LIS 450RRL: GRANTWRITING AND FUNDRAISING REVIEWER COMMENT Summer 2001

Assignment Due: Passim up through August 1

Preparation. Please read Chapter 17, "Grant Review and Funding Decisions" (also check out the NEH Proposal Evaluation Criteria (given in Exhibit 22, p. 31)) in Miner et al.

Overview. This is an INDIVIDUAL assignment for all students and is a revision of what I originally intended. You will be assigned to a group (essentially the same group we used in the June 27th online session) and given a group bulletin board. Your responsibility is to provide some reviewer's comments to two or three of your colleagues in the group based on any part of the assignments you have been posting. It will be good if your comments generate a general discussion not just of the particular colleague's work but of the issues in general. I will expect to see a minimum of four substantive entries from each of you during the remainder of the class. All comments should be posted by or before August 1.

Notes on Giving/Receiving Feedback. In general, the eight rules of thumb for giving effective feedback in a way that increases productive discussion and decreases defensiveness are:

1. It is descriptive as opposed to evaluative.
2. It is specific rather than general.
3. It is directed toward something that can be controlled or corrected rather than personality traits or characteristics.
4. It is solicited rather than imposed.
5. It is close to the event rather than delayed.
6. It occurs when the receiver is ready to accept it.
7. It suggests rather than prescribes avenues for improvement.
8. It is intended to help, not punish.

Of course, these general rules deal with all kinds of personal interactions and some are more relevant than others. Because you have placed yourself in the class you have indicated that you are receptive to feedback (#6). The way to make an evaluative comments descriptive (#1) is to take ownership of your comment saying, for example, "To me, your objectives do not seem to meet the criteria of being measureable and focused on outcomes." It describes your reaction and allows the recipient to take it as a personal opinion that he/she may or may not agree with. If you continue and suggest a way to reword the objective or to substitute a different one, then you have gone a step beyond (#7). In other words, be gentle with one another, as you have always been since the beginning of the class, but be honest and helpful in your comments.

Some of you have already fulfilled the requirements of this assignment by responding to individual postings on the bulletin boards and have set a good example for all to follow. Remember one of the objectives of the class is to develop good collaborative skills.