Grant Writing Workshop for Minority Serving Institutions

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Connecting Research,Policy and Practice

Grant Writing Workshop forMinority Serving Institutions

Katina Stapleton, Ph.D.National Center for Education Research

Rob Ochsendorf, Ed.D.National Center for Special Education Research

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Purpose of this Presentation

• Increase awareness of researchers at Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) of research grant funding at the Institute of Education Sciences (IES)

• Provide tips to MSI researchers on the grant application process

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Quick Overview of IES

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Organizational Structure of IES

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National Board for Education

SciencesStandards &

Review Office

Office of the Director

National Center for Education Evaluation

National Center for Education Statistics

National Center for Education Research

National Center for

Special Education Research

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A Very Quick Introduction to Developing Grant Proposals

“Great ideas do not appear in thirty-minute windows of time. When designing a research project, expect to

spend lots of time on it. You will.” Writing Successful Science Proposals

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Grant Application Cycle

Identify Idea

Identify Appropriate

Funding Agency

Identify Appropriate

Funding Opportunity

Structure the Research Project

Write the Proposal

Submit the Proposal

Receive Review

Grant Award (or Denial)

Critical first step is to determine that your

research fits within IES priorities and specific

Request for Application.

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Missions of the Research Centers

• NCER– supports rigorous research that addresses the

nation’s most pressing education needs, from early childhood to adult education

• NCSER– sponsors a rigorous and comprehensive program

of special education research designed to expand the knowledge and understanding of infants, toddlers, and students with or at risk for disabilities from birth through high school

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IES Grant Programs: Research Objectives

• Develop or identify education interventions (practices, programs, policies, and approaches) – that enhance academic achievement– that can be widely deployed

• Identify what does not work and thereby encourage innovation and further research

• Understand the processes that underlie the effectiveness of education interventions and the variation in their effectiveness

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NCER Investments by Competition (2002-2013)

Program Number of Awards

Investment (in millions)

Education Research 584 $965.4Research & Development Centers 20 $204.7Postdoctoral Research Training 39 $24.7Predoctoral Research Training 26 $121.8Researcher and Policymaker Training 1 $0.8Researcher-Practitioner Partnerships 6 $2.4Eval. of State & Local Programs & Policies 14 $55.1Statistical & Research Methodology 34 $24.8Reading for Understanding 6 $113.4Preschool Curriculum Evaluation Research 12 $20.2Social & Character Development Research 7 $13.6Unsolicited 31 $44.9Small Business Innovation Research 73 $64.9

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NCSER Investments by Competition (2006-2013)

Program Number of Awards

Investment (in millions)

Special Education Research 247 $451.0

Research & Development Centers 6 $62.0

Postdoctoral Research Training 12 $7.8

Early Career Development and Mentoring Training 3 $1.2

Accelerating the Academic Achievement of Students with Learning Disabilities Research Initiative

1 $10.0

Small Business Innovation Research 16 $11.0

Unsolicited Awards 3 $1.410

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Funding Opportunities for Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs)

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A Quick Overview of MSIs

• Alaska Native-Serving Institutions • American Indian Tribally Controlled

Colleges and Universities • Asian American and Native American

Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs)

• High Hispanic Enrollment and Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs)

• Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)

• Native American-Serving, Nontribal Institutions

• Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions • Predominantly Black Institutions (PBIs)

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IES Funding Opportunities for MSIs

• There are no targeted funding opportunities for MSIs.

• We encourage MSIs to apply for Education Research and Special Education Research grants and training grants.

• We encourage MSIs to take advantage of the technical assistance IES provides.

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How can researchers at MSIs get started?

• Recognize that completing a successful grant application is a process that begins before the initial application submission

• Also know that preparing a grant application is part of building your program of research

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Increase MSI Awareness of Available Funding Opportunities

At the Institutional Level . . .• Scan The Federal Register (

https://www.federalregister.gov), where funding opportunities are announced

• Become knowledgeable about IES funding priorities and competitive grant competitions (http://ies.ed.gov/funding)

• Identify researchers on campus who do work in education research (i.e., potential applicants)– They may come from outside your education

department/school15

https://www.federalregister.gov/

http://ies.ed.gov/funding

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Increase MSI Awareness of Available Funding Opportunities

At the Institutional Level . . .• Make sure potential applicants are

aware of available funding opportunities and IES program officers in their areas of interest

• Coordinate phone or in-person meetings with IES staff to discuss your institution’s research capacity and interests

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Strengthen Research Partnerships

• Research consortia and research networks– Available at the national, regional, and local levels

• Partnerships with LEAs, SEAs, and regional laboratories

• Partnerships with other research universities and firms

At the Institutional Level . . .

Make sure researchers on your campus are fully aware that these partnerships exist.

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Increase MSI-based Researchers’ Awareness of Available Funding Opportunities

At the Researcher Level . . .• Sign up for the IES Newsflash (

http://ies.ed.gov/newsflash) to be notified about new competitions

• Become knowledgeable about IES funding priorities and competitive grant competitions (http://ies.ed.gov/funding)

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http://ies.ed.gov/newsflash/


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Our Assumptions of You and What You Want

• We assume that you want…– to help improve education – to carve out your own research agenda– to get funding to conduct your research

• We assume that you have…– expertise in a wide range of topic areas and research

methods/analyses– varying levels of familiarity with grant writing

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Identifying the Appropriate Funding Opportunity

• Identify your own research interests and strengths and see if they overlap with current funding priorities

• Read the separate Requests for Applications (RFAs), which describe the application requirements

• Contact the relevant IES Program Officer to discuss your ideas (e-mail first)

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First Step? Identify Appropriate Research Program, Topic, and Goal• Review the RFAs (http://ies.ed.gov/funding)• Identify a program (305A, 324B, etc.)• Identify a topic (Reading & Writing, Postsec, etc.)• Identify a goal (Exploration, Development, etc.)• Review abstracts of other projects within that topic

or goal:– http://ies.ed.gov/ncer/projects – http://ies.ed.gov/ncser/projects

• Talk to IES Program Officers

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http://ies.ed.gov/ncer/projects/

http://ies.ed.gov/ncser/projects/

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FY 2015 Research Grant Programs• Education Research Programs (84.305A)

• Special Education Research Programs (84.324A)

• Education Research & Development Centers (84.305C)– Knowledge Utilization– Standards in Schools– Virtual Learning

• Statistical & Research Methodology in Education (84.305D)– Statistical & Research Methodology Grants – Early Career Statistical & Research Methodology Grants

• Partnerships & Collaborations Focused on Problems of Practice & Policy (84.305H)– Researcher-Practitioner Partnerships in Education Research– Continuous Improvement Research in Education– Evaluation of State & Local Education Programs & Policies 23

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FY 2015 Research Training Grant Programs

• Research Training Grant Programs in the Education Sciences (84.305B)– Predoctoral Interdisciplinary Research Training – Postdoctoral Research Training Program– Methods Training for Education Researchers

• Research Training Program in Special Education: Early Career Development and Mentoring (84.324B)

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A Closer Look . . .

Education Research Grants (84.305A)

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“Does IES fund the kind of research that I (we) do?”

1. What education problem do you want to solve? What question do you want to answer?

2. Does the underlying issue of this research question/problem fit within one of the IES grant topics?

3. What content will you address? What sample will you study?

4. Does your research method fit the requirements of one of the IES goals?

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NCER Ultimate Outcomes of Interest: Student Outcomes

Grade OutcomePrekindergarten School readiness (e.g., pre-reading, language,

vocabulary, early math and science knowledge, social and behavioral competencies)

Kindergarten – Grade 12

Learning, achievement, and higher-order thinking in reading, writing, mathematics, and science; progress through the education system (e.g., course and grade completion or retention, high school graduation, and dropout); social skills, attitudes, and behaviors that support learning in school

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NCER Ultimate Outcomes of Interest: Student Outcomes

Grade OutcomePostsecondary(Grades 13 – 16)

Access to, persistence in, progress through, and completion of postsecondary education; for students in developmental programs, additional outcomes include achievement in reading, writing, English language proficiency, and mathematics

Adult Education(Adult Basic Education, Adult Secondary Education, Adult ESL, and GED preparation)

Student achievement in reading, writing, and mathematics; access to, persistence in, progress through, and completion of adult education programs

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NCSER Ultimate Outcomes of Interest: Student Outcomes

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Grade Outcome

Infants and Toddlers Developmental outcomes pertaining to cognitive, communicative, linguistic, social, emotional, adaptive, functional or physical development.

Preschool Developmental outcomes and school readiness (e.g., pre-reading, language, vocabulary, early science and mathematics knowledge, social and behavioral competencies that prepare young children for school).

K to 12 Learning, achievement, and higher-order thinking in the core academic content areas of reading, writing, mathematics, and science. Social skills, attitudes, and behaviors that support learning in academic contexts. Functional outcomes related to transitions.

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Identify Appropriate Topic and Goal

• Your research question(s) and research method(s) determine the topic and goal.

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Education Research Topics (84.305A)

• Cognition and Student Learning• Early Learning Programs and Policies• Education Technology• Effective Teachers & Effective Teaching• English Learners• Improving Education Systems: Policies, Organization,

Management, and Leadership• Mathematics and Science Education• Postsecondary and Adult Education• Reading and Writing• Social and Behavioral Context for Academic Learning

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Special Education Research Topics (84.324A)

• Autism Spectrum Disorders• Cognition and Student Learning in Special Education• Early Intervention and Early Learning in Special Education• Families of Children with Disabilities• Mathematics and Science Education• Professional Development for Teachers and Related Service Providers• Reading, Writing, and Language Development• Social and Behavioral Outcomes to Support Learning• Special Education Policy, Finance, and Systems• Technology for Special Education• Transition Outcomes for Secondary Students with Disabilities

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FY2015 Research Goals

• Exploration • Development & Innovation• Efficacy & Replication• Effectiveness• Measurement

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Exploration Goal

• Explore associations between education outcomes and malleable factors

• Identify factors and conditions that may mediate or moderate relations between malleable factors and student outcomes

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

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Development & Innovation Goal

• Develop an innovative intervention (e.g., curriculum, instructional approach, program, or policy)

• OR improve existing education interventions

• AND collect data on its feasibility, usability, and fidelity of implementation in actual education settings

• AND collect pilot data on student outcomes.

Development process must be

iterative!

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Efficacy & Replication Goal

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

OR

• Replicate an efficacious intervention varying the original conditions

OR

• Gather follow-up data examining the longer term effects of an intervention with demonstrated efficacy

OR

• Analyze retrospective (historical) secondary data to test an intervention implemented in the past

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Efficacy & Replication Goal

• Intervention must be fully developed

• Implemented under ideal or routine conditions

• Implemented by end user in authentic education settings

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Remember to Address Requirements

• Cost analysis

• Data Management Plan (in appendix E)

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Effectiveness Goal

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

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Effectiveness Goal

• Must have two prior efficacy studies of the intervention with beneficial and practical impacts on student outcomes

• Implemented by end user under routine conditions

• Project team must be independent of intervention

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Remember to Address Requirements

• Cost analysis

• Data Management Plan (in appendix E)

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Measurement Goal

• Development of new assessments or refinement of existing assessments, and the validation of these assessments

OR

• Validation of existing assessments for specific purposes, contexts and populations

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Measurement Goal

• Must include a rationale for a new assessment or refinement

• Will result in well-specified assessment framework:– Operation definition(s) of construct(s)– Theoretical model showing relation of construct(s)– Description of how assessments provides evidence

of construct(s)– Description of the intended use(s) and population(s)

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For All Goals

• Dissemination plan• Check RFA for materials for each Appendix

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The Goals Build on One Another

• Exploration could lead to…– Development or modification of an intervention– Efficacy evaluation of an intervention

• Development & Innovation could lead to an Efficacy evaluation, if the intervention is found feasible and pilot data is supportive

• Efficacy & Replication could lead to an Effectiveness study, if impact is found across multiple efficacy/replication studies

• Measurement could feed into the other goals

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What if My Project is “Between” Goals or Topics?

PICK ONE! – Read all of the goals in the RFA so that you

understand where your work falls along the continuum of goals. What should come before your project? What should come after it?

– Break the project down into smaller pieces– Don’t just go for the largest amount of money– Aim for a well-crafted project that will deliver

what it promises– Discuss your ideas with a Program Officer

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Goal Maximum(direct + indirect)

Exploration With secondary data With primary data

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

Development & Innovation 4 years, $1,500,000

Efficacy & Replication Follow-up study Retrospective

4 years, $3,500,0003 years, $1,300,0003 years, $800,000

Effectiveness Follow-up study

5 years, $5,000,0003 years, $1,600,000

Measurement 4 years, $1,600,000

Maximum Award Amounts (84.305A & 84.324A)

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The Application’s Research NarrativeKey part of your application

4 Sections:Significance

Research PlanPersonnelResources

Requirements vary by topic and goal25 pages, single-spaced

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Read the RFA Very Carefully

• See pages 6-7 for highlights of changes in the FY 2015 84.305A RFA.

• See pages 5-6 for highlights of changes in the FY 2015 84.324A RFA.

• Pay attention to all topic and goal requirements to avoid making errors that will keep your application from being reviewed.

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Significance

• Describes the overall project– Your research question(s) to be answered, or– Intervention to be developed or evaluated, or– Measure to be developed and/or validated

• Provides a compelling rationale for the project– Theoretical justification

• Logic models, change models– Empirical justification– Practical justification

• Justifies the overall importance of the work50

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Research Plan

• Describe the work you intend to do– How you will answer your research question, or– Develop your intervention, or– Evaluate the intervention, or– Develop and/or validate your assessment

• Make certain Research Plan is aligned to Significance section– All analyses should have justification in Significance (i.e.,

answer the research questions)

• Step-by-step process– Timeline to show when everything will be done

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Dissemination Plan Now Required

• Part of the Research Plan• Should identify…– the audience– how you intend to reach this audience– the products you will develop

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Build a Good Team

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Personnel

• Convince reviewers that your team has the skills and experience to implement the proposed work.

• If all the expertise required for your project is not available on your campus, consider partnering with another institution.

• Demonstrate your productivity.• Make sure the team includes a senior researcher with

a strong grant record.

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Personnel

• Link each person and their expertise to their role in the project:– Qualifications– Roles– Responsibilities– Percent of time devoted to the project

• Show every aspect of project has person with expertise and time to do it.

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Personnel Strategies for Principal Investigator (PI)

• Senior Researcher as PI– Show adequate time to be PI

– Make credentials clear; not all reviewers may know

• Junior Researcher as PI– Show you have adequate expertise not only to do work but to

manage project• Continuation of graduate research

• Management skills as graduate student

– Reviewers more comfortable if you have senior person(s) on project to turn to for advice• Co-PI, Co-I, contractors, advisory board

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Resources

• Show the institutions involved have the capacity to support the work– Don’t use university boilerplate

• If your institution lacks a strong research or grant management record…– Consider partnering with an experienced institution for initial

research grant submissions

• Show that all organizations involved understand and agree to their roles– Describe the responsibilities of each institution, including schools,

to the project– Show strong commitment of schools and districts—have

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Resources

• Data issues– Document permission to use and access confidential data– Show familiarity with data and show that it can be used to

do the proposed work– If merging datasets, show that it can be done

• Proof of access to data and schools is required

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Now that you’ve decided to apply, what’s next?

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Then, Contact a Program Officer• Program Officers can offer guidance and technical assistance

• Program Officers are associated with competitions and/or topics

• Contact information is included at the end of each RFA

• Contact information is also available on each of the program pages on the IES website

Contact Relevant Program Officers

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Documents for Submission

• RFA– No separate submission guide

• FY 2015 Application Packages will be available on June 5, 2014 at www.grants.gov

http://www.grants.gov/

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Application Deadline

Letter of Intent Due

Date

Application Package Posted

Start Dates

August 7, 2014

4:30:00 PM DC Time

June 5, 2014 June 5, 2014 July 1, 2015to

Sept 1, 2015

Important Dates and Deadlines

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Submit a Letter of Intent

• Letters of Intent are strongly encouraged– Program Officer will contact you to offer assistance– Used to identify expertise needed for peer-review panels and to

secure a sufficient number of reviewers– Non-binding and not used in review

• LOIs are submitted electronically– https://iesreview.ed.gov

• If you miss the deadline, please contact the relevant Program Officer to let him/her know of your intent to submit

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Application Due Dates

• Applications are accepted once a year• For FY 2015, applications are due August 7, 2014 at

4:30:00 PM Washington DC time (Eastern)• We do NOT accept late applications • The authorized representative at your institution (not

the PI) actually submits the grant to IES

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The Review Process

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Sub

mit

the Proposal

Screened for

Compliance

Screened

for Responsiveness

Receive initial

Peer review

Reviewed by Full

Panel

Recommended

for Funding

Grant Award

Not Reviewed (late, missing components,

does not meet requirements,

etc.)

Path to Success

Paths to Rejection

Triaged (Initial Scores are not strong

enough to move forward to full panel)

Not Recommended

(Final panel scores are not strong enough

to receive funding)

Problems after panel review (No access to data sets or

schools, etc.)

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Notification

• All applicants will receive e-mail notification that the following information is available via the Applicant Notification System (ANS):• Status of award• Peer reviewer summary statement

• If you are not granted an award the first time, consider resubmitting and talking with your program officer

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Help Us Help You

• Read the Request for Applications carefully

• Call or e-mail IES Program Officers early in the process

• As time permits, IES program staff can review draft proposals and provide feedback

Don’t be afraid to contact us!

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For More Information


Katina [email protected]

Robert [email protected]

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mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

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Additional Information

Summaries of FY 2015 R05B- R05H and R324B Competitions

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Research Training Programs in the Education Sciences (84.305B)

• Predoctoral Interdisciplinary Research Training Program

• Postdoctoral Research Training Program

• Researcher & Policymaker Training Program in the Education Sciences

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Predoctoral Interdisciplinary Training Program

• For institutions to create cohesive graduate training programs

• Should involve a number of different disciplines

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Postdoctoral Research Training Program

• For institutions to establish postdoctoral training programs to train researchers in the skills necessary to conduct the type of research that the Institute funds

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Research Training Program in Special Education (84.324B)

• Early Career Development and Mentoring – Intended for those within 3 years of their doctorate or

postdoctoral work– Provides support to further develop methodological,

content, and grant writing expertise– Involves working with a mentor – Requires a research plan AND career development plan

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Education Research and Development Centers (84.305C)

• Knowledge Utilization

• Standards in Schools

• Virtual Learning

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Knowledge Utilization

• Explore how and when practitioners use research evidence to make decisions

• Explore how existing education research can be made more relevant and useful to practitioners

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Standards in Schools

• States across the U.S. are adopting and implementing new standards for college- and career-readiness– E.g. Common Core State Standards

• Explore how K-12 schools and teachers are responding to new standards and what they might mean for students

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Virtual Learning

• Support research on and evaluation of instructional practices, content, and learning tools within widely-used online instructional delivery platforms

• Explore how the large amounts of data generated by platforms can be used to address practical needs and questions of practitioners and researchers

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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

• Special topic for early career projects

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Partnerships and Collaborations Focused on Problems of Practice and Policy (84.305H)

• Researcher-Practitioner Partnerships in Education Research

• Continuous Improvement Research in Education

• Evaluation of State and Local Education Programs and Policies

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Researcher-Practitioner Partnerships

• Supports partnerships composed of research institutions and state or local education agencies– Identified education problem of high priority for the

education agency that has important implications for student outcomes

• Supports partnership’s development of a research plan

• New or existing partnerships

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Continuous Improvement Research in Education

• Supports partnerships between research institutions and state or local education agencies– To address specific education problem of high priority for

the education agency that has important implications for student outcomes

• Existing, well-established partnerships• Implement, adapt, and revise an approach to

addressing the issue or problem

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Evaluation of State and Local Education Programs and Policies

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

• Evaluations are to determine both the overall impact of the programs/policies and the impact across a variety of conditions

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Award Parameters (84.305B-H & 84.324B)

Program Maximum Number of Years

Maximum Award(direct + indirect)

305B Predoc Training Postoc Training Methods Training

5 years5 years3 years

$4,000,000$700,000

$1,000,000

324B Early Career in Special Ed 4 years $400,000

305C Knowledge Utilization Standards in Schools Virtual Learning


$5,000,000$10,000,000$10,000,000

305D Stats/Methods Early Career

3 years1.5 years

$900,000$200,000

305H Researcher-Practitioner Part. Continuous Improvement Eval. Of State and Local


$400,000$2,500,000$5,000,000

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