Assignment Timing

This part of the grant is assigned in week 5 (in a 16-week semester) after reading the Assessing Community section. Students should take two weeks to complete the assignment.

Assignment Overview

The Statement of Need is intended to explain the current needs of the community that will be addressed in the grant proposal. The Statement of Need should be compelling and clearly based on current or recent evidence. This section should be approximately 1.5 pages long. The evidence should include secondary and primary data and provide clear citations for both.

Common sources of secondary data:

• Public health data
• Community surveys
• Health surveys
• School student data
• Public safety data
• Organizational data to document participants and their needs

Common sources of primary data:

• Interviews with persons impacted by the problem
• Interviews with staff
• Stories from the community
• Observations

Assignment Detail

• One to two paragraphs describing the problem that the proposal is focused on; referencing the secondary data.
  • It helps to provide context for the problem, especially if it is unique to your community or if it is representative of a regional, national, or global trend.
• One to two paragraphs describing how this problem impacts people, families, and the community while referring to the primary data.
  • It is helpful to share stories or narrative examples that humanize the problem.
  • Permission is mandatory and someone’s story should never be used to sensationalize a problem or exploit a person.