Research & Reporting

You and your colleagues, who teach business communication at Oscoda County Community College, are interested in setting up a business writer’s hotline—a telephone and e-mail service that will provide answers to grammar, mechanics, and format questions for people who call in or write. You see it as a way of providing a much-needed service to local businesspeople as well as a way of providing positive public relations for your institution.

Each faculty member is willing to donate time to answer the phones and e-mails, but you will need funds for telephone lines, answering machines, reference books, advertising, and more. You decide to apply for a grant from the H. M. Luce Foundation to fund the project for 1 year. After that, if the hotline is successful, you will either reapply for funds or ask Oscoda County Community College administration to fund the continuing costs. For requests less than $3,000, the foundation requests a simple narrative report explaining and justifying the request.

Part 1 (1–2 pages):

In your paper, answer the following information-gathering questions:

• What is the background of the problem?
• What will be the outcome of the project?
• Describe the audience for this report and the implications for structuring your report.
• Describe how the hotline will work.
• What are the advantages of this project?
• What will the project cost?
• What are the qualifications of those involved?

Part 2 (2–4 pages):

Now, you will need to take the information that has been collected from the information gathering and write a proposal to H. M. Luce Foundation for the costs of the proposed hotline.