Chapter 2
Writing the Need Statement

At the end of the strategic planning exercise in Chapter 1, you proposed a few ideas that might be turned into projects to help you maximize your organization's strengths and minimize its weaknesses. Before you search for sponsors for your proposal, you will want to select one of those ideas to explore more fully and articulate it in a need statement. The need statement you write will guide your proposal development process, and it will serve to introduce your proposal ideas to internal audiences and sponsors. In this chapter, you will begin composing the need statement. The need statement is a very important, multi-purpose element in the final proposal, and it will also be used in the letters of intent that you will write to foundations. If you are seeking government support for your project, the need statement will be part of your preproposal and part of your final proposal. A shortened version of the need statement might also be used as an abstract for the proposal. Because it appears in so many places in the grant seeking process, you will want to make sure that you have a good understanding of what constitutes a need statement and that you learn how to write an effective one.

Learner Outcomes

After completing this chapter, you will be able to
  1. Identify the three principal parts of a need statement

  2. Write an acceptable need statement for your projects/proposals

Key Terms

Context—The context of the problem provides background information that indicates the importance of the problem and its timeliness or urgency. It situates the problem in a larger context.

Ethos—Ethos is the rhetorical appeal to the "character of the speaker" that includes using testimony of experts, credible evidence, and credible sources of information to create a persuasive argument.

Evaluation forms—Evaluation forms for individual or peer review of different written assignments provide students with sets of questions that serve as guidelines for writing the assignments and checklists for evaluating them.

Grant seeking—Grant seeking is a six-step process that includes identifying or recognizing a problem; generating an idea to solve the problem (the solution); determining if the idea furthers the mission and goals of your organization; researching potential sponsors to find a match between the idea and the sponsor's priorities; designing, writing, and submitting a proposal that follows the sponsor's guidelines; and implementing a solution to the problem.

Instrumental purpose—The instrumental purpose of the proposal is the statement of what you want the sponsor to do after reading the proposal. The instrumental purpose is part of the need statement. In most cases, your instrumental purpose is to ask for a certain amount of funding for a specified period of time. In some cases, you might be asking for equipment.

Justification—The justification of the problem indicates why it is crucial to solve this problem in a timely fashion. It often includes facts and statistics to indicate why the problem is compelling, urgent, and worth solving. The justification is part of the need statement.

Logos—Logos is the rhetorical appeal to reason that involves citing facts, statistics, and other quantifiable data to create a persuasive, logical argument.

Need statement—A need statement describes the problem addressed by the proposal, what will be done to solve the problem, and what the proposal writer wants from the sponsor. The need statement generally is in the first section of the proposal, and it appears at the beginning of the letter of intent.

Pathos—Pathos is the rhetorical appeal to emotion or feelings. Using pathos, you can provide mini-cases, vignettes, and stories to attract and engage the reader's feelings and to create a persuasive argument.

Problem—The problem is the societal, organizational, or research problem that the proposal addresses. In the first part of the need statement, the description of the problem usually includes the context of the problem, its justification and scope, and the aspect of the problem addressed by the proposal.

Project description—A project description is sometimes used as another term for an elaborated need statement. Often when sponsors ask for the project description, they are looking for the need statement, the objectives and methods, and the expected outcomes of the proposal.

Proposal—A proposal is a persuasive document that defines a problem or need, proposes a solution to that problem, and requests funding or other resources to implement the solution. It is also sometimes called a grant proposal.

Proposal writing process—The proposal writing process is part of the grant seeking process and includes researching potential sponsors to find a match between the grant writer's idea and the sponsor's priorities; designing, writing, and submitting a proposal which follows the sponsor's guidelines; and being awarded a grant to implement the proposed solution to the problem.

Rhetorical appeals—The three rhetorical appeals are the appeal to reason (logos), the appeal to emotion (pathos), and the appeal to the character or credibility of the speaker (ethos).

Rhetorical purpose—The rhetorical purpose of the proposal is to marshal evidence and create arguments to convince the sponsors that the problem you propose to solve in the proposal is an important one, that it matches the sponsor's priorities, and that your organization has the experience and resources to solve the problem effectively.

Scope—The scope of the problem lets the reader know how widespread the problem is, how many people it affects, and why it is important to solve the problem. The scope of the problem is part of the need statement.

Additional Examples

The following additional examples are need statements that you can use to determine if you can identify the rhetorical elements in a need statement and assess their effectiveness.

Example 2.5 Career Planning Workshops for Chemistry Graduates

Since 1995, the National Science Foundation (NSF) initiated a discussion questioning whether or not graduate education in the chemical sciences adequately prepares students for their careers. The main criticisms of graduate chemistry education are that students are overspecializing in a era when science is moving toward interdisciplinary approaches and that students are inadequately prepared in the soft skills areas such as written and oral communication, teamwork, and management—essential skills for career success. In addition, the graduate chemistry education system is not giving students a realistic picture of the career opportunities available to those with a Ph.D. In a recent NSF survey, 10,000 domestic physical science doctoral graduates were surveyed about their career aspirations. Only 10 per cent of the students intended to pursue careers neither in academia nor in industry. The same survey revealed that for the 3,000 students pursuing post-doctoral positions, the number one reason for remaining in academia was because they could not find jobs. Therefore, initiatives are needed to educate graduate chemistry students about both their career options and the need for soft skills in their future careers.

To help chemistry graduate students adapt to the changing job market, Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) at the University of Minnesota proposed a series of workshops dedicated to educating students in oral and written communication, teamwork, management, negotiation skills, and career opportunities in government, non-research areas, academia, and industry. Since 1995 the WISE team has successfully conducted career development workshops to address the specific needs of chemistry graduate students. Past workshops were devoted to interviewing skills, resume and curriculum vitae preparation, teaching skills, and nontraditional careers. Annually 50-75 chemistry doctoral students participate in these workshops. We propose to continue this workshop series over the next four years by offering two workshops per year: one dedicated to exploring a specific career sector and the other dedicated to an essential soft skill. WISE has received $1,100 for the Careers in Government Workshop from the University of Minnesota's Office of University Women and the Department of Chemistry; however, this is not enough to advertise the workshops, rent facilities, prepare materials, and pay instructors. We are requesting $12,000 over the next four years to implement this new workshop series to better prepare our students for chemistry careers in the 21st century.

Example 2.6 Financial Aid for Adolescents in Chemical Dependency Treatment

According to Booze News, young people begin drinking at 13.1 years old. The highest rates of illicit drug use are found among youth ages 16-17 (16%) and ages 18-20 (20%), with marijuana the most common illicit drug used. More than 80% of high school seniors have used alcohol. In comparison, 64% have smoked cigarettes; 50% have used marijuana; and 10% have used cocaine. Not only does alcohol and drug use affect grade school students, but use often increases in college. According to questionnaire—based self-reports about their drinking, 31% of college students met the criteria for a diagnosis of alcohol abuse, and six percent for a diagnosis of alcohol dependence in the past 12 months. About 25 percent of college students report academic consequences of their drinking, including missing classes, falling behind, doing poorly on exams and papers, and receiving lower grades overall.

Most adolescents who need substance abuse treatment do not receive it. In Minnesota, about one in five adolescents who needs this kind of treatment actually gets it, according to the Minnesota Department of Human Services. In 1999 only 3,500 adolescents received treatment out of an estimated 18,000 in need of such care. These vulnerable adolescents have lower cognitive skills, shorter attention spans, greater problems with depression, and less effective social skills than their healthy peers.

Adolescents who seek help for chemical dependency find themselves challenged to obtain the financial assistance need for overcoming their disease. They are not able to obtain the financial means to help them pay for treatment. Those who do not receive assistance through treatment programs, such as HYCF, often return to their old using environments and patterns. Just as with any other disease, chemical dependency, if caught early, may be treated and coped with. However, rather than fighting the problem of chemical dependency, insurance companies are saying no to assistance programs, essentially ignoring the problem rather than solving it.

Given current downward sloping economic conditions and political unrest, we are looking to our youth as the hope of our country and the world. However, many bright and creative youth are battling the disease of chemical dependency. The consequences of adolescent drug and alcohol consumption cost nearly $53 billion annually. If this cost were shared by each congressional district, the amount would total more than $120 million per district. HYCF agrees that we have an obligation to our youth and to the future to provide assistance to those who want help with drug addiction.

Hazelden's mission began 53 years ago and was founded on the philosophy of a holistic approach to treatment, concentrating on every aspect of the individual's life. Additionally, we specialize in treating dual diagnosis disorders, meaning that chemical dependency may not be the only vulnerability of our patients. We teach adolescents adequate coping techniques to be able to face addiction triggers, giving youth the tools to live a sober life. The core of our philosophy of treatment is chemical dependency education. We find that this education is the key to giving adolescents resources to overcome addiction. Many of our patients obtain academic credits while at HCYF and are able to attend college in sober living environments. Following the Twelve Steps, we attend to their physical, mental, and spiritual needs in recovery and prepare adolescents to become leaders in society.

Last year alone, through the generosity of Hazelden donors, the Hazelden Foundation gave $5.3 million in financial assistance to those who could not afford treatment. We also began a program called The Northland Project, a drug and alcohol prevention program that was presented at 10 middle schools. This project is growing, and we expect to reach many more middle schools across the country. The Northland Project is currently preparing a new curriculum targeted to high schools. Additionally, Roots and Wings, which was presented in six counties, was developed as a prevention curriculum for parents and young people. In 2001 No Bullying, a curriculum offering grade-specific activities to prevent violence, aggression, and bullying was very successful. Finally, Alternative Routes was introduced; it is a new alcohol and drug abuse prevention program that helps troubled youth get back on track.

We believe that the Kellogg Foundation will agree with our mission of renewing, refocusing, and reconnecting adolescents to society through treatment and education. Our multidisciplinary team is well equipped to deal with all aspects of addiction. However, one thing we cannot provide adolescents with on our own is sufficient financial aid to assist them with the cost of treatment. This is why we are asking Kellogg to provide us with a donation of $200,000 annually for the next three years to provide additional adolescents with treatment and education to overcome this disease.

Summary

In Chapter 2, you learned to write a need statement that makes your project appear to be timely, urgent, compelling and unique. Since the need statement is the first thing that most readers read, you will want your need statement to grab the reader's attention. In this chapter you also learned about the kinds of appeals you can make in your need statement—appeals to reason, emotion, and the credibility of your organization or its personnel. Writing the need statement forces you to back up and identify the problem, to describe your project as the solution, and to state your instrumental purpose (what you want the sponsor to do). The need statement you write will guide your proposal development process, and it will serve to introduce your proposal idea to internal audiences and sponsors. The need statement appears in a number of places in the proposal, so you will want to have a good understanding of what constitutes a need statement and learn how to write an effective one.

Writing Assignment

In Chapter 2, you completed an exercise to generate your need statement following a systematic method. Now go back and read through what you have written. Make sure the necessary transitions are in place to make the draft of your need statement flow. Also check to make sure you have substantive nouns in subject slots and verbs that really express the action.

  1. Cut your revised need statement down to no more than a page.

  2. If you are working with a group, prepare copies for peer review and use the Peer Review Evaluation Sheet for the Need Statement which follows as the basis for your peer review. After you get the reviewers' comments, revise your need statement incorporating the suggestions that seem most helpful. If you are working independently, review your need statement against the criteria on the peer review evaluation sheet and make revisions.

  3. Put a copy of your need statement and any reviewer's comments in your electronic notebook. Start a file for need statement revisions. If you are keeping a print notebook, start a tabbed section for need statements.

  4. If you feel you need more practice analyzing the elements in a need statement, complete the additional exercises in this study guide chapter.

  5. Download the sample Peer Review Evaluation Sheet for the Need Statement. Feel free to make multiple copies for your own peer reviews.

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