White Papers and Elevator Talks

White Papers and Elevator Talks Jack Gelfand Director of ORSP May 6, 2008

PRESENTATION OF YOUR SCHOLARLY OR CREATIVE INTERESTS • TWO CRITICAL SITUATIONS • Elevator Talk - Decision of interest • White Paper - Decision to entertain a formal request

PREDISCLAIMER • This is a discussion of how to present your intellectual interests to others who may be interested in funding your activities. • BUT don’t let the quest for support dictate your research. • ALWAYS work on the most creative, forward looking topic you can find. • APPLY YOUR PASSION FIRST - Figure out how to support it as you go along.

ELEVATOR TALK • Also called an Elevator Pitch • A short, informal presentation • 6 floors on an elevator • Potential donor • Reviewer • Employer • Contact • You have their attention, but there is a hard limit on time. • They initiate the discussion • You initiate the discussion

Only the essential points • Crisply and effectively presented • Compelling • Creating an elevator talk in anticipation of such a situation is a very useful exercise.

MOVERS MEET SHAKERS AT THIRD ANNUAL GATHERING OF BILL CLINTON’S GLOBAL INITIATIVENew York Times, October, 2007 “Bjorn Larsson,… who serves on the board of the World’s Children’s Prize for the Rights of the Child, made what he called “an elevator pitch” between the 15th and 18th floors of the Sheraton to a man who he said advised major American philanthropies. “The guy was so intrigued that we decided to meet 10 minutes later in the lobby,” Mr. Larsson said.”

ELEMENTS OF A GOOD ELEVATOR PITCH • Hook • Core • Close Carlson & Wilmot, Innovation, Crown Business (2006)

THE HOOK • Start with a compelling statement about what you are doing. • Severe winter weather costs our economy $ 300 million dollars each year. • I have applied an exciting new approach to 3-dimensional art. • We have a huge supply of coal but there appears to be no way to circumvent pollution problems in coal gasification. • Our economy continues to suffer cyclic credit problems • Many US industries continue to have a need for marketing people who are fluent in the Chinese language and culture.

THE COREVALUE PROPOSITION • NEED • APPROACH • BENEFIT • COMPETITION

THE CLOSE • Don’t leave without an action item. • Would your foundation be interested in a proposal on this? • Can you suggest someone in your agency who I might discuss this with? • Can I give a talk to your research group on this topic? • Can you help me move this program forward?

Most people, academics especially, get stuck in the approach.Too close to the problem

TYPICAL ACADEMIC ELEVATOR PITCH The HOOK Need DETAILS OF PROBLEMS WITH THE METHOD No Conclusion

This is a guide. Presentation order and which elements are stressed vary greatly according to the type of activity and the circumstances of the discussion.

WHITE PAPER • One or two page summary • Introduce your work to someone • Requested by interested party • Desired response to an elevator pitch • That’s interesting. Please send me a 1-2 page letter describing your project. • Agencies sometime require in advance of proposal • Letter of interest • Request full proposal if interested

WHITE PAPER CONTENTS • Short Summary • Need • Description of the problem • Approach • Preliminary results • Expected results and benefits • Comparison with others • Personnel • Time table • Budget • References Each needs to be mentioned briefly.

As with an elevator talk, there is a great deal of latitude in preparing a white paper. It also depends on what is requested.

“If I am to speak ten minutes. I need a week for preparation….. If an hour, I am ready now.”Woodrow Wilson

PREPARE YOUR WHITE PAPER IN ADVANCE • Always have an updated white paper. • Keep it on your computer desktop • Start with an abstract of a paper or poster. • Update it with new material as it becomes available. • Keep it in nearly final form that requires 30 mins or so to finalize.

BENEFITS • Great benefit to the conduct of your research or creative activity • Thinking about the presentation of your project produces a clearer view of what you are doing. • Forcing yourself to explicitly articulate your plans demands clear thinking about how you should proceed.

A discussion of creating the most compelling presentation of your interests is related to the central issue in fund raising.

THE SECRET

When thinking about writing the check, the focus shifts to the manager of the funding program and the process inside the agency or foundation

The program manager of the agency or foundation must have a clear view of what your project is about and how it fits into THEIR program goals.

TWO THINGS THAT YOU WILL NEVER EVER HEAR IN THE SAME SENTENCE “I don’t know what they are doing” “dollars”

FUNDING AGENCY GOALS AND ORGANIZATION • Agency and foundation programs have topics and goals • Small number of grants to cover each topic • Program manager must report progress in terms of the program organization • 15 minority scholarship programs in the Northeast • Two collaborations with African Universities • Three plays on historical topics • Three different methods to determine the cosmological distance scale

LONG-TERM STRATEGY • Find a label that distinguishes your approach. • Teach everybody who will listen. • Own it. • Make it part of an agency’s program.

POSTDISCLAIMER • Finding funding is important, but don’t let it dictate your demeanor as a scholar. • Always be • Professional • Constructive • Honest • Enthusiastic

White Papers and Elevator Talks