Bill,

You have a good point, but one can still use a boilerplate and modify it for the particular grant. Programs have different requirements vis-a-vis institutional narratives (your background, general information section), and certainly different academic departments/colleges will have different foci. However, by having a boilerplate ready for use, you facilitate the grant process and, in fact, do what you aim to do * ensure that every piece of the argument contributes to the acquisition of grant funds.  Having a boiler plate with all the correct and  latest institutional information means your faculty don't have to spend needless hours tracking all that info down, and it ensures that the most accurate and up-to-date information is included in your proposal.  So you may want to have a boiler plate for each college and/or department, or one standard one for modification. But by all means, tailor this part to your grant!

Carolyn

PS And kudos to Bruce. I, too, think that the funding agency is going to be more interested in what you're proposing to do and whether you've got the resources to do it, than whether you've used a standard institutional narrative.

>>> xxxxxx@UWRF.EDU 6/30/2004 5:22:02 PM >>>
RESADMers--

I don't believe in boilerplate either, but for a different reason.  A grant
proposal is an argument, and I want to make sure that every piece of the
argument contributes to the eventual conclusion: give us the money.  So I
like to write those background, general information sections so that they
contribute to the upcoming need statement or solution section, even if
subtly.  E.g. in a proposal that requests funds for services to
disadvantaged students, my background sections will emphasize how my
institution draws from and serves diverse populations.  But in a proposal
designed to provide undergrad research opportunities for high-powered STEM
students, by background statement will emphasize the high-quality freshmen
we are recruiting in the sciences.

Regards, Bill

At 04:06 PM 6/30/2004, you wrote:
>Plagiarism is usually defined as use without citation or permission. If
>an institution chose to prepare a set of approved facility descriptions
>(perhaps to reduce duplication of effort, avoid errors, or risking
>'false claims' in proposal submissions), I am not sure how this would be
>plagiarism. I think funding agencies are more concerned that the
>hypothesis, aims, proposed methodologies and supporting data are
>original or properly cited than whether the description of the animal
>facility had been 'wordsmithed'.
>
>Bruce Steinert, PhD, CCRA
>Director, Clinical Trials Administration
>The Children's Mercy Hospital
>Kansas City, MO
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Gary Talarchek [mailto:xxxxxx@LOYNO.EDU]
>Sent: Wednesday, June 30, 2004 3:39 PM
>To: xxxxxx@HRINET.ORG
>Subject: Re: [RESADM-L] Boilerplate Descriptions for Proposal
>Preparation
>
>Given that plagiarism in a proposal qualifies as scientific misconduct,
>I am uncomfortable with any boilerplate.  Better to provide the
>institutional information in a format that writers can easily use and
>let them craft the language.  Perhaps this was not the intent of the
>misconduct regulation, but I feel a strict interpretation of the rule
>does not allow for boilerplate without quotation marks. I would value
>comments from colleagues on this opinion.
>
>Gary M. Talarchek, Ph.D.
>Director of Grants and Research
>Loyola University New Orleans
>6363 St. Charles Avenue
>New Orleans, LA 70118
>Voice: 504-864-7244
>Fax: 504-864-7270
>
>
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Bill Campbell
Director, Grants & Research
University of Wisconsin-River Falls
410 S. 3rd St.
River Falls, WI 54022
715/425-3195
FAX 715/425-0649

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 subscription information and a web-searchable archive, are available
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