Policy AD-201 Grant Writing Process 2021-07-16

Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to establish a process for the writing of all complex state and federal grants that require input from one or more Westside Family Healthcare (Westside) departmental sources.  The procedures contained herein serve to ensure that the designated grant writer from the Department of External Affairs has sufficient information to write a comprehensive and cohesive grant allowing for team review, budget development, edits, and submission in a timely fashion.

Policy

All Westside staff are welcome to bring grant announcements to the attention of External Affairs. The appropriate Chief of the affected department makes the final decision as to which grant applications will be submitted. Once a grant has been identified and brought to the attention of the Deputy Chief External Affairs & Communications Officer, the designated grant writer (DGW) determines key staff members who need to be included in the grant writing process and follows the procedures outlined below.  

Submission of grants is always performed by the Department of External Affairs, and no grants may be submitted on behalf of Westside by leadership or staff from any other department, unless special approval has been granted by the Deputy Chief External Affairs for a unique circumstance.

Scope

Depending on the grant deliverables, key Westside staff may include members of the executive leadership team, directors, or managers.

Definitions

Designated Grant Writer (DGW) – For the purposes of this policy, the DGW is the member of the External Affairs team designated by the Deputy Chief External Affairs & Communications Officer as the primary grant writer and coordinator for a particular grant application.

Submission Draft – Once a draft has been designated the Submission Draft, no additional content is accepted at that point. Edits are made only to grammar, spelling, and or format.

Procedures

Once a grant has been identified and approved by the Chief of the primary affected department, the Deputy Chief External Affairs & Communications Officer assigns a designated grant writer (DGW) from the Department of External Affairs.

• 1. For some grants, the Deputy Chief may choose to serve as the DGW.
  2. In unique circumstances, a DGW may be designated from outside the department, at the discretion of the Deputy Chief.

Meeting Preparation

• 1. DGW produces a summary of the grant that includes grant title, content, background information, purpose, due date, and award amount.
  2. DGW creates an agenda that includes a determination of who needs to be engaged, a list of initial responsibilities and/or requests of department leaders, a review of the necessary requirements for submission, and a list of goals to be accomplished by meeting’s end.
  3. DGW begins to prepare submission media and/or electronic submission platforms (login, etc.), as required for the grant submission format.

Meetings

• 1. DGW schedules a minimum of two (2) mandatory meetings with key contributing staff.
     1. The first should be held within one business week of receiving the grant, or as soon as possible thereafter.
     2. The second meeting is held once the grant Submission Draft is ready for review.
  2. Meeting invitations include a copy of the grant summary, meeting agenda, and a generic work plan template (for the first meeting).

Initial Meeting

• 1. The purpose of the initial meeting is to establish how grant deliverables will be accomplished, and to leave the meeting with a completed work plan and enough information for the DGW to begin the writing process.
  2. Collected information and actions include:
     1. A list of program goals, objectives, and actions
     2. Determination as to whether the current infrastructure can sustain grant requirements
     3. Determination as to how many FTEs will be needed and a report to Finance and Human Resources
     4. Determination and outline of Information Technology (IT) infrastructure needs
     5. Identification and sending of data requests to Clinical IT
     6. Preparation of a grant outline which is sent to the Deputy Chief External Affairs & Communications Officer (for approval) and the Chief Finance Officer (for Budget Prep)
     7. Establishment of grant submission deadlines and timeline.

Writing Process

• 1. DGW begins the writing process once the initial meeting has been held.
  2. DGW schedules ongoing smaller meetings, as needed, with key stake holders to clarify direction and scope of project and obtain detailed information required for components of the application.

Review and Edits

• 1. DGW sends initial draft of grant to Deputy Chief External Affairs & Communications Officer for review and first round of edits.
  2. When the document is returned by the Deputy Chief to the DGW and edits are incorporated, the secondary draft is then sent to the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) and Chief Operating Officer (COO), as well as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) if deemed appropriate, for review and additional edits.
  3. The DGW includes the additional edits made by CMO and COO (and the CEO, if applicable) in the final Submission Draft and sends it to the team for review prior to the second meeting.

Second Meeting

• 1. DGW reviews the Submission Draft with the contributing team during the scheduled second meeting and notes any necessary last edits.
  2. DGW sends the completed grant with additional edits and all attachments to the Associate Chief External Affairs & Communications Officer, CMO, COO, and CFO for final review.
  3. Once all edits are completed and final approval has been given by the Associate Chief External Affairs & Communications Officer, the DGW submits the grant prior to its due date.

Every effort should be made to meet internal established grant writing deadlines to ensure that the state or federal submission deadline is met without placing any undue burden on External Affairs, the DGW, contributors, and reviewers or causing any disruption to day-to-day operations.

References

None