IES Grant Writing Workshop for Efficacy and Replication Projects Goal 3

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IES Grant Writing Workshop for Efficacy and
Replication Projects (Goal 3)

• Joan E. McLaughlin, Ph.D.
• Deputy Commissioner
• National Center for Special Education Research

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Overview of Todays Webinar

• Structure of the Institute of Education Sciences
• Research Topics within NCSER NCER
• Goals within Research Topics
• Research Narrative for Goal 3 applications
• Preparing and Submitting an Application
• What Happens Next?

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Structure of the Institute of Education Sciences

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IES 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 Ed Research
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FY 2010 Research Grant Topics in NCSER and NCER
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Special Education Research Program Topics NCSER

• Early Intervention and Early Childhood Special
  Education
• Reading, Writing, and Language Development
• Mathematics and Science Education
• Social and Behavioral Outcomes to Support
  Learning
• Transition Outcomes for Special Education
  Secondary Students

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NCSER Research Program Topics (2)

• Cognition and Student Learning in Special
  Education
• Teacher Quality
• Related Services
• Special Education Policy, Finance, and Systems
• Autism Spectrum Disorders

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Education Research Program Topics NCER

• Reading and Writing
• Mathematics and Science Education
• Cognition and Student Learning
• Teacher Quality
• Social and Behavioral Context for Academic
  Learning
• Education Leadership
• Education Policy, Finance, and Systems
• Postsecondary Education

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NCER Research Program Topics (2)

• Interventions for Struggling Adolescent and Adult
  Readers and Writers
• Middle and High School Reform
• Early Childhood Programs and Policies
• Education Technology
• English Language Learners

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Research Goals within Topics

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Determine Which Goal is Right for You

• G1 Exploration
• G2 Development and Innovation
• G3 Efficacy and Replication
• G4 Scale-up Evaluations
• G5 Measurement

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Goal 1 Exploration

• Explore education programs, practices, and
  malleable factors that are associated with better
  student learning and achievement outcomes

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Goal 2 Development and Innovation

• Develop new interventions (e.g., instructional
  practices, curricula, teacher professional
  development)
• Demonstrate the feasibility of the intervention
  for implementation in an authentic education
  delivery setting
• Collect pilot data on promise of intervention to
  achieve intended outcomes

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Goal 3 Efficacy and Replication

• Test efficacy of fully developed interventions
  (new or existing programs, practices and
  policies) under limited conditions

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Goal 4 Scale-up Evaluations

• Test the impact of interventions that are
  implemented at scale by practitioners (i.e., not
  by researchers)

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Goal 5 Measurement

• Develop and validate assessments or other
  measurement tools

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Overview of Goal 3 Efficacy and Replication Grant
Applications

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Efficacy

• Efficacy is the degree to which an intervention
  has a net positive impact on the outcomes of
  interest relative to the program/practice to
  which it is being compared

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Replication

• Replication projects determine if an intervention
  that has produced a positive impact under one set
  of conditions will produce a positive impact
  under different conditions (e.g., the same
  intervention with different populations of
  students or different educational settings)

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Purpose of Goal 3 Projects

• To estimate the strength or potency of the impact
  of the intervention
• To inform the degree to which the intervention
  can be feasibly or practically implemented
• To assess implementation fidelity

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Appropriate Interventions for Goal 3

• Interventions that are widely used but have not
  been rigorously tested
• Interventions that are fully developed, have
  evidence of their feasibility and promise, but
  are not widely used
• Interventions that have a positive effect under
  one set of conditions

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Goal 3 Projects

• Use experimental or quasi-experimental research
  designs that minimize selection bias or allow it
  to be modeled
• Employ a limited set of conditions
• Often involve more support from the intervention
  developer/researcher than is typically available

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What percentage of research grants are Efficacy
and Replication projects?

• 22 to 23 percent of the research projects funded
  by IES are Efficacy and Replication projects

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Goal 3 Applications

• Research Narrative

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Components of the Research Narrative

• Significance
• Research Plan
• Personnel
• Resources

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Significance

• Describe fully-developed intervention
• Provide rationale for why testing the efficacy of
  this intervention is important
• Present a clear theory of change to guide the
  understanding of the intervention and expected
  outcomes

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Research Plan (1)

• Clearly articulate all research questions
• Does the intervention lead to a meaningful
  improvement in education outcomes?
• What are the conditions that support or hinder
  the implementation of the intervention?
• What processes mediate the relation between the
  intervention and student outcomes?

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Research Plan (2)

• Define sample (include size requirements,
  exclusion rules, and discussion of attrition
  issues)

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Research Plan (3)

• Research Design
• Use a randomized controlled trial (RCT) whenever
  possible
• Clearly justify the use a quasi-experimental
  design and address internal validity threats

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Research Plan (4)

• Describe the power analysis with rationale for
  assumptions

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Research Plan (5)

• Provide detailed description of the chosen
  measures (include information on appropriateness,
  reliability, validity)
• Dont forget to detail any researcher-developed
  measures
• Dont forget to link measures to research
  questions and analyses!
• Provide clear description of data collection
  procedures and timing of data collections

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Research Plan (6)

• Describe how fidelity will be assessed
• Clearly describe the comparison condition
• Identify mediating and moderating variables and
  how they will be collected
• Detail the plan for analysis of qualitative and
  quantitative data

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Personnel

• Content domain experts
• Methodological expertise
• Statistical expert
• Staff experienced in conducting research in
  chosen setting and with population
• DONT FORGET to address the issue of the
  objectivity of the evaluation if the intervention
  developer is part of the team

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Resources

• Address institutional resources
• Document the support of those in the research
  setting (e.g., letters from school districts or
  schools, preschools)

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Goal Three Efficacy and Replication

• 250,000 to 750,00 per year (total cost)
• Up to 4 years

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• Preparing and Submitting an Application

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Getting Started

• Request for Applications
• IES Grants.gov Application Submission Guide
• Application Package

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Documents on the IES Website

• FY 2010 Requests for Applications and the Grant
  Submission Guide are available on
• http//ies.ed.gov/funding
• Sign up for the IES Newsflash
• http//ies.ed.gov/newsflash/

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http//ies.ed.gov
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Finding Application Packages

• FY 2010 Application Packages are available on
  www.grants.gov
• June Application Package available
• April 27, 2009
• October Application Package available
• August 3, 2009

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Help Us Help You

• Read the Request for Applications carefully.
• Call or email IES program officers early in the
  process.
• As they have time, IES program staff will review
  draft proposals and provide feedback to
  applicants.

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Follow Directions and Attend to Details

• Read Program Announcements and Application
  Instructions carefully
• Eligible Applicants
• Special Requirements
• Content and Formatting Requirements
• Application Submission and Processing
• Application Due Dates

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Application Due Dates

• Education and Special Education Research
• June 25, 2009 and October 1, 2009

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What Happens Next?

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Peer Review

• Proposal is reviewed for compliance.
• Compliant proposals are assigned to a review
  panel.
• For Goal 3, three panel members conduct primary
  review of each application.
• Most competitive applications are reviewed by
  full panel at the panel meeting.

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Notification

• All applicants will receive email notification of
  the status of their application.
• All applicants receive copies of reviewer
  comments.
• Applicants who do not receive an award should
  consider revising and resubmitting their
  application. Applicants are encouraged to the
  program officer about the resubmission.

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Special Education Research queries

• Joan McLaughlin
• Joan.McLaughlin_at_ed.gov

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Education Research queries

• Elizabeth Albro
• elizabeth.albro_at_ed.gov