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Connecting Research,Connecting Research,Policy and PracticePolicy and Practice

Basic Overview of Funding Opportunities at the Institute of Education Sciences

Elizabeth R. Albro, Ph.D.Acting Commissioner

National Center for Education Research

Carol O’Donnell, Ed.D.Program Officer

National Center for Education Research

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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

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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 Education Research

Standards & Review Office

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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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QUICK OVERVIEW OF CURRENT RESEARCH INVESTMENTS

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NCER Investments by Competition

Program Number of Awards

2002-2011

Investment (in millions)2002-2011

Education Research 488 $803.9Research & Development Centers 18 $184.7Postdoctoral Research Training 32 $20.0Predoctoral Research Training 26 $121.8Evaluation of State & Local Programs & Policies 10 $45.3Statistical and Research Methodology in Education 29 $21.6Reading for Understanding 6 $113.4Preschool Curriculum Evaluation Research 12 $20.2Social and Character Development Research 7 $13.6Unsolicited 31 $44.9Small Business Innovation Research 51 $50.26

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NCSER Investments by Competition

Program Number of Awards

2006-2011

Investment (in millions)2006-2011

Special Education Research 188 $335.0

Research & Development Centers 4 $40.0

Postdoctoral Research Training 10 $6.5

Small Business Innovation Research 7 $7.3

Unsolicited Awards 3 $1.47

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WHAT ARE THE FY 2013 FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES?

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How to Identify Funding Opportunities

• Begin at the IES website (http://ies.ed.gov/funding)

• Sign up for the IES Newsflash• Funding Opportunities are announced in The Federal

Register • Review current Requests for Applications• Contact relevant Program Officer(s) for the topic(s) of

interest in the relevant Center

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http://ies.ed.gov

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How to Identify Appropriate Grant Programs

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

requirements• Look at abstracts of projects funded under a research

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

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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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A Quick Internet Tour

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A researcher is interested in applying for a grant to develop an online pre-algebra tutor.

•What research program should the researcher apply to?

•What goal should the researcher apply to?

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FY2013 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

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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 and usability 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

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

OR

• Replicate an efficacious intervention varying the original conditions

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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

• NCSER also accepts efficacy studies that propose single case experimental designs

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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

• Prior to submitting an effectiveness proposal, at least two efficacy studies of the intervention with beneficial and practical impacts on student outcomes must have been completed

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Effectiveness Goal

• IES expects researchers to:– Implement intervention under routine practice– Include Evaluators independent of

development/distribution– Describe strong efficacy evidence for intervention

• Does not expect wide generalizability from a single study– Expects multiple Effectiveness projects to this end– Sample size is not a key distinction from Efficacy

• Does not require confirmatory mediator analyses but encourages exploratory ones

• Cost of implementation is limited to 25% of budget24

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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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NCER Grants by Goal

Goal 1: Exploration

13%

Goal 2: Development

46%

Goal 3: Efficacy26%

Goal 4: Effectiveness

2%Goal 5:

Measurement13%

Percentage of funded grantsFY 2004 - 2011

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NCSER Grants by Goal

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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

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

Effectiveness Follow-up study

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

Measurement 4 years, $1,600,000

Maximum Award Amounts (84.305A & 84.324A)

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Connecting Research,Connecting Research,Policy and PracticePolicy and Practice

Additional FY 2013 Research Programs

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Research Training Programs in the Education Sciences (84.305B)

• Postdoctoral Research Training Program

• Researcher & Policymaker Training Program in the Education Sciences

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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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Researcher and Policymaker Training Program in the Education Sciences

• Researcher Training– To provide opportunities for current education researchers

to maintain and upgrade their methodological skills

• Policymaker Training– To share evidence from rigorous education research with

education practitioners and policymakers working on a specific program or policy

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Research Training Program in Special Education (84.324B)

• Early Career Development and Mentoring – Provides new investigators support to further develop

methodological, content, and grant writing expertise needed to develop a strong line of research that includes federal funding

– Requires identification of mentor at time of application– Requires a research plan and career development plan

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Accelerating the Academic Achievement of Students with Learning Disabilities Research Initiative (84.324D)

• To develop and evaluate interventions (e.g., instructional approaches, curricula, technology) to accelerate reading and math achievement of students with or at risk for reading and math disabilities in Grades 3 through 8

• Will create tightly linked network of researchers across variety of disciplines who will work collaboratively to address problem

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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

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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

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

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Researcher-Practitioner Partnerships in Education Research (84.305H)

• Intended to support the partnering of researchers with State and local education agencies in the development of joint research projects

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Award Parameters (84.305B-H & 84.324B-D)

Program Maximum Number of Years

Maximum Award(direct + indirect)

305B Postdoc Training 5 years $687,000

305B Researcher & Policymaker Training

3 years $1,000,000

324B Early Career 4 years $400,000

324D A3 5 years $10,000,000

305D Stats/Methods 3 years $900,000

305E State/Local305H Partnerships

5 years2 years

$5,000,000$400,00038

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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 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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Submit a Letter of Intent

• Letters of Intent (LOIs) are important, but not required

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

• We encourage all researchers to submit LOIs– 4/19/12 for June applications– 7/19/12 for September applications

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Application Due Dates

• Applications are accepted twice a year.• For FY 2013, applications are due:

– June 21, 2012– September 20, 2012

• 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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FY 2013 NCER (305) & NCSER (324)Grant Programs

Application Deadline

Letter of Intent Due

Date

Application Package Posted

Start Dates

305A: Ed Research324A: Sp Ed Research305D: Stats/Methods

6/21/12 4/19/12 4/19/12 3/1/13 to

9/1/13

305A: Ed Research324A: Sp Ed Research305B: Research Training324B: Sp Ed Research Training324D: A3 Initiative305E: State/Local305H: Researcher-Practitioner Partnerships

9/20/12 7/19/12 7/19/12 7/1/13 to

9/1/13

Important Dates and Deadlines

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Finding Application Packages

• FY 2013 Application Packages will be available on www.grants.gov

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Review Application Requirements

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

Grants.gov Application Submission Guide Will be available 4/19/12 for June deadline at http://ies.ed.gov/funding

Application Package Will be available on Grants.gov on 4/19/12 for June deadline

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Peer Review Process

• Applications are reviewed for compliance and responsiveness to the RFA

• Applications that are compliant and responsive are assigned to a review panel

• Two or three panel members conduct a primary review of each application

• At panel meeting, the most competitive applications are reviewed by full panel

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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

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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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Notification Process

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• All applicants will receive e-mail notification of the status of their application

• All applicants receive copies of reviewer comments via e-mail

• If you are not granted an award the first time, plan on resubmitting, and talk to your Program Officer

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For More Information

http://ies.ed.gov/funding

Elizabeth AlbroElizabeth.albro@ed.gov

Carol O’Donnell Carol.Odonnell@ed.gov

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