Funding Opportunities at the Institute of Education Sciences

Elizabeth R. Albro, Ph.D.

Acting Commissioner,

National Center for Education Research

Legislative Mission of IES

• Describe the condition and progress of education in the United States

• Identify education practices that improve academic achievement and access to education opportunities

• Evaluate the effectiveness of Federal and other education programs

Organizational Structure

Office of the Director

National Board for Education

Sciences

National Center for Education Evaluation

National Center for Education Statistics

National Center for Education Research

National Center for Special Ed Research

To Identify Funding Opportunities

• Begin at the IES website (http://ies.ed.gov)• Sign up for the IES Newsletter• Review current Requests for Applications• Funding Opportunities are announced inThe

Federal Register • Contact relevant program officers in the two

Research Centers

Letters of Intent Due Dates

• Letters of Intent are important, but not required• LOIS are submitted electronically using the

instructions provided at: https://iesreview.ed.gov

• We encourage all researchers to submit Letters of Intent

How to Identify Appropriate Grant Programs

• Read the Request for Applications• Review the announced topics and

methodological requirements• Look at the abstracts of projects funded

under a research topic– http://ies.ed.gov/ncer/projects/ – http://ies.ed.gov/ncser/projects/

Then, Contact a Program Officer

• Program officers are associated with topics, and their contact information is included at the end of each RFA.

Partnerships with stakeholder groups

• The Institute will encourage researchers to develop partnerships with stakeholder groups to advance the relevance of the Institute's work, the accessibility of its reports, and the usability of its findings for the day-to-day work of education practitioners and policymakers.

Methodological priorities

• maintain rigorous scientific standards for the technical quality of its … research….activities

• ensure that the methods applied are appropriate to the questions asked and the results are valid and reliable

• include a variety of research and statistical methods

Education Research Topics (84.305A)

• Reading and Writing• Mathematics and Science Education• Cognition and Student Learning• Social and Behavioral Context for Academic Learning• Education Technology• Effective Teachers & Effective Teaching• Improving Education Systems: Policies,

Organization, Management, and Leadership• Postsecondary and Adult Education• Early Learning Programs and Policies• English Learners• ≈

Special Education Research Topics (84.324A)• Early Intervention and Early Learning in Special Education• Reading, Writing, and Language Development• Mathematics and Science Education• Social and Behavioral Outcomes to Support Learning• Transition Outcomes for Special Education Secondary Students• Cognition and Student Learning in Special Education• Professional Development for Teachers and Related Service

Providers• Special Education Policy, Finance, and Systems• Autism Spectrum Disorders• Technology for Special Education• Families with Children with Disabilities

FY2012 Research Goals

• Exploration • Development & Innovation• Efficacy and Replication• Scale-Up Evaluation• Measurement

Exploration Goal

• Explore associations between education outcomes and malleable factors.

• Possible methodological approaches include:– Analyze secondary data– Collect primary data– Complete a meta-analysis

Development & Innovation Goal

• Develop a new intervention (e.g., curriculum, instructional approach, program, or policy)

• OR further develop an intervention that is in the early stages of development

• AND collect data on its feasibility and usability in actual education settings

• AND pilot data on student outcomes.

Efficacy & Replication Goal

• Evaluate whether or not a fully developed intervention is efficacious under limited or ideal conditions.

OR• Gather follow-up data examining the effects

of the intervention.

Efficacy & Replication Goal

• Ask what might be needed to implement intervention under routine practice

• Reduce appearance of conflict of interest for developer-evaluators

• Do not require confirmatory mediator analyses but recommend exploratory ones

• New requirements for single-case efficacy studies

Scale-up Evaluation Goal

• Evaluate whether a fully developed intervention that has evidence of efficacy is effective when implemented under typical conditions through an independent evaluation.

Scale-up Evaluation Goal• Maintain past requirements

– Implement intervention under routine practice– Evaluators independent of development/distribution– Strong efficacy evidence for intervention

• Do not expect wide generalizability from 1 study– Expect multiple Scale-up projects to this end– Sample size not a key distinction from Efficacy

• Do not require confirmatory mediator analyses but encourage exploratory ones

• Implementation limited to 25% of budget

Measurement Goal

• Develop and evaluate assessments, including:– Item development– Reliability & validity analyses

Goal Typical Range per Year (direct + indirect costs)

Maximum(direct + indirect)

Exploration Secondary data With primary data

$100,000 - $300,000$100,000 - $400,000

2 years, $700,0004 years, $1,600,000

Development & Innovation

$150,000 - $400,000 3 years, $1,500,000

Efficacy & Replication Follow-up study

$250,000 - $650,000$150,000 - $300,000

4 years, $3,500,0003 years, $1,200,000

Scale-up Evaluation Follow-up study

$350,000 - $900,000$250,000 - $400,000

5 years, $5,000,0003 years, $1,500,000

Measurement $150,000 - $300,000 4 years, $1,600,000

Additional FY 2012 Research Programs

Postdoctoral Research Training Programs in the Education Sciences

(84.305B)• For institutions to establish postdoctoral

training programs to train researchers in the skills necessary to conduct the type of research that the Institute funds

• Maximum amount of the award is $687,000• No more than 5 years in length

Research & Development Centers(84.305C; 84.324C)

• Key education issues that face our nation • Conduct a focused program of education

research in a topic area • Conduct supplemental research within a

broad topic area • Provide national leadership in advancing

evidence-based practice and policy within a topic area

National Research and Development Centers(84.305C)

• Topics vary year by year• Currently support 18 R&D Centers• Two R&D Centers were competed in FY 2012

– Cognition & Adult Literacy– State & Local Policy

National R&D Centers in Special Education(84.324C)

• Currently support three R&D Centers• Four R&D Centers Topics for FY 2012

– School-Based Interventions for Secondary Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders

– Reading Instruction for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students

– Interventions for Families of Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders

– Interventions for Families of Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders

Statistical and Research Methodology in Education (84.305D)

• Research projects intended to expand and improve the methodological and statistical tools available for education researchers

• These tools will be used to improve the design of research studies, analysis of research data, and interpretation of research findings.

Evaluation of State and Local Education Programs and Policies (84.305E)

• Support for rigorous evaluations of education programs or policies that are paid for and implemented by state or local education agencies

Program Typical Range per Year (direct + indirect costs)

Maximum(direct + indirect)

305B Postdoc Training

Depends on # of Postdocs

5 years, $687,000

305C & 324C R&D Centers

$1,000,000 - $2,000,000 5 years, $10,000,000

305D Stats/Methods $40,000 - $300,000 3 years, $1,000,000

305E State/Local $500,000 - $1,000,000 5 years, $5,000,000

Other Grant Programs

Application Due Dates

• Applications are accepted twice a year. • We do NOT accept late applications. • The authorized representative pushes the final

submit button.

Finding Application Packages

• All Application Packages are available on www.grants.gov

Review Requirements for Each Application

Request for Applications Will be available at http://ies.ed.gov/funding

Grants.gov Application Submission Guide Will be available at http://ies.ed.gov/funding

Application Package Will be available on Grants.gov

Resources for Researchers

• Visit links for faculty and researchers on IES website.

• Review past webinars, and participate in future webinars for the FY 2013 competitions.

http://ies.ed.gov/resourcesforresearchers.asp

Help Us Help You

• Read the Request for Applications carefully.

• Call or email IES program officers early in the process.

• IES program staff can review draft proposals, and provide feedback.

Don’t be afraid to contact us!

http://ies.ed.gov/funding

Elizabeth Albroelizabeth.albro@ed.gov