Education Innovation and Research (EIR) Program - Early-Phase Grants

Overview

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 (as defined in this notice), field-initiated innovations to improve student achievement and attainment for high-need students and to 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 more students.

The central design element of the EIR program is its multitier 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's grant tiers: “Early-phase,” “Mid-phase,” and “Expansion.”

“Early-phase,” “Mid-phase,” and “Expansion” 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 scale of funded projects, and, consequently, the amount of funding available to support each type of project.

Early-phase grants must demonstrate a rationale (as defined in this notice). Early-phase grants provide funding for the development, implementation, and feasibility testing of a program that 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 are not intended to simply expand established practices or address needs unique to one particular context. Rather, the goal is to determine whether and in what ways relatively new practices can improve student achievement and attainment for high-need students.

This notice invites applications for Early-phase grants only.

The FY 2024 Early-phase grants competition includes five absolute priorities and two competitive preference priorities. All Early-phase grant applicants must address Absolute Priority 1. Early-phase grant applicants are also required to address one of the other four absolute priorities (applicants may not submit under more than one of the other four absolute priorities). All applicants have the option of addressing the competitive preference priorities and may opt to do so regardless of the absolute priority they select.

• Absolute Priority 1—Demonstrates a Rationale establishes the evidence required for this tier of grants. All Early-phase grants applicants must submit prior evidence of effectiveness that demonstrates a rationale.
• Absolute Priority 2—Field-Initiated Innovations—General gives applicants the option to propose projects that are field-initiated innovations to improve student achievement and attainment.
• Absolute Priority 3—Field-Initiated Innovations—Promoting Equity in Student Access to Educational Resources and Opportunities: Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) is intended to support innovations to improve student achievement and attainment in the STEM education field, consistent with efforts to ensure our Nation's economic competitiveness by improving and expanding STEM learning and engagement.
  
  In Absolute Priority 3, the Department recognizes the importance of funding pre-K through grade 12 STEM education and anticipates that projects would expand opportunities for high-need students. Within this absolute priority, applicants may focus on expanding opportunities in STEM education, including computer science, for underrepresented students in STEM education, including students of color, girls, English learners, students with disabilities, youth from rural communities, and youth from families living at or below the poverty line, to help reduce the enrollment and achievement gaps in a manner consistent with nondiscrimination requirements contained in Federal civil rights laws.
• Absolute Priority 4—Field-Initiated Innovations—Meeting Student Social, Emotional, and Academic Needs is intended to promote high-quality social and emotional learning projects. The disruption caused by the pandemic, along with the growth in youth mental health distress, continue to impact student well-being. It is critical to address students' social and emotional needs, not only to benefit student well-being, but also to support their academic success, as student social, emotional, and academic development are interconnected.
• Absolute Priority 5—Field-Initiated Innovations—Promoting Equity in Student Access to Educational Resources and Opportunities: Educator Recruitment and Retention is intended to elevate and strengthen the educator workforce in ways that prioritize innovation in recruiting and retaining educators to better support high-need students. Applicants are encouraged to address fundamental challenges that schools face in recruiting and retaining fully qualified educators, by addressing the responsibilities and challenges educators continue to face after the pandemic. For example, projects may be designed to improve supports for educators that enhance the ability of schools to recruit and retain staff (e.g., strategies to support educator wellbeing or structuring staffing and schedules to ensure educators and students are appropriately supported, and have sufficient time for planning, collaboration, working with coaches, and observing instruction of other educators) and increase access to leadership opportunities that can lead to increased pay and improved retention for fully certified, experienced, and effective educators, while expanding the impact of great teachers within and beyond their classrooms. Projects may support the recruitment and retention of all school staff or specific staff with acute recruitment and retention challenges (e.g.,personnel serving children or students with disabilities).
• Competitive Preference Priority 1—Promoting Equity in Student Access to Educational Resources and Opportunities: Implementers and Partners is intended to encourage applicants to propose projects that promote partnerships with entities underrepresented under this program. The Department is eager to increase the volume of projects and partners from entities such as community colleges (as defined in this notice), Historically Black colleges and universities (as defined in this notice), Tribal Colleges and Universities (as defined in this notice), and minority-serving institutions (as defined in this notice). The Department expects applicants addressing this priority will raise the bar to reimagine schools through partnerships with underrepresented groups in ways that benefit underserved and high-need students.
• Competitive Preference Priority 2—Addressing the Impact of COVID-19 on Students, Educators, and Faculty: Community Asset-Mapping and Needs Assessment and Evidence-Based Instructional Approaches and Supports reflects the Administration's ongoing commitment to addressing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Pre-K through grade 12 education. The pandemic caused unprecedented disruption in schools across the country and drew renewed attention to the ongoing challenges for underserved students. In response to the pandemic, educators mobilized to address the needs of all students. Researchers, educators, parents, and policymakers are continuing to work to understand and address the impact of inconsistent access to instruction, enrichment, peers, services and supports, and the impact of other related challenges. We also know that for students in underserved communities, inequities in educational opportunity and outcomes existed previously, yet were exacerbated by the pandemic.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic changed the education landscape, especially as students continue to make up for lost classroom instruction. However, it also provides an opportunity to redesign how schools approach teaching and learning in ways that both address long-standing gaps in educational opportunity and better prepare students for college and careers. Over 14 million public school students (31 percent) missed at least 10 percent of school in school year 2021-2022.

According to analysis by the Council of Economic Advisors, absenteeism accounted for up to 27 percent of the test score declines in math and 45 percent of the test score declines in reading on the National Assessment of Educational Progress. 

To that end, the Department seeks projects that develop and evaluate evidence-based, field-initiated innovations to address challenges and inequities caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The proposed innovations should be designed to better enable students to access the educational opportunities they need to succeed in school and reach their full potential.

IHE can only apply in partnership with LEA, SEA, or BIE. 

Cost Sharing or Matching: Under section 4611(d) of the ESEA, each grant recipient must provide, from Federal, State, local, or private sources, an amount equal to 10 percent of funds provided under the grant, which may be provided in cash or through in-kind contributions, to carry out activities supported by the grant.

DATES
Deadline for Notice of Intent to Apply: June 6, 2024. 
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: July 22, 2024
The Department will be able to review grant applications more efficiently if we know the approximate number of applicants that intend to apply. Therefore, we strongly encourage each potential applicant to notify us of their intent to submit an application. 

Maximum Award: We will not make an award exceeding $6,000,000 for a project period of 60 months. 

The Department intends to fund one or more projects under each of the EIR competitions, including Expansion grants (84.411A), Mid-phase grants (84.411B), and Early-phase grants (84.411C). Entities may submit applications for different projects for more than one competition (Early-phase grants, Mid-phase grants, and Expansion grants). The combined maximum new award amount a grantee may receive under these three competitions is $16,000,000. If an entity is within the funding range for multiple applications, the Department will award the highest scoring applications up to $16,000,000.