the project director's immediate supervisor. The "Dean, CEO, Administrative Head" is the budget executive of the administrative unit of the project director. Please consult with the EOPC office if you are unsure about appropriate signatories.
• The address should be the complete mailing address.
• The email address should be the project director's email address.
• Only one funding category may be selected, and the projected number of participants must be indicated on the title page.
• The amount of funds requested from EOPC must be stated along with the amount of unit support and support from external sources (unit support and support from external sources must comprise 50% of the total program costs).
• The proposal should be summarized concisely in the abstract.

B. PROPOSAL NARRATIVE

The narrative provides the justification for the program and should not exceed seven pages without attachments (use the Proposal and Program Evaluation Narrative template provided in Appendix 2, and see the Proposal Narrative Example in Appendix 3). The narrative must be comprised of the following sections.

• Name of Program: This section identifies the name of the program and some other introductory information about the program.
• Program Goal(s): This section outlines the goal(s) of the program and is comprised of a description of the target population, a problem statement, an explanation of the overall purpose and method of the program, and an identification of the goal(s) of the program.
• Objectives and Approaches: This section connects at least one measurable objective with each goal and explains the approaches the program will use to attain the objective(s). The "Measure" column provides a specific location to indicate the measure for each objective. Read more information on the relationship between goals, objectives, measures, and approaches.
• Evaluation Plan: This section describes the evaluation plan. The plan must explain the methods used in the evaluation and should assess outcomes that are most directly linked to the purpose of the program. Read more information on appropriate criteria for the evaluation plan.
• Linkages to External Documentation: This section links the proposal to the University's strategic goals, the unit's Framework diversity strategic plan, the unit's strategic plan, and describes how the program will contribute to A Framework to Foster Diversity at Penn State: 2004-09.

Save the electronic file that you develop for your proposal for the program evaluation. For the EOPC program evaluation, you will open up this file and add information that applies to the program evaluation.

C. BUDGET
The proposal budget must summarize the budget request (use the Proposed Summary Budget form provided in Appendix 4). In addition to this form, each proposal must provide explanatory budget notes for each line item (use the Budget Notes template provided in Appendix 5, and see the Budget Notes Example provided in Appendix 6). Proposals that clearly explain each line item in the budget notes will be more competitive than those with vague descriptions. Unit support and external funding sources must comprise at least 50 percent of the total funding, and this support must involve direct dollar support. In-kind support cannot be applied to unit support or other funding. Read a more detailed description of in-kind support.

D. ATTACHMENTS
A timetable must be included in the attachments section that outlines the projected tasks and identifies the names and titles of individuals who will be implementing various components of the program over the duration of the project. Any additional information (i.e., assessment instruments) useful in evaluating the merits of the proposal should also be included in this section. View an example of what EOPC evaluation teams are looking for in assessment instruments.

SUBMISSION PROCEDURE
ONE ORIGINAL AND SIX (6) COPIES of each proposal should be mailed on or before the deadline to the address listed below. See deadline schedule.

The Equal Opportunity Planning Committee
214 Grange Building, University Park, PA 16802

FUNDING PROCESS
Each proposal will be reviewed by an EOPC subcommittee. Each subcommittee is under the direction of an EOPC member. The expertise and knowledge of the reviewers encompasses many areas related both directly and indirectly to the charge of the EOPC. Review criteria include content, clarity, and feasibility of the program. Collaboration with other units is strongly encouraged and is given priority status by the reviewers.

AWARD ACCEPTANCE
Awards must be accepted in writing by the program director. When accepting funds, the program director must agree to three conditions:

• to spend the awarded money as indicated in the proposed budget
• to submit a written evaluation of the program by the required deadline
• and to return any unused funds to the EOPC along with the evaluation report

If there is a change in program director(s), it is the unit's responsibility to notify EOPC. The committee reserves the right to continue or discontinue the program upon change of the program director(s). The new director must accept the terms and conditions as set forth by EOPC. Also, if the program director(s) believes it is necessary or desirable to change some component of the proposal (i.e., one of the goals or objectives) after the proposal has been approved, this change must be approved by the chair of EOPC prior to implementing the change.

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