Response to Request for Proposal:

Determining Instructional Purposes Training

Program


























Prepared for: Far West Laboratories for Educational & Research Development

Prepared by: Catherine Holthaus, Lakeside Consulting Services

Date Prepared: March 15, 2014
Introduction

Lakeside Consulting Services (LCS), in response to a January 2014 request for
proposal from Far West Laboratory for Educational Research and Development
(FWL), has developed the following plan for evaluating the Determining
Instructional Purposes (DIP) training program package. The primary goal of the
evaluation is to determine the feasibility of the marketing and sale of the DIP
training program package. The secondary goal is to provide information to school
administrators considering the purchase of the program and effective use of the
units. Included in this proposal response is the method of evaluation, task
schedule, and an itemized budget.


Description of the Determining Instructional Purposes Training Program

The Determining Instructional Purposes (DIP) training program package consists
of a Coordinators Handbook and three-units: Unit 1 - Setting Goals, Unit 2 -
Analyzing Problems, and Unit 3 - Deriving Objectives. The units are comprised of
four-to-six modules providing training on a set number of instructional objectives.
Participants in the training program will practice the skills learned in hypothetical
problem solving scenarios. The units are designed to assist in training school
administrators and graduate students in educational administration skills directly
related to planning effective school programs. These skills include setting goals,
analyzing problems, and setting objectives.

The DIP training program has been designed so the units can be presented
individually or in any combination of the three. This will allow the administrators
using the DIP training program the freedom to tailor the instruction to best meet
the needs of the organization. Since the units are self-contained the program
may be administered during a short-term workshop or through individual
sessions scheduled over a longer period of time. Units 1 and 3 require 10-15
hours of instruction and training and Unit 2 will require 12-18 hours. FWL
stipulates all workshops or training sessions to be facilitated by a coordinator.
Prior to facilitating training workshops, the coordinator will be required to have
independently worked through each unit, they will be presenting. Additional
experience in the content area is not required according to FWL. The coordinator
will organize, guide, and monitor activities during the workshops using the
Coordinators Handbook.

Both the Coordinators Handbook and student materials are available in print
format only. The cost for the training materials is $8.95 for individual units or
$24.95 for a complete set. The Coordinators Handbook is available at $4.50.
The curriculum materials have not been validated in an authentic training
situation.

Evaluation Method

Far West Laboratories has requested a summative evaluation of the DIP training
program package, which has yet to be tested or marketed. The goal of this
evaluation is to provide recommendations in the marketing and sale of the DIP
training program and provide potential clients information regarding the purchase
and implementation of the units. LCS will conduct a decision-making evaluation
determining the overall feasibility of continuing the production of the DIP training
program.

Upon completion of the evaluation, a copy of the final report will be forwarded to
the FWL executives, marketing department and instructional designers. In
addition, with permission from FWL, the final evaluation will be made public to
assist school administrators who are considering the purchase of the DIP
program, in making their decision.

Lakeside Consulting will need a detailed list of the goals and objectives of the
DIP training program. During the initial meeting between FWL and LSC
personnel, the evaluators program description will be drafted. Additional
qualitative and quantitative information will be collected through observations and
surveys completed by coordinators, students and potential clients.

Information will be collected from four separate focus groups. The first group will
complete the entire DIP training program while attending a concentrated short-
term workshop over the course of one week. The second group will also
complete the entire course, although over a period of six weeks. The third group
will be divided into groups of ten students, each group completing one individual
unit as selected by a school administrator. This training will be completed in one
week. A different coordinator will facilitate each training group. A complete
training package will also be sent to five school administrators from a list of
potential clients acquired from FWL.

The data for the evaluation will be collected from the following sources:

Coordinators pre- and post- instructional surveys
Student pre- and post- participation surveys
Administrator feedback surveys
Observations made during instruction


Task Schedule

The projected schedule begins April 1, 2014 and shows a completion date of
September 30, 2014. The task schedule for the proposed project is shown on
page 4.

Project Personnel

Dr. Sebastian Fields, a leading instructional designer with over 20 years of
experience will lead the project. He brings with him extensive experience in
survey methodology, quantitative analysis, and project design. Dr. Fields has
worked as a quantitative data analyst at an evaluation and research firm in
Hialeah, South Korea, specializing in training programs and is considered a
leader among evaluators.

Barbette Friendly, brings to the project, 10 years of evaluation experience. She
has filled the role of evaluator on a number of projects including three funded
grants for the University of Guam International Studies in Business. In addition to
being an evaluator, she has designed, developed, and implemented evaluation
studies, facilitated project planning, and supported grant-writing efforts.

In addition to the personnel mentioned above, LCS will provide three graduate
student interns, from Nimitz University, who will work directly for Dr. Fields to
observe the workshops, administer, and collect the surveys.

The project secretary will complete all administrative tasks associated with this
project.

Budget

Far West Laboratories has stipulated the cost of this project is not to exceed
$50,000. An itemized budget is located on page 6.



Task Schedule

Date Task
April 7-11 Meet with Far West Laboratory (FWL) stakeholders to discuss the
proposal and establish the evaluators program description.
Lakeside Consulting Services (LCS) will receive a complete set of
the Determining Instructional Purposes (DIP) training program
package from FWL. FWL will provide the goals and objectives of
the program.
April 14-18 LCS will review the DIP training program allowing time for
clarification from FWL.
April 21 FWL will present the DIP training program to LCS using a
coordinator of their choice.
May 5-16 LCS will develop coordinator, student, and administrator pre- and
post-surveys.
May 19 LCS will provide FWL with the data collection plan including a draft
of all surveys to be used.
May 26-30 Training will be conducted for intern students.
June 2-6 Group 1 will complete Units 1-3 during a weeklong workshop.
Collect surveys at the end of the session.
June 2 Distribute DIP training program including Coordinators Handbook
and surveys to school administrators who have expressed an
interest in the program with a requested return date of July 31,
2014.
June 9
July 18
Group 2 will begin working on Unit 1 of the DIP training program,
with all units to be completed by July 18. Surveys will be collected
at the end of the session.
June 23-27 Group 3, divided into three sub-groups, will complete one unit per
group. Collect surveys at the end of the session.
August 4-8 LCS will analyze, and summarize survey data.
August 11-
September
26
LCS will draft evaluation report.
September
30
Final evaluation report to be presented to FWL.


Budget

Description Cost
Personnel
Dr. Sebastian Fields: 40 days at $450/day $18,000
Barbette Friendly: 40 days at $300/day $12,000
2 Intern Students: 20 days at $80/day $3,200
Project Secretary: 30 days at $130/day $3,900

TOTAL PERSONNEL $37,100

Travel and per Diem
One 2-day round trip: Lewiston to Boise (includes
flight, per diem, car rental, and motel)

$894
Mileage for Intern Students: 1,280 miles at $.56 per
mile

$717
Three site visits at an estimated average of $150
travel and per diem per visit

$450

TOTAL TRAVEL AND PER DIEM $2,061

Materials and Supplies
Photocopying of DIP Training Program Package (55
sets at $24.95 per set)

$1,373
Photocopying of Coordinators Handbook (5 sets at
$4.50)

$45
Miscellaneous Supplies and Materials $500

TOTAL SUPPLIES AND MATERIALS $1,918

TOTAL BUDGET $41,079