OpportunityTitle: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE): Education Innovation and Research (EIR) Program: Early-Phase Grants CFDA Number 84.411C
AdditionalInformationOnEligibility: III. Eligibility Information     1. Eligible Applicants: (a) An LEA; (b) An SEA; (c) The Bureau of Indian Education (BIE); (d) A consortium of SEAs or LEAs; (e) A nonprofit organization; and (f) An LEA, an SEA, the BIE, or a consortium described in clause (d), in partnership with--(1) A nonprofit organization; (2) A business; (3) An educational service agency; or (4) An IHE. To qualify as a rural applicant under the EIR program, an applicant must meet both of the following requirements: (a) The applicant is--(1) An LEA with an urban-centric district locale code of 32, 33, 41, 42, or 43, as determined by the Secretary; (2) A consortium of such LEAs; (3) An educational service agency or a nonprofit organization in partnership with such an LEA; or (4) A grantee described in clause (1) or (2) in partnership with an SEA; and (b) A majority of the schools to be served by the program are designated with a locale code of 32, 33, 41, 42, or 43, or a combination of such codes, as determined by the Secretary. Applicants are encouraged to retrieve locale codes from the National Center for Education Statistics School District search tool (https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/districtsearch/), where districts can be looked up individually to retrieve locale codes, and Public School search tool (https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/), where individual schools can be looked up to retrieve locale codes. More information on rural applicant eligibility is in the application package. If you are a nonprofit organization, under 34 CFR 75.51, you may demonstrate your nonprofit status by providing: (1) proof that the Internal Revenue Service currently recognizes the applicant as an organization to which contributions are tax deductible under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, (2) a statement from a State taxing body or the State attorney general certifying that the organization is a nonprofit organization operating within the State and that no part of its net earnings may lawfully benefit any private shareholder or individual, (3) a certified copy of the applicant&#8217;s certificate of incorporation or similar document if it clearly establishes the nonprofit status of the applicant, or (4) any item described above if that item applies to a State or national parent organization, together with a statement by the State or parent organization that the applicant is a local nonprofit affiliate. In addition, any IHE is eligible to be a partner in an application where an LEA, SEA, BIE, consortium of SEAs or LEAs, or a nonprofit organization is the lead applicant that submits the application. A nonprofit organization, such as a development foundation, that is affiliated with a public IHE can apply for a grant. A public IHE that has 501(c)(3) status would also qualify as a nonprofit organization and could be a lead applicant for an EIR grant. A public IHE without 501(c)(3) status, or that could not provide any other documentation described in 34 CFR 75.51(b), however, would not qualify as a nonprofit organization, and therefore could not apply for and receive an EIR grant.
Description: Note: Each funding opportunity description is a synopsis of information in the Federal Register application notice. For specific information about eligibility, please see the official application notice. The official version of this document is the document published in the Federal Register. Free Internet access to the official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal Regulations is available on GPO Access at: http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/index.html. Please review the official application notice for pre-application and application requirements, application submission information, performance measures, priorities and program contact information. For the addresses for obtaining and submitting an application, please refer to our Common Instructions for Applicants to Department of Education Discretionary Grant Programs, published in the Federal Register on February 13, 2019 (84 FR 3768),or at www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2019-02-13/pdf/2019-02206.pdf. Purpose of Program: The EIR program, established under section 4611 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as amended (ESEA), provides funding to create, develop, implement, replicate, or take to scale entrepreneurial, evidence-based, field-initiated innovations to improve student achievement and attainment for high-need students; and rigorously evaluate such innovations. The EIR program is designed to generate and validate solutions to persistent education challenges and to support the expansion of those solutions to serve substantially larger numbers of students. The central design element of the EIR program is its multi-tier structure that links the amount of funding an applicant may receive to the quality of the evidence supporting the efficacy of the proposed project, with the expectation that projects that build this evidence will advance through EIR&#8217;s grant tiers: &#8220;Early-phase,&#8221; &#8220;Mid-phase,&#8221; and &#8220;Expansion.&#8221; Applicants proposing innovative practices that are supported by limited evidence can receive relatively small grants to support the development, implementation, and initial evaluation of the practices; applicants proposing practices supported by evidence from rigorous evaluations, such as an experimental study (as defined in this notice), can receive larger grant awards to support expansion across the country. This structure provides incentives for applicants to-- (1) explore new ways of addressing persistent challenges that other educators can build on and learn from; (2) build evidence of effectiveness of their practices; and (3) replicate and scale successful practices in new schools, districts, and States while addressing the barriers to scale, such as cost structures and implementation fidelity. All EIR projects are expected to generate information regarding their effectiveness in order to inform EIR grantees&#8217; efforts to learn about and improve upon their efforts, and to help similar, non-EIR efforts across the country benefit from EIR grantees&#8217; knowledge. By requiring that all grantees conduct independent evaluations of their EIR projects, EIR ensures that its funded projects make a significant contribution to improving the quality and quantity of information available to practitioners and policymakers about which practices improve student achievement and attainment, for which types of students, and in what contexts. In prior years, the Department has awarded three types of grants under this program: &#8220;Early-phase&#8221; grants, &#8220;Mid-phase&#8221; grants, and &#8220;Expansion&#8221; grants. For FY 2020, the Department will award two types of grants: &#8220;Early-phase&#8221; grants and &#8220;Mid-phase&#8221; grants. These grants differ in terms of the level of prior evidence of effectiveness required for consideration for funding, the expectations regarding the kind of evidence and information funded projects should produce, the level of scale funded projects should reach, and, consequently, the amount of funding available to support each type of project. The Department expects that Early-phase grants provide funding to support the development, implementation, and feasibility testing of a program, which prior research suggests has promise, for the purpose of determining whether the program can successfully improve student achievement and attainment for high need students. Early-phase grants must demonstrate a rationale. These Early-phase grants are not intended simply to implement established practices in additional locations or address needs that are unique to one particular context. The goal is to determine whether and in what ways relatively newer practices can improve student achievement and attainment for high need students. Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) number 84.411C (Early-phase Grants).
GrantorContactEmailDescription: e-Mail: Program Mailbox
GrantorContactText: Julius C Cotton &lt;br/&gt;ED Grants.gov FIND Systems Admin. &lt;br/&gt;Phone 202-245-6288 &lt;br/&gt;julius.cotton@ed.gov &lt;br/&gt;Program Manager: &lt;br/&gt;Ashley Brizzo,  &lt;br/&gt;U.S. Department of Education,  &lt;br/&gt;400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 3E325, Washington, DC 20202-5900.   &lt;br/&gt;Telephone:  (202) 453-7122.  Email:  eir@ed.gov.
CloseDateExplanation: Applications Available: July 31, 2020.      Deadline for Notice of Intent to Apply: August 18, 2020.      Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: September 10, 2020.      Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: November 10, 2020.      Pre-Application Information: The Department will post additional competition information for prospective applicants on the EIR program website: https://oese.ed.gov/offices/office-of-discretionary-grants-support-services/innovation-early-learning/education-innovation-and-research-eir/fy-2020-competition-2/. FOR      FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ashley Brizzo, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 3E325, Washington, DC 20202-5900. Telephone: (202) 453-7122. Email: eir@ed.gov.