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Grant Unit Day 1:

Statement of Need
Dr. Will Kurlinkus
University of Oklahoma
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Grants
n Grants are financial contributions that government agencies, academic institutions,
philanthropic foundations, and corporations make to nonprofits, government and tribal
entities, small businesses, academic researchers, and artists. Grants typically support
direct services, advocacy, research, artistic productions, small business/tech innovation,
or the overall sustainability and growth of a nonprofit or mission-driven organization.

n Investments in the future of a community, cause, field of research, or product.

n Grants typically involve:

1. Well-researched arguments that demonstrate need
2. Evidence of your previous success with similar projects
3. Adequate resources, partners, and collaborators
4. Measurable outcomes, a plan of sustainability, methods of evaluation
5. Evidence that at the end of the award period, there will be a measurable return on the
grant makers investment

n In this project you can write as yourself (a student at OU), you can create a fictional
entity you are a part of (a non-profit or school), or you can choose a pre-existing entity
(a school, non-profit, etc.) and imagine you are working for them. I think writing as a
pre-existing non-profit or organization would be easiest/best for a writing sample.
n A problem of public outreach from your field to the general
populous: the public thinks this about my area of work, but really
this is true.

n A problem of user-centered design in your field: the national

weather center needs to redesign their tornado warning/watch
communication.

n A problem of recruitment to your field: these people

(women/students in general) are missing in my area of study.

n An area of research/project that needs to be addressed and can

be studied locally: I want to study how rainwater drainage works
in Norman’s lakes.

n You can also address a more local social or humanistic problem:

our club needs funding to do this, on campus there’s not enough
of this, etc., as long as you highlight why how this
problem/solution is transferable to other places.
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Sample Starting Points of Previous
Students
n Lack of research being done on X

n Lack of female petroleum engineers at OU

n A lack of resources for Alzheimers patients in Oklahoma

n Lack of mass public transit connecting major cities of

Oklahoma

n Lack of X training at OU

n Need a machine for a club

n Books being banned in Norman, Oklahoma

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Ask ChatGPT: I'm an undergraduate

studying software engineering, what
should I write a class assignment grant
about.
+ What Will You Write Your
Grant About?
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Localize.
+ Statement of Need: Show Me The
Problem

The statement of need specifies the conditions you

wish to change. It should quickly summarize the
problem, show your familiarity with prior research or
work on the problem, reinforce your credibility for
investigating the problem, and, generally, justify why
this problem should be investigated here, now, and
by you (localize).
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1. What is your
unmet need?
+ 2. Concretize: Give me two striking
examples/stories illustrating this problem.
+ 3. What are the causes of this problem? This is
always an ecology. Map it out. Who are the multiple
players?
+ 4. What facts, statistics, quotes, and stories do
you need to use to prove this is a problem?
+ 5. Kairos: How can you prove this is a problem right now? What's
the immediate exigence? Is there something in the news? Did
something recent happen? Why now?
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What the Statement of Need
Involves
1. Show me this is actually a problem and why it’s worth solving. Establish the
importance and significance of the problem.
2. Demonstrate a precise understanding of the problem or need that you are
attempting to solve. [specific context, specific stories, specific stakeholders,
specific institutions, specific statistics]
3. Has someone else attempted to solve this problem (the answer is always yes)?
How does your problem differ? And why does it still need solving? (They Say/I
Say). Show me that you’ve researched: use statistics, quotes, other solutions, etc.
4. Clearly convey the focus of your project early in the narrative (you need to solve
something very specific). Hint at your solution by focusing your problem.
5. Indicate the relationship of your project to a larger set of problems or issues and
justify your scope. Why has your particular focus has been chosen and not
another?
6. Justify why your problem should be of special interest to the sponsor. Why does it
matter to the granting institution and their focus? What are the benefits to the
sponsor if it’s solved? To the world?
7. Demonstrate that your problem is feasible to solve.
8. Make the reviewer want to read further.
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Ethos, Pathos, Logos, and Kairos

n Logos: what facts, statistics, quotations, etc. can you use to

illustrate your problem. Also showing that you know who is
addressing the problem and where the gaps still lie.

n Ethos: how can you prove you are credible (show your
knowledge of the problem both through research but also
showing that you’ve done primary research and are familiar with
the local setting).

n Pathos: humanizing the problem, showing the people negatively

effected, telling stories.

n Kairos: showing that this problem needs to be addressed here,

now, and by you. Showing that your scope is limited enough and
why you’ve chosen your site and not some other site/place.
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What assumptions does your
problem+solution set need to
prove?
For example, if you identified more parental involvement in
children’s educational experiences as the need, you must ask
the following questions to prove your need’s validity:
1. Does parental involvement correlate to better educational
experiences, increased levels of educational attainment, or higher
performance?
2. What kind of parental involvement in a child’s educational
experience has a positive effect, e.g. helping with homework,
attending parent-teacher conferences regularly, or providing
extracurricular educational experiences to complement classroom
lessons?
3. What are the barriers to parents providing this type of
involvement in their child’s education?
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Sample Statements of Need
n Analyze Example: pp. 54-57, 116-117, professional sample
1. What’s the specific scope and population that has the problem? Is the problem too
broad or narrow? Is there an explanation of why this population and scope and not
another? Why do this project here and not elsewhere?

2. Does this statement of need highlight kairos/timeliness? Does it explain, “Why

Now?”

3. Does this statement of need address other people’s solutions? Is there a They Say/I
Say statement?

4. How are ethos, pathos, and logos used?

5. How is pre-existing research addressed? Does this person feel well-versed in the
area? How/why?

6. Is there any information missing? Or questions you have? Does this statement of
need make assumptions or leaps in evidence that need to proved?

7. Can you tell that this statement is geared toward a funding institution? What do you
think that institution’s purpose/goals/mission is?

8. What audience does this writer assume?