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10/03/2006A Community-Wide Approach to Funding a Wireless Initiative
By Michael Paddock
One of the most compelling arguments for a citywide wireless project is that it will make public infrastructure and government services more efficient and effective at all levels. To effect this impact, however, agencies, schools, and hospitals all need to be involved in developing applications and, where possible, funding for the project as early as possible. Involving these agencies in the planning and development of a wireless project provides three important benefits to the project: - wider initial adoption and use of the infrastructure,
- an expanded pool of potential funding sources for the project, and
- decentralized development of useful applications to demonstrate and facilitate the impact of the project.
How many collaborators is sufficient to achieve these benefits above without the process becoming unwieldy? The answer depends on your own community and how much effort has already gone into organizing for the project. Engagement strategies that work well include identifying and involving those who will benefit most from the expanded capacity of the project and leveraging organizing bodies already in place (such as city hall and chambers of commerce) to bring executives to the planning table.
Expand the Funding PoolAvoid taking a build-it-and-they-will-come approach toward infrastructure projects generally. It may work for road projects, but when it comes to the information superhighway, funders want to see evidence of needs-based momentum before they commit to supporting the project.
That many diverse agencies “could” or “should” use the network to expand or enhance services is less important than a demonstration of support from those that have participated in the planning for its rollout and have real intentions to deploy already identified applications. The legwork you put in to bring them to the table early will pay dividends as the project progresses to the funding stage.
Documentation of support (including letters of support or memorandums of understanding) from every agency that expects to benefit from the project should clearly state the agency’s support for the project and its commitment to playing a role in the infrastructure’s adoption and use when the project is funded.
Grantmakers, particularly governmental funders, usually have specific eligibility criteria that restrict what types of agencies can by funded by a particular program. There are grants for schools, hospitals, economic-development corporations, transportation agencies, fire departments, police departments, and a host of others, and only those agencies can apply for their respective grants.
By including these and other agencies in your project planning, you effectively make the project eligible to apply to — and receive funds from — any of the funding sources for which any participating agency is eligible. An eligible agency applying for funds on behalf of a consortium is common practice in grantseeking, and you can use that to your advantage.
Lastly, as agencies come to understand and feel involved in the specifics of the network project and the schedule for rollout, they will be more likely to reach out to their own funding pool to support applications that demonstrate the usefulness and impact of the project, or—the ultimate win—modify an existing funded project to run over the wireless network.
StrategiesFirst, in identifying the best prospects to involve in the project, consider who will benefit from the capacity the wireless project will create. Don’t delve too deeply into potential applications at this point: The agencies who work in the field every day will begin to develop their own application ideas once they begin to participate in the planning. Just create a list of the public and private agencies most likely to benefit from and use the network.
Second, work to gain executive involvement in the project for each of the agencies you identified. Each collaborator should have a reasonable chance to use the network and to contribute in some way to the overall outcomes you expect to accrue from the network itself. Executive involvement is important, because you don’t want to go too far down the road with a well-meaning staff member who can’t commit the organization to the project when you begin to seek funding.
Third, identify all the potential funding sources that any of the collaborating agencies can apply to for the project – for infrastructure development, application development, or a combination of the two. If you’ve engaged a competent funding researcher, you’ll probably then have a very long list of funders and need to trim the list to a manageable number, based on the time and resources project team members have at their disposal to develop and submit proposals (or pay for outsourced proposal development).
Finally, assign team members the responsibility of submitting grant applications to appropriate funders. They can prepare the proposals internally or outsource the proposal development, but they will be responsible for their own applications. It pays to reiterate here that each member of the group should have some responsibility to the project, or should be given some responsibility, to avoid hard feelings from those who are more actively engaged.
Clearly the benefits of wider community engagement extend beyond simple funding considerations, but the funding implications alone make it a good idea. Although some agencies may be reluctant to tap their most cherished funding sources for a community-wide project, through involvement and demonstrations of support from others in the community, you can win over even the most entrenched bureaucrat.
Michael Paddock is CEO of Grants Office, LLC, in Rochester, New York. Tel.: 585.473.1430 ext. 100. E-mail: mpaddock@grantsoffice.com
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