June 3, 2015 Christina Chhin, Ph.D. National Center for Education Research Amy Sussman, Ph.D.

1. IES Grant Writing Workshop June 3, 2015 Christina Chhin, Ph.D. National Center for Education Research Amy Sussman, Ph.D. National Center for Special Education Research @IESResearch

2. Purpose of the Workshop This workshop will provide instruction and advice on writing a successful application to the Institute of Education Sciences’research grant programs, specifically to the: Education Research Grants Program (84.305A) Special Education Research Grants Program (84.324A)

3. Grant Writing Is A Process

4. Agenda Introduction to IES Grant Writing Tips General Requirements Grant Research Topics Grant Research Goals Four Sections of the Project Narrative

5. What is IES? Research arm of the U.S. Department of Education, non-partisan by law. Charged with providing rigorous and relevant evidence on which to ground education practice and policy and share this information broadly. By identifying what works, what doesn't, and why, we aim to improve educational outcomes for all students, particularly those at risk of failure.

6. IES Organizational Structure Office of the Director National Board for Education Sciences Standards & Review Office National Center for Education Research National Center for Education Statistics National Center for Education Evaluation National Center for Special Education Research

7. FY 2016 Funding Opportunities

8. Primary Research Grant Programs Education Research Grants (84.305A) Special Education Research Grants (84.324A) These grant programs are organized by research topic and research goal.

9. RFA Changes of Note • For 84.305A only: • No Goal 2 applications • Maximum budget award amounts reduced for each Goal • For Goal 3, maximum duration increased to 5 years • For BOTH 84.305A and 84.324A: • Dissemination plans are required under the Resources section • Goal 3 (Efficacy and Replication): Exact replications of previous studies are welcome as well as replications that modify the conditions under which the intervention is implemented • Goal 4 (Effectiveness): Evidence from only one prior efficacy study is required (instead of two)

10. Agenda Introduction to IES Grant Writing Tips General Requirements Grant Research Topics Grant Research Goals Four Sections of the Project Narrative

11. What You Need to Do Sell your research idea, promote yourself as the best person to do the research, and build goodwill and trust. How? By demonstrating that you know what the problem is and have a way to address it.

12. Opening Paragraph • Sets the scene for readers: • Identifies the significance of the work to be done and what actually will be done • Readers use it to organize information in rest of the application • You can lose your readers right off with an unclear opening

13. Statement of Purpose Should: • Be short and attention-getting • Contain the problem statement and your contribution to solving it. Your fellow researchers, friends, and family members should be able to understand it and see its relevance. NOTE: It’s not as easy to do as you may think. You have to know a lot about what it is you want to do before you can describe it succinctly.

14. Theory of Change (ToC) • The model underlying your research. • A roadmap to your project narrative. • A source for generating research questions. • Constantly evolving. NOTE: Some fields and scholars use terms like Logic Model or Logical Framework to mean things similar to what we are calling a Theory of Change here.

15. ToC & Your Research Plan In your research plan, you need to specify exactly what it is you’re exploring, creating, validating, or testing. You also need to specify how you will do these things. Strategies/Activities What are the pieces that you’ll be exploring, creating, testing, etc.? Outcomes Indicators: What will you measure, and how you will measure it? Populations: Who and where (both in treatment and control/comparison)? Thresholds: What effect (size) should you expect? Timeline: When should you be collecting what data?

16. Helpfulness of the Program Officer • Share your framework and statement of purpose with the Program Officer • Ensure you are submitting to the correct competition/topic • Springboard for further discussion

17. Clarity of Writing • Readers (e.g., application reviewers) often complain about lack of clarity. • Significance too general • Lack of detail regarding intervention, development cycle, or data analysis • Use of jargon and assumptions of knowledge • Poor writing (e.g., grammar), awkward constructions, etc.

18. Resources for Researchers • Visit links for faculty and researchers on IES website http://ies.ed.gov/resourcesforresearchers.asp • Review past webinars and participate in future webinars for the FY 2016 competitions http://ies.ed.gov/funding/webinars/index.asp

19. Agenda Introduction to IES Grant Writing Tips General Requirements Grant Research Topics Grant Research Goals Four Sections of the Project Narrative

20. All Proposed Studies Must Measure Student Education Outcomes Be Relevant to Education in the U.S. Address Authentic Education Settings Specify 1 Research Topic Specify 1 Research Goal

21. NCER Ultimate Outcomes of Interest: Student Outcomes 21

22. NCER Ultimate Outcomes of Interest: Student Outcomes 22

23. NCSER Ultimate Outcomes of Interest: Student Outcomes 23

24. Who Should Read the RFA? You, the proposed Principal Investigator Your team members, including your co-PIs, statistician, methodologist, developer Your assigned sponsored projects officer Anyone else participating in the preparation of the application

25. Agenda Introduction to IES Grant Writing Tips General Requirements Grant Research Topics Grant Research Goals Four Sections of the Project Narrative

26. Grant Topics • All applications to the primary research grant programs must be directed to a specific topic • Note on SF 424 Form, Item 4b (Agency Identifier Number) • Note at top of Abstract and Project Narrative

27. Research Topics

28. Topics: Nota Bene Must address student education outcomes Grade range varies by topic Your project might fit in more than one topic

29. 305A: Topics and Their Grade Range

30. Choosing among Overlapping Topics • What literature are you citing? • To which topic is your area of expertise best aligned? • If your focus is on a specific population of students/teachers, go to that program/topic: • Is your focus on a specific type of student/teacher (e.g., English Learners), or are you studying them as a subgroup of your sample?

31. Agenda Introduction to IES Grant Writing Tips General Requirements Grant Research Topics Grant Research Goals Four Sections of the Project Narrative

32. Grant Research Goals • All applications to 84.305A/84.324A must be directed to a specific goal • Note on SF 424 Form, Item 4b • Note at top of Abstract and Research Narrative • The goal describes the type of research to be done • Every application is directed to a specific topic/goal combination

33. What Topic X Goal Fits Your Project?

34. Program Officer Role As you are thinking through which is the appropriate topic and goal for your project, we encourage applicants to reach out to your program officers. They are a valuable resource.

35. FY 2016 Research Goals Exploration Development & Innovation* Efficacy & Replication Effectiveness Measurement * Only for 84.324A

36. Maximum Award Amounts

37. NCER Grants by Goal (2004-2014)

38. NCSER Grants by Goal (2006-2014)

39. Goal Requirements Your application must meet all Project Narrative and Award Requirements listed for the goal you select in order for your application to be considered responsive and sent forward to review. We strongly encourage you to incorporate the recommendations into your Project Narrative. All applications must include a Dissemination Plan.

40. Exploration Projects: Malleable Factors • Malleable factors must be under the control of the education system • Something that can be changed by the system • Examples • Student characteristics: behavior, skills • Teacher characteristics: practices, credentials • School characteristics: size, climate, organization • Education interventions: practices, curricula, instructional approaches, programs, and policies

41. Development & Innovation Projects: Key Features Iterative development process Well specified theory of change Data collected on feasibility and usability in authentic education settings Fidelity must be measured Pilot data on student outcomes

42. Efficacy & Replication Projects:Key Features Testing a causal question Ask what might be needed to implement intervention under routine practice, even if you intend to test under ideal conditions Consider role of developer to avoid conflict of interest for developer-evaluators Do not require confirmatory mediator analyses (primary research question) but recommend exploratory ones

43. Effectiveness Projects: Key Features • IES expects researchers to • Implement intervention under routine practice • Include evaluators independent of development/distribution • Describe strong efficacy evidence for intervention (from at least one previous efficacy study) • 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

44. Measurement Projects: Key Features • Assessments may also be developed in other goals, but not as the primary focus • Primary product of measurement grant is the design, refinement, and/or validation of an assessment • Include an assessment framework • Must link the assessment to student education outcomes

45. Expected Products Expected Products for each goal can help you identify the right goal for your project At the end of a funded project, IES expects you to provide…

46. Agenda • Introduction to IES • Grant Writing Tips • General Requirements • Grant Research Topics • Grant Research Goals • Four Sections of the Project Narrative

47. Project Narrative • Four Required Sections • Significance • Research Plan • Personnel • Resources • Each of these sections will be scored individually by the peer reviewers • In addition, reviewers provide an overall score of Scientific Merit

48. The Application’s Project Narrative • Requirements vary by Topic & Goal • READ THE REQUIREMENTS CAREFULLY • 25 pages, single spaced • Project Narrative is supported by Appendices, but all critical content for reviewers should be included within the 25 pages of the Project Narrative.

49. Significance Section • Describes the overall project • Your research question to be answered, intervention to be developed or evaluated, or measure to be developed and/or validated • Provides a compelling rationale for the project • Theoretical justification • Theory of Change • Empirical justification • Practical justification

50. Significance • Do not assume reviewers know significance of your work • Do not quote back RFA on general importance of a topic, • e.g., RFA paragraph on lack of reading proficiency of 8th and 12th graders based on NAEP data • Do quote back RFA if your project is addressing a research gap or consideration identified in the RFA • e.g., disproportionality in discipline (Social/Behavioral); impact of early childhood policy initiatives (Early Learning)