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Connecting Research,Connecting Research,Policy and PracticePolicy and Practice

Grant Writing Workshop forMinority Serving Institutions

Katina Stapleton, Ph.D.Program Officer

National Center for Education Research

Carol O’Donnell, Ed.D.Program Officer

National Center for Education Research

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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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Final Outcomes of Interest: Student Outcomes

Birth through Preschool• School readiness• Developmental outcomes for infants and toddlers with disabilities

Kindergarten through Grade 12• Academic outcomes in reading, writing, math, and science• Behaviors, interactions, and social skills that support learning in school

and successful transitions to post-school opportunities• High school graduation• Functional outcomes that improve educational results, transitions to

employment, independent living, and postsecondary education for students with disabilities

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Final Outcomes of Interest (cont.)

Postsecondary• Access, persistence, completion• Achievement in gateway math and science courses• Achievement in introductory composition courses

Adult Education• Reading, writing, and math for basic and secondary

education and English language learners

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Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs)

• Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions

• Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions

• Hispanic-Serving Institutions• Historically Black Colleges and Universities • Native American-Serving Nontribal Institutions

and Tribal Colleges and Universities

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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

• 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

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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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Increase MSI 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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Increase MSI Awareness of Available Funding Opportunities

At the Researcher Level . . .• 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

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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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NCER Research Programs

• Education Research Grants – 84.305A• Research Training in the Education Sciences –

84.305B• Research on Statistical and Research

Methodology in Education – 84.305D• Evaluation of State and Local Programs and

Policies – 84.305E• Researcher-Practitioner Partnerships in

Education Research – 84.305H

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NCSER Research Programs

• Special Education Research Grants – 84.324A• Research Training Program in Special

Education: Early Career Development and Mentoring – 84.324B

• Accelerating the Academic Achievement of Students with Learning Disabilities Research Initiative – 84.324D

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Focus of this Presentation

• Education Research Grants (84.305A)

• Special Education Research Grants (84.324A)

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Connecting Research,Connecting Research,Policy and PracticePolicy and Practice

Identify Appropriate Program, Topic, and Goal

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

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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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Education Research Topics (84.305A)• Cognition & Student Learning• Early Learning Programs & Policies• Education Technology• Effective Teachers & Effective Teaching• English Learners• Improving Education Systems: Policies, Organization,

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

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Special Education Research Topics (84.324A)

• Autism Spectrum Disorders• Cognition & Student Learning in Special Education• Early Intervention & Early Learning in Special Education• Families of Children with Disabilities• Mathematics & Science Education in Special Education• Professional Development for Teachers & Related Service Providers• Reading, Writing, and Language Development• Social & 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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Exploration Goal

• Explore associations between malleable factors and education outcomes

• Identify factors and conditions that may mediate or moderate the 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

• Does not require confirmatory mediator analyses but recommends 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 routine practice 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 budget

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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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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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Connecting Research,Connecting Research,Policy and PracticePolicy and Practice

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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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 work

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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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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 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• Have them on for enough time to be taken seriously

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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

alternatives in case of attrition

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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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Next Steps?

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Talk to the Program Officer

• Call or e-mail IES program officers early in the process

• IES program staff can provide feedback on:– research idea– topic– goal– abstracts and draft proposals

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Review Application Requirements

Download the following: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 http://www.Grants.gov on 4/19/12 for June deadline

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Submit a Letter of Intent (LOI)

• Letters of Intent (LOIs) are optional but strongly encouraged

• Submit through https://iesreview.ed.gov• Contents:

1) Descriptive title 2) Topic and goal that you will address 3) Brief description of the proposed project 4) Name and contact information for PI and Co-PIs 5) Name and institutional affiliation of any key collaborators and contractors 6) Duration of the proposed project 7) Estimated total budget request (approximation)

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Attend a Research Training Institute

• Design and Analysis of Practical Quasi-Experiments for use in Education– When: August 6-10, 2012– Where: Northwestern University– Application Deadline: June 1, 2012– http://www.ipr.northwestern.edu/events/workshops/qew

orkshop.html

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Additional Webinars Available

http://ies.ed.gov/funding/webinars/index.asp

•Basic Overview•Application Process•Grant Writing Workshops for each goal•Grant Writing Workshops for early career researchers •Overviews of research training programs•Overviews of NCSER funding opportunities

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Check Out Our Other Resources

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

Application Deadline

Letter of Intent Due

Date

Application Packages

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

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Tips for Grant Writing

• Reviewers focus on significance of work, research method, personnel, and resources

• Write for education specialist/generalist • Write for substantive person and methodologist• Panel has expert in every component of your study

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Tips for Grant Writing

• Punchline up front - “Say what you are going to say. Say it. Say what you said.”

• Clear description of intervention• Consistency throughout application• Evidence that work can be done

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Notification

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

• All applicants receive copies of reviewer comments• If you are not granted an award the first time, plan

on resubmitting, and talk to 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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Remember

• You can’t get funded if you don’t submit an application

• Revise and resubmit is the rule, not the exception

• Persistence (often) pays off

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Connecting Research,Connecting Research,Policy and PracticePolicy and Practice

http://ies.ed.gov/funding

Katina.Stapleton@ed.govCarol.Odonnell@ed.gov