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Funding Opportunities for Minority Serving Institutions. KATINA R. STAPLETON, Ph.D. National Center for Education Research. Focus of this webinar.
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Funding Opportunities for Minority Serving Institutions KATINA R. STAPLETON, Ph.D. National Center for Education Research
Focus of this webinar • Increase awareness of researchers at Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) of education research and training funding opportunities at the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) • To provide tips for MSI applicants
Audience for this Webinar • Alaska Native-Serving Institutions • American Indian Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities • Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs) • Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) • Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) • Native American-Serving, Nontribal Institutions • Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions • Predominantly Black Institutions (PBIs)
Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education ED's mission is to promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access. RESEARCH
Why would you apply to IES? • You are interested in working in authentic educational settings • You are interested in improving student education outcomes • You are committed to sharing your research findings with education practitioners
Objectives of the Research Grant Programs • 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
Focus on Student Outcomes • Research must address student education outcomes • School readiness outcomes • Academic outcomes • Social and behavioral competencies that support student success in school • Employment and earning outcomes • Developmental and functional outcomes that improve educational results and transitions to employment, independent living, and postsecondary education for students with disabilities.
How does IES operate? • We are independent – non-partisan by law • Awards are driven primarily by scientific merit as determined by peer review • Program officers are available as a resource to you throughout the process – from idea generation, through application preparation, and for consultation during the revise and resubmit process
What makes us different from other ED funding programs? • Grant funds are to cover research, not program support • A good application is a good application - we don’t have priorities or competitive preferences that result in extra points for applicants • Reviewers have flexibility to assign points based upon overall scientific merit - we don’t ask reviewers to use a rubric as they score
Does IES have Funding Opportunities for MSIs? Yes. . . • However, for FY19, there are no targeted funding opportunities for MSIs. • We encourage MSIs to apply for Education Researchand Special Education Research grants and training grants. • We encourage MSIs to take advantage of the technical assistance IES provides.
A Very Quick Introduction to Developing IES 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
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
Increase MSI Awareness of Available Funding Opportunities At the Institutional Level . . . • Scan The Federal Register where funding opportunities are announced • Become knowledgeable about IES funding priorities and competitive grant competitions • Identify researchers on campus who do work in education research (i.e., potential applicants) • They may come from outside your education department/school
Increase MSI Awareness of Available Technical Assistance 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 meetings with IES staff to discuss your institution’s research capacity and interests
Strengthen Research Partnerships At the Institutional Level . . . • 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 Make sure researchers on your campus are fully aware that these partnerships exist.
Our Assumptions about Applicants • 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
Getting Started • 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)
What is a RFA? • Requests for Applications (RFAs) • Your guide to preparing high quality applications • What reviewers use to evaluate your application for its scientific merit • Are named by Center: • 84.305 = National Center for Education Research (NCER) • 84.324 = National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER)
In each Request for Applications (RFA) • Overview and General Requirements • Summary of changes (if applicable) • Topic Requirements • Research Goals • Competition Regulations and Review Criteria • Preparing your Application • Submitting your Application
How are our RFAs different? • We provide a great deal of detail in our RFAs • Requirements • Recommendations • The application submission process information is included in the RFA • Everyone applying to IES needs to be familiar with either 305A or 324A, even if you don’t intend to apply under that competition
How to Identify Funding Opportunities • Begin at the IES website • Sign up for the IES Newsflash • Funding opportunities are announced in The Federal Register • Review current Requests for Applications (RFAs) • Contact relevant Program Officer(s) for the topic(s) of interest in the relevant Center
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 • NCER Projects • NCSER Projects
Primary Grant Programs • Primary Grant Programs • 84.305AEducation Research Grants • 84.324A Special Education Research Grants • Apply to a Research Topic and a Research Goal • Topic: field you will be working in • Goal: type of work you will be doing
Exploration Goal • Explore associations between malleable factors and outcomes • Identify factors and conditions that may mediate or moderate relations between malleable factors and outcomes • Possible methodological approaches include: • Analyze secondary data • Collect primary data • Complete a meta-analysis • Combination of above
Development & Innovation Goal • Develop an innovative intervention (e.g., curriculum, instructional approach, program, or policy) ORimprove existing education interventions Development process must be iterative! • ANDcollect data on its feasibility, usability, and fidelity of implementation in actual education settings • ANDcollect pilot data on promise
Efficacy & Follow-Up Goal • Evaluate whether or not a fully developed intervention is efficacious under limited or ideal conditions • Gather follow-up data examining the longer term effects of an efficacious intervention • Analyze retrospective (historical) secondary data to test the efficacy of an intervention implemented in the past
Replication: Efficacy & Effectiveness Goal • Generate additional evidence for an efficacious intervention by directly replicating or varying the original conditions • 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 a replication proposal, at least one efficacy study of the intervention with beneficial impacts on student outcomes must have been completed
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
Attend to Changes from Previous Years’ Competitions • Carefully read the full RFA! • See Part 1.E. of the FY 2019 RFAs for a summary of changes to the RFA from the previous year 36
Planning for Dissemination • Emphasis on dissemination as something to think about at the time of application, not after you have completed your study(ies) • Public Access Requirements • ERIC • Data Management Plan
Research Training Grant Programs • 84.324B: Research Training Programs in Special Education • Early Career Development and Mentoring
Education Research & Development Centers Program • 84.305C: Education Research & Development Centers Program • Improving Rural Education • Writing in Secondary Schools
Statistical and ResearchMethodology in Education • 85.305D: Statistical and Research Methodology in Education • Regular Grants • Early Career Grants
Important Dates for Statistical and Research Methodology in Education 84.305D
84.305H: Partnerships & Collaborations Focused on Problems of Practice & Policy Topics: • Researcher-Practitioner Partnerships in Education Research • Carry out initial research on an education issue/problem of high priority for the education agency that has important implications for student outcomes • Evaluation of State and Local Education Programs and Policies • Evaluate fully-developed programs and policies implemented by education agencies to determine if they produce a beneficial impact on student education outcomes • Research activities are carried out by a partnership, composed of (at a minimum) a research institution and a state or local education agency