q&a webinar i3 development pre-application

Q&A Webinar i3 Development Pre-Application

Overview SlidesApril 2013

Note: These slides are intended as guidance only. Pleaserefer to the official documents published in the Federal Register.

Two Parts of Today’s Webinar

1) An overview of the 2013 i3 Development Competition, with a focus on the pre-application process.

2) A Q&A period with a discussion organized by specific topic.

These slides are intended as guidance only. Keep in mind that the overview covers only part of the information that prospective applicants should review from the Federal Register and the i3 website.

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A Few Notes on Q&A

We have allowed substantial time after each discussion topic for Q&A

• Webinar participants should submit their questions via the webinar chat function

We cannot answer questions that are applicant-specific• “Am I eligible to apply?”• “Does this sound like a good idea?”• “Does this idea address the absolute priority?”

We may not be able to answer all questions received

If you have additional questions, please send them to the i3 mailbox: [email protected]

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Overview of the i3 Grant Program

PurposePurposeTo generate and validate solutions to persistent educational challenges and to support the expansion of effective solutions across the country and to serve substantially larger numbers of students.

FundingFunding $135 million (est.) to be obligated by December 31, 2013.

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i3i3

Types of Awards Available Under i3

Funding Available* Up to $3M/award Up to $12M/award Up to $20M/award

Estimated Awards 10-20 4-8 0-2

Evidence Required

Evidence of promise or strong theory

Moderate evidence of effectiveness

Strong evidence of effectiveness

Scaling Required

Able to further develop and scale

Able to be scaled to the regional or state level

Able to be scaled to the national level

*$135M (est.) to be obligated by December 31, 2013

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Overview of the i3 Grant Program

Eligibility Requirements

Eligibility Requirements

ApplicantsApplicantsEligible applicants are: (1)Local educational agencies (LEAs) (2)non-profit organizations in partnership with (a) one or more LEAs or (b) a consortium of schools

To provide competitive grants to applicants with a record of improving student achievement, attainment or retention in order to expand the implementation of, and investment in, innovative practices that are demonstrated to have an impact on:•Improving student achievement or student growth; •Closing achievement gaps; •Decreasing dropout rates;•Increasing high school graduation rates; or•Increasing college enrollment and completion rates

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Order of Q&A Discussion Topics

• Eligibility• Evidence • Priorities• Selection Criteria & Review Process• Other Topics

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i3 Has Two Types of Eligible Applicants

1) A local educational agency (LEA) and

2) A non-profit organization in partnership with (a) one or more LEAs or (b) a consortium of schools

There is no competitive advantage to applying as one type of applicant or the other, but an applicant must meet the relevant eligibility requirements.

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Some Eligibility Requirements Differ Based on Type of Applicant

An LEA must:Demonstrate that it: •(1) Significantly closed achievement gaps between groups of students; or (2) demonstrated success in significantly increasing academic achievement for all groups of students; and•Made significant improvement in other areas; and•Establish partnerships with private sector.

A partnership must:• Demonstrate that the non-profit

organization has a record of significantly improving student achievement, attainment, or retention through its record of work with an LEA or schools.

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Some Eligibility Requirements Apply to Both Types of Applicants

All applicants must:

1.Address one absolute priority.

2.Meet the evidence requirement – for Development grantees: evidence of promise or strong theory.

3.Secure commitment for required private sector match – for Development grantees: 15% of the federal award.

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Q&A: Eligibility

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i3 Evidence Requirements• All applications for Development grants must meet the

evidence requirement : evidence of promise or strong theory.

• Applications that do not meet the evidence requirement will not be eligible for a grant award, regardless of scores on the selection criteria.

• If an application does not meet the “evidence standard” of the grant type under which it was submitted, it will not be considered for a different type of i3 grant.

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i3 Development Grant Evidence Standards

Number of Studies Not Applicable – Logic Model Only 1+ 1+ 1+

Statistical Significance

Statistically significant positive impact(0.25 standard deviation or larger)

WWC Standards

Not Applicable;Correlational study

with statistical controls for selection

bias

Meets without reservations

Meets with reservations

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Option 1Option 1 Option 2Option 2 Option 3Option 3

Note: Greyed-out/shaded cells indicate criteria on which the updated standards are silent.

See What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) Procedures and Standards Handbook (Version 2.1, September 2011), which can currently be found at the following link: http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/DocumentSum.aspx?sid=19.

Development Grant Evidence RequirementsPre-ApplicationPre-Application

FullApplicationFullApplication

• Applicants are not required to address the evidence eligibility requirement in their pre-applications.

• However, applicants may find it valuable to discuss the evidence in support of their proposed projects in connection with or as justification of the claimed significance or impact.

• Applicants should provide information addressing the evidence standards in their full applications.

• Applicants either should ensure that all supporting evidence is available from publicly available sources and provide links or other guidance indicating where it is available; or should include copies of evidence with the full application.

• IMPORTANT: Applicants that do not sufficiently address the evidence requirements in their full applications will not be able to supplement their original applications with additional information to meet the requirements if they are deemed ineligible.

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Q&A: Evidence

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i3 Development Priorities

Required forall applications

Improve Achievementfor High-Need

Students

Improve Achievementfor High-Need

Students

Must address oneabsolute priority

Teacher or Principal Effectiveness

Teacher or Principal Effectiveness

Low Performing SchoolsLow Performing Schools

Improving STEM Education

Improving STEM Education

English LearnersEnglish Learners

Students with DisabilitiesStudents with Disabilities

Parent and Family Engagement

Parent and Family Engagement

Effective Use of Technology

Effective Use of Technology

Improving Rural Achievement

Improving Rural Achievement

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i3 2013 Priority Structure and Subparts• The i3 Development Notice Inviting Applications (the NIA) was

published in the Federal Register on March 27, 2013.• An applicant for a Development grant must choose one of the

eight absolute priorities and one of the subparts under the chosen priority to address in their pre-application.

• Applicants who choose to submit an application under the absolute priority for Serving Rural Communities must identify an additional absolute priority and subpart.

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Q&A: Priorities

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Notes on i3 Selection Criteria and Points

• The selection criteria are the criteria against which the peer reviewers score each application.

• The Department selects grantees based on peer reviewer scores, so clearly addressing the selection criteria is critical.

• There are different selection criteria for the pre-application and the full application.

• Detailed wording for each selection criterion may be found in the Notices at the i3 website: http://www.ed.gov/programs/innovation/index.html.

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i3 Selection Criteria and Points

A. Significance10 35

B. Quality of the Project Design 10 25

C. Quality of the Management Plan 15

D. Personnel 10

E. Quality of the Project Evaluation 15

Total Points 20 100

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Q&A: Selection Criteria & Review

Process

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Parts of a Complete Pre-ApplicationPart A

Project Narrative FormResponses to the Selection Criteria

Significance Quality of the Project Design

Budget Narrative FormED 524 Section CEligible applicants must also provide a

detailed budget narrative that describes their proposed multi-year project activities and the costs associated with those activities as well as all costs associated with carrying out the project.

Other Attachments Form Upload appendices here

Part B

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Completing the Applicant Information Sheet

Applicants must download this form, which provides information that is crucial for the peer review process, from the i3 website and submit it with their pre-application.In previous years, applicants have failed to submit this form or have submitted it in an unusable format, which impedes peer review.To complete this form:1.Download it from the i3 website:http://www2.ed.gov/programs/innovation/applicant.html

2.Complete the form in Adobe Acrobat3.Save the form in Adobe Acrobat as a PDF4.Upload the PDF to the Other Attachments Form of the applicationDO NOT: Print the form, complete it, and scan it as a PDF; Save the form in any format other than PDF; Forget to include this form; Merge it with other appendices.

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Full i3 Development Cycle• Department published pre-application package.• Applicants register early on Grants.gov and SAM.• Applicants develop pre-application (7 pages).• Applicants submit pre-application through Grants.gov.

• Department publishes full application package.• Highly-rated pre-applicants invited to submit full application (25 pages) and other pre-applicants

who choose to submit a full application, including project partners and evaluation plans.• Highly-rated pre-applicants submit full application through Grants.gov.

• Highest-rated full applicants secure evidence of at least 50% of required private-sector match.• Highest-rated full applicants submit evidence to the Department for approval and confirmation.• Department announces awardees.

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Q&A: Other Topics

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Other Important Resources

Investing in Innovation Fund Website: (http://www2.ed.gov/programs/innovation/index.html)

• Notice Final Priorities, Requirements, Definitions, and Selection Criteria

• Notice Inviting Applications• Application Package (includes the Notice Inviting Applications)

• posted shortly after NIA publication• i3 Applicant Information Sheet• Frequently Asked QuestionsNote: These slides are intended as guidance only. Please refer to the official Notice in the Federal Register.

All questions about i3 should be sent to [email protected]

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Closing Thoughts• If you applied previously, make sure you understand the changes to the

program – especially to the pre-application process

• Write clearly to the selection criteria: they are what the peer reviewers will use to judge your application, so consider explaining what you’re going to do and what the impact will be if you are successful

• Consider discussing how you will do what you claim you will do – do not just state that you will do it

• Keep in mind that Development grants in particular aim to address problems of national importance – think about whether and how your idea is of broader than local importance

• Register for grants.gov early, make sure you understand how to use it, and leave yourself plenty of time to submit your application on time (the deadline of 4:30:00PM DC Time on April 26 applies to the completion of the submission, not the beginning)

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q&a webinar i3 development pre-application

Documents