REVIEW OF A CASE STUDENT GRANT PROPOSAL
Review of a Case Study Grant Proposal:
Convening Great Lakes Culture Keepers
Submitted Student Work: Becca Tedesco
University of Tennessee School of Information Science
INSC 559: Grant Development for Information Professionals
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REVIEW OF A CASE STUDENT GRANT PROPOSAL 2
Abstract
For the purpose of this assignment, the author conducted a critical review of a sample grant proposal presented to the Laura Bush 21 st Century Librarian Program, an association of the Institute of
Museum and Library Services (IMLS). The grant proposal under review, titled Convening Great
Lakes Culture Keepers: Bringing Together LIS Students and Tribal Librarians, Archivists, and
Museum Curators to Learn Through Continuing Education, was created by the University of
Wisconsin-Madison School of Library and Information Studies (SLIS) in an effort to provide service learning opportunities for its students and continuing education opportunities for tribal librarians, archivists, and museum curators. An analysis of the grant application has been presented and compared to the requirements of the Laura Bush 21 st
Century Librarian Program Grant, resulting in an ultimate justification for or against funding.

REVIEW OF A CASE STUDENT GRANT PROPOSAL
Does the proposal address a well-formulated problem or need? Explain. [Assessment of Need]
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The University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison) identifies a twofold need in its community: the provision of continuing education opportunities for tribal librarians, archivists, and museum curators and the expansion of American Indian-oriented service-learning programs for its Library and Information Science students.
In addressing the need for educational opportunities for native information professionals in the region, the proposal suggests that the diversity of tribes, languages, economic standings, and unique histories of the American Indian communities require preservation of the “things left behind by the old ones” (UW-Madison, 2013). The proposal also suggests that the challenges faced by the individuals responsible for that preservation, such as tribal librarians, archivists, and museum curators, are unlike those of their non-Native peers due to the complex cultural needs, operation within sovereign nations, and funding shortcomings such as a lack of a tax base and unemployment.
The proposal cites a recent study by the Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums
(ATALM) that states, “…lack of funding, high registration fees, distance, lack of time, and lack of culturally-relevant training were all barriers to tribal archive, library, and museum training” (UW-
Madison, 2013). A map depicting the geographic location of Wisconsin’s 54,526 American Indians is also used to illustrate tribes’ significant distances from population centers.
Considering the clear need of American Indian tribes to preserve information about their unique cultures and histories and the challenges faced by tribal information professionals, it appears that specific resources are necessary to maintain a knowledgeable information environment. According to the proposal, Wisconsin tribal contacts have expressed a desire for “…more affordable venues to discuss developments in the field, solve common problems to tribal cultural institutions, and participate in professional training on topics like strategic planning, facility management, developing

REVIEW OF A CASE STUDENT GRANT PROPOSAL culturally relevant museum exhibits, and revitalizing Native languages. The Director of Public
Library Development in the Division for Libraries and Technology at the Wisconsin Department of
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Public Instruction is cited as claiming that there are no specific programs, plans, or resources to offer to the tribal libraries.
While the need for continued education for Tribal information professionals is well formulated, it is the author’s opinion that the need for expanded service learning opportunities could be more clearly expressed in the proposal. The proposal addresses the opportunity for LIS students to form valuable relationships and experience with unique information needs that are dependent on cultural experiences, however the value of service learning as a practice is not addressed.
Is it a real need of a community, or is the applicant just trying to find a reason to justify a project they think would be fun to implement? Are needs of a specific audience in the community and diversity represented in the proposal? [Diversity]
The UW-Madison addresses a need that has been specifically requested by tribal communities throughout the state of Wisconsin and other states in the Great Lake region that is not currently attended to by those respective states. The project is defined as a year-long endeavor that is divided into three specific phases: service-learning and needs assessment, institute planning, and regional institute. The ultimate culmination of a regional institute will be held at the already established
Ziibiwing Center of Anishinabe Lifeways and Culture in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan and will incorporate 75 attendees from a variety of American Indian tribal cultural institutions throughout the
Great Lakes region, including Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota. Both students from the UW-
Madison’s School of Library and Information Science (SLIS) and other regional LIS programs will attend sessions at the institute in order to assist in logistics of the program and to gain information about the role of indigenous information issues. The program will provide an opportunity for tribal

REVIEW OF A CASE STUDENT GRANT PROPOSAL librarians, archivists, and museum curators to enhance their knowledge of the information science
5 field, therefore enhancing their ability to serve their respective communities, and will also offer service-learning experiences for LIS students and expose them to the unique needs of a portion of their communities.
Although the program proposed in the grant will not be available to every individual in the community, it does address the requirements of the Laura Bush 21 st
Century Librarian grant to
“…recruit and educate the next generation of librarians, faculty, and library leaders” (IMLS, 2014) by specifically targeting information professionals and students. Therefore, it is the author’s opinion that the Convening Great Lakes Culture Keepers proposal addresses a real need rather than a project that would be fun to implement and that the program will both attend to a specific audience and represent diversity in its structure.
Is it an important problem, whose solution will have useful effects? [Impact]
The proposal identifies an important need that is specific to the UW-Madison’s region: the continued education of tribal librarians, archivists, and museum curators and the provision of service learning opportunities for LIS students, particularly ones that offer networking opportunities with the Native population. The proposal clearly outlines four main impacts of the project and long-term, intermediate, and short-term goals.
UW-Madison suggests that the Convening Great Lakes Culture Keepers project will increase the skills and knowledge of tribal information workers by providing training and education opportunities that address the specific needs of their cultures. These professional development sessions will simultaneously encourage collaboration between tribal cultural workers due to their networking opportunities. Similarly, the program will enhance the professional knowledge of LIS students by giving them the chance to engage in service-learning experiences, and, therefore, has the potential to

REVIEW OF A CASE STUDENT GRANT PROPOSAL
“establish a model that can be replicated by other LIS-based service learning course and regional
6 networks of tribal cultural workers” (UW-Madison, 2013).
These impacts offer solutions ranging from immediate effects to long-term effects, all of which address the needs of both LIS students and tribal librarians, archivists, and museum curators. The grant proposal suggests that short-term effects will include LIS students’ understanding of the challenges facing American Indian communities and opportunities to provide continued education for the tribal cultural professionals of those areas (short-term). Once implemented, the program will allow Culture Keeps to remain connected through online forums and networking and allow for LIS students to gain recognition of the need for preservation of American Indian information
(intermediate). UW-Madison also suggests that, eventually, “a regional network that thrives through mutually-beneficial relationships and a shared understanding of the complementary needs of LIS students and tribal cultural workers” (UW-Madison, 2013) will be formed, potentially providing a service-learning model for other LIS programs.
Considering that each potential impact offered by the proposal is dual in nature and addresses two separate audiences, it is the author’s opinion that the effects of the program are clearly communicated. Furthermore, the description of short-term, intermediate, and long-term goals demonstrate a lasting effect on the UW-Madison community and its surrounding service area.
Is special funding necessary to solve the problem, or could it be solved using existing library resources?
Potentially due to the confidentiality of budget details or because the sample grant proposals provided by the IMLS may be partial in nature, the proposal does not provide any specific information about funding, despite the inclusion of a section entitled “Project Resources: Personnel,
Time Budget.” In the opening information sheet, UW-Madison does request $120, 071.47 from the

REVIEW OF A CASE STUDENT GRANT PROPOSAL
IMLS funds and offers $45,136.14 as a cost share amount, but no details regarding the rationale for
7 those amounts are disclosed.
UW-Madison does identify a need for a $1,000 stipend per student enrolled in its Summer Service
Learning course to cover the housing, travel, and food costs. This course, which will take place during the Summer 2013 semester, is the initial stage of the program and will utilize service learning students to conduct needs assessment for the final program activity, making it an integral component to the overall project. The proposal also outlines the need for a Project Coordinator to advise LIS students and to coordinate the culminating Tribal institution. A current staff member of UW-
Madison is identified as an individual who will serve in that roll, however his partial salary of a 60% appointment, minus fringe benefits, is requested in the funding needs.
In regard to cost share, the only specific contribution outlined in the proposal comes from the
Ziibiwing Center of Anishinabe Culture and Lifeways in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, which will serve as the location of the culminating institute. The space will offer conference rooms that are usually reserved at a standard hourly rate, catering services, and audio/visual equipment as cost share for the program. The proposal also describes the time and responsibility reallocations of several existing professional positions that will contribute to the grant and utilizes the contributions of students involved in the service learning courses, both of which reduce the need for new staffing positions to support the program.
Without a detailed account of the budget plans for the Convening Great Lakes Culture Keepers, the author cannot successfully determine the necessity of the requested funding. However the specifics
UW-Madison has provided in the proposal seem to be a promising start to a clear expression of funding needs.

REVIEW OF A CASE STUDENT GRANT PROPOSAL
Is there a good idea on which to base the project work? The proposal must explain the idea in
8 sufficient detail to convince the reader that the idea has significant substance, and should explain why there is reason to believe that it is indeed a good idea.
According to the grant proposal, “since 2008, SLIS has developed a suite of interrelated community engagement projects with American Indian tribal libraries, archives, and museums in Wisconsin”
(UW-Madison, 2013). The success of these endeavors has revealed a correlation of needs between
LIS students and the information professionals of the American Indian tribes in the area. While the
LIS students need opportunities to enrich their educations through engagement with diverse cultures in the region, the cultural Tribal professionals of the American Indian tribes need accessible opportunities to increase their expertise.
The idea for the cultural instate program proposed by UW-Madison stemmed from a project that was conducted by three students in conjunction with the Red Cliff Ojibwe community that has since expanded into LIS service-learning courses, biannual conferences for tribal information professionals, and an informative tribal resource website that is managed by an engaged student population.
Due to the preliminary work that has conducted by the institution and the continued successful expansion of the tribal programs offered, it is the author’s opinion that the project described in the grant proposal is based on a good idea and that it explains the idea in sufficient detail to indicate that it has significant substance.
Does the proposal explain clearly what work will be done? Does it explain what results are expected and how they will be evaluated? How would it be possible to judge whether the work was successful? [Project Methodology/Evaluation]

REVIEW OF A CASE STUDENT GRANT PROPOSAL
The proposal clearly outlines the work that will be conducted throughout the year-long duration of
9 this program by identifying preliminary work followed by three distinct activities.
Preliminary work, conducted in Spring 2013, will offer a Tribal Libraries, Archives, and Museums course that will allow 10-15 graduate students the opportunity to explore “…indigenous approaches to information and knowledge organization” (UW-Madison, 2013). Following the completion of the
Spring course, a Summer service-learning course will be offered in which students will gather needs assessments that will be used to structure the culminating institution. Planning for the institute will be conducted throughout the 2013-2014 academic year, and the regional institute will be offered in
Spring 2014.
The evaluation for the program will be twofold. First, the service learning students involved in the program will reflect upon their experiences through journal and blog entries that will be evaluated by instructors for learning outcomes. Following the completion of the institute, participants will then be asked to complete evaluation surveys to evaluate the success of the program in addressing their needs and interests.
Although the proposal does not clearly define the outcomes of the service learning program, UW-
Madison does indicate that the ultimate success of the program would be to become a model for other information science institutions that have similar tribal cultural needs.
While it is the author’s opinion that the work and evaluation methods that will be conducted for this program are clearly defined in the proposal, further explanation of the expected results are needed in order to determine whether the evaluation methods will accurately determine the success of the program.
Does the proposal present a clear description of project resources that will be used? Is there a well identified budget, personnel, and management plan presented? [Project Resources]

REVIEW OF A CASE STUDENT GRANT PROPOSAL
The proposal presents a clear description of the personnel and management that will be used in the
10 implementation of this program by defining the role of several individuals who will have key roles in the process. Both the lead staff for the project and the advisory board consist of individuals with significant experience at UW-Madison, projects involving tribal cultural communities, and grant management, suggesting that time will not have to be dedicated to a learning curve for the project.
Specifically, one individual identified in the resources explanation has been involved in UW-
Madison’s endeavors with the Native community since their commencement in 2008. The proposal suggests that 48.5% of the identified personnel’s time will be reallocated specifically for this project.
While the proposal clearly demonstrates capable personnel and a dedication of time and energy to the project, no specific budget is identified, potentially due to missing sections of the grant sample or due to the confidentiality of the funding details. Further information and the financial resources are needed.
Is there evidence that the library knows about the work that others have done on the problem?
UW-Madison clearly details other work that has been done to offer continued education to Tribal information professionals. The proposal chronicles the efforts of the Alaska Native Libraries,
Archives, and Museum Summit in 2011 to offer training specific to the information needs of its native peoples and of Oregon State University to coordinate the implementation of a tribal archives and records institute in order to “…address the need for in-depth archives and records training for
Oregon’s nine federally recognized tribes” (UW-Madison, 2013).
As previously discussed, since 2008, UW-Madison SLIS has also offered a series of collaborative projects with Wisconsin’s American Indian tribal libraries, archives, and museums.
Does the library have a good track record with grants and will the library leadership be committed to implementation of this grant project?

REVIEW OF A CASE STUDENT GRANT PROPOSAL
Although no specific mention of previous grant success is made, the proposal does clearly outline
11 the dedication of the UW-Madison School of Library and Information Science (SLIS) personnel. Of the four identified individuals who will lead the program, all are established members of the SLIS institution, including the Associate Director, who is also the Director of Continuing Education and who is projected to rededicated 8.5% of her responsibilities to the project and an Associate Outreach
Specialist for the Continuing Education Services, who will dedicate 40% of his 60% appointment to the advising of SLIS students and the coordination of the culminating institute. In addition to the personnel with a direct interest in Continuing Education at the institution, the Director and Professor
Emerita of SLIS, who will serve on the project and will dedicate two full weeks of planning for the culminating institute, is currently involved with a Native culture project in coordination with the Red
Cliff community and the Tribal Library, Archive, and Museum class projects.
While additional information about previous grant implementation at the institution is desirable, it is the author’s opinion that the identified personnel will be committed to the project due to their job functions, current interests, and clear allocation of specific time management.
Does the proposal have a strong dissemination strategy and what are the steps discussed for sustainability of the project? [Dissemination and Sustainability]
UW-Madison outlines both a specific Communication Plan and Sustainability Plan in its proposal.
The dissemination strategies incorporate both internal and external communication methods, with the internal plan relying on previously standing networking relationships such as email lists, personal phone calls, and direct contact of potential participants in nearby Michigan and Minnesota who may not have previously joined in UW-Madison programs. The proposal presents the external communication plan as a more far-reaching process that involves reconfiguration of the current UW-

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Madison tribal culture keepers’ website, attendance and presentations and national conferences, and article submissions to relevant publications.
In regard to project sustainability, the proposal reiterates the continued expansion of UW-Madison’s role in its Tribal communities, including the projects, service-learning courses, and regular tribal information professional conferences that are offered by the institution. These programs have developed strong relationships with the Tribal communities in the Great Lakes region, and the proposal suggests that the culmination of a larger, more expansive and accessible institute will further enhance those connections while also creating a multi-tribe network across the area that has the potential to expand to a national level. These relationships are also identified by the grant as being beneficial to LIS students due to the opportunity provided to work with diverse groups who present challenging information needs, therefore broadening the education of those students.
While it is the opinion of the author that the dissemination strategy of the institution is strong due to its utilization of already-standing relationships and wiliness to make personal contact with individuals, the author does not see evidence of a clear sustainability strategy on the part of the institution. The creation and cultivation of diverse, multicultural relationships is a significant accomplishment of the program, however there is no description of planned efforts to maintain the continued education of the Tribal information keepers beyond that of an expansive professional network.
Provide a final assessment of the grant application in terms of one of the following and justify your response: 1) Excellent: Recommended for funding; 2) Very Good: Highly recommended;
3) Good: Recommended, but not high priority; 4) Some merit, but not recommended for funding; 5) Do not fund.

REVIEW OF A CASE STUDENT GRANT PROPOSAL
Overall, it is the opinion of the author that the proposal clearly outlines a need for continued education for tribal librarians, archivists, and museum curators and presents a strong case for the
13 impact that an accessible and expansive tribal cultural information institute could have on the Native community. However, the need for the service learning component of the program is not as clearly defined, and lack of details regarding budget, sustainability, and outcomes of the program present a need for more information, especially the inclusion of data. Due to the obvious expansion of the relationship between UW-Madison and its Native communities, the previous work done by both the requesting institution and other establishments, and the importance of issue, the author assesses the proposal as Good: Recommended, but not high priority, with the potential to improve to Very Good with the provision of additional data.

REVIEW OF A CASE STUDENT GRANT PROPOSAL
References
Institute of Museum and Library Services. (2014). Laura Bsuh 21 st century librarian program.
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Retrieved from http://www.imls.gov/applicants/detail.aspx?GrantId=9.
University of Wisconsin-Madison. (2014). Convening Great Lakes culture keepers: Bringing together LIS students and tribal librarians, archivists, and museum curators to learn through continuing education. Sample grant application. Retrieve from http://www.imls.gov/assets/1/AssetManager/LB21%20Sample%202013%20CE%20University%
20of%20Wisconsin.pdf.