IES invites applicants for grant program

Thought this particular grant opportunity might be of interest to some CoE faculty:
"IES has established the Researcher-Practitioner Partnerships in Education Research grant program (CFDA 84.305H) with the goal of seeking funding partnerships composed of research institutions and State or local education agencies. For the FY 2013 competition, these partnerships will identify an education issue with important implications for improving student achievement that is of high priority for the education agency, carry out initial data analyses regarding the education issue, and develop a plan for further research on the issue culminating in an application to one of the Institute’s research grant programs. For more information on application guidelines, see the IES funding opportunities page: http://ies.ed.gov/funding/"

Top 100 Universities for Federal R & D Expenditures

2009 data on institutions receiving/spending the most federal research dollars:
http://chronicle.com/article/The-Top-100-Institutions-in/124626/
And no, UNLV is not in the list. The accompanying article in the Chronicle of Higher Ed discusses the large increases in corporate funding of research at universities.

U. of Washington a case study of declining state support for higher ed

The more successful they are, the less money they get...at least that seems to be the equation at universities that strive to be the research and education leaders in their state. As a two-time alumna of University of Washington graduate programs, this article in the Chronicle (Aug. 29, 2010) caught my attention. It describes the perverse dynamic that makes success in generating grants the legislative rationale for cutting state funding. Several major research universities now receive a larger proportion of their funding from student tuition than state support monies. Overall, state support for higher education has declined significantly in the last 8 years (see chart in article). One noteworthy observation here is that legislatures have a very short-term view of funding; whereas, universities take decades to build momentum--through good hiring and retention of faculty as well as by gradually building reputation and support for research. The response by universities is to seek more private (read corporate) funding.

National data on historic declines in support for higher ed

An article in Inside Higher Ed today includes a table with 1, 2, and 5 year figures for changes in levels of state funding (with and without stimulus monies) for all states.

Webinar on 2nd wave of education stimulus funding

Stimulus: The Second Wave

This event is scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 20, 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. Eastern time. The U.S. Department of Education is gearing up to award $5 billion from the federal economic-stimulus package to school districts, states, and education nonprofit organizations through several competitive grant programs. What are the requirements for Race to the Top, innovation, and other grant programs? How can leaders best compete for those awards? And how can the money be used to drive education reform? Join our guests, two high-level officials from the education department and a state education commissioner, as they discuss the details of the grant competitions and the education reform challenges ahead for K-12 leaders. Presenters: Joanne Weiss, Race to the Top director at the U.S. Department of Education James H. Shelton, assistant deputy secretary for innovation and improvement at the U.S. Department of Education Susan A. Gendron, Maine’s commissioner of education and board president of the Council of Chief State School Officers See registration info here

Research Funding Webinars from IES

The Institute of Education Sciences conducts online seminars on various aspects of their funding process. The schedule includes some grant writing and application sessions. Transcripts and powerpoint slides from previous sessions are available here.

Follow the money

This map shows "national and state-by-state breakdowns of funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that has been budgeted for distribution by the U.S. Department of Education, based on estimates by the department. These amounts...do not include funds that are to be awarded through competitive grants...

For current news as well as a collection of articles and opinions (blog posts), see EdWeek's "Schools and the Stimulus" page:
http://www.edweek.org/ew/collections/schools-stimulus/index.html

Draft legislation to emphasize adolescent literacy

Bills are moving forward in both houses that would:

• increase funding for literacy education overall
  
• increase the proportion spent on older students
• designate monies for staff development
• emphasize the connections between reading and writing

This article in Education Week provides more detail on the proposed bills and brings together opinions of interested parties.

Why the discrepancies in funding higher ed institutions?

This article in today's Inside Higher Ed suggests that proximity to the state capital and which party is in power all may play a role. But location isn't destiny and they offer ideas for increasing your piece of the pie.

Research Funding Webinars scheduled

The National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER) and the National Center for Education Research (NCER) within the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) will host a series of webinars related to research funding opportunities in May. Six types of webinars are planned.
Information about the specific trainings are offered here: http://ies.ed.gov/funding/webinars/

Arne Duncan offers tips on applying for funds

Thought you might be interested in this recent article from Education Week where Arne Duncan (our Secretary of Education) spells out some tips for applying for federal stimulus monies. See also the tab I added to the Grants guide with many more links to information on the ARRA funds, opportunities, and processes.

Re-invest in higher ed: commentary

This article in Dec. 16 Inside Higher Ed caught my attention because it is written by the president of my former employer, Oregon State University. Ed Ray is an economist by training and says, in part,
"At a time when our global competitors from Ireland to China are investing aggressively in their higher education systems, almost every state in our nation is headed the other direction. This pattern, now nearly three decades old, not only hampers our ability to be engines for economic prosperity, it also threatens our historic — and essential — role in creating opportunity for students who have traditionally looked to us as their gateway to success....

Lest we forget, that public mission is to provide higher education opportunities to students who often come from ordinary or worse economic and social circumstances, many of whom are capable of accomplishing extraordinary things. In fact, the history and the promise of this great nation is predicated on the fact that social and economic mobility have provided the dynamism that has created the most technologically sophisticated and prosperous nation on earth. Education has been the most powerful source of that mobility and dynamism. If public universities are forced to abandon that public mission for lack of funding, we are at risk as a nation of creating a permanent underclass of disadvantaged citizens who have little or no stake in our society and of losing the dynamism that has served us so well at the very moment when challenges we face relative to global economic competition have never been greater.

There are further, clear benefits to society within this public mission. The average college graduate working full time, for instance, pays roughly 134 percent more in federal income taxes and about 80 percent more in total federal, state and local taxes than the average high school graduate....

Our public universities have represented hope to generations of Americans. In a campaign year in which the concept of hope has become central to our electoral dialogue, we must not forget that real hope, meaningful hope, requires financial investment and that among the institutions in need of a financial rescue plan, public higher education must be a top priority."

Read it all!

Upcoming online seminars on applying for research funding

"The Institute of Education Sciences (IES) will host a series of webinars related to research funding opportunities at the National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER) and the National Center for Education Research (NCER)." Everything from "Grant Writing Workshop for Young Investigators" to information on training grants and targeted funding is being offered in the next few weeks by IES. See the schedule here: http://ies.ed.gov/funding/webinars/

NCSER grant applications: Letters of intent due August 4

The National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER) within the Institute of Education Sciences is accepting applications for its research grant programs. The ten research topics are:

* 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
* Cognition and Student Learning in Special Education
* Teacher Quality
* Related Services
* Systemic Interventions and Policies for Special Education
* Autism Spectrum Disorders.

The Request for Applications is currently available on the NCSER website http://ies.ed.gov/ncser/funding/. The application package will be available through www.grants.gov by August 4, 2008. Letters of intent are due August 4, 2008. Applications must be submitted electronically by October 2, 2008 at 4:30 p.m., Washington, D.C. time. For more information, please contact Kristen Lauer (Kristen.Lauer@ed.gov; 202-219-0377).

Request for Applications for the Statewide Longitudinal Data System Grant Program

The purpose of this program is to provide grants to state education agencies to enable such agencies to design, develop, and implement statewide longitudinal data systems to efficiently and accurately manage, analyze, disaggregate, and use individual student data, consistent with the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. The long term goal of this program is to increase the number and capacity of comprehensive statewide longitudinal data systems, thereby permitting states to generate accurate and timely data to meet reporting requirements; support evidence-based education decision-making; and increase the efficiency and organization of transferring educational data among schools, districts, and states to improve student achievement. These grants will support the development of statewide longitudinal systems that link individual student data, promote interoperability across institutions and states, and protect student privacy consistent with applicable privacy protection laws. The submission deadline for the Statewide Longitudinal Data System Grants is September 25, 2008.

More information about the program can be found at
http://ies.ed.gov/funding/

Institute of Education Sciences (IES) grants info

Enhancements to the IES website have made it easier than ever to access and print information about the Institute's FY2009 research grant program competitions. The website now has browsable versions of its RFAs that will take prospective applicants to the specific research topics of their choice, and applicants can print just the material needed to apply for that particular grant program. In March, IES released three new funding announcements for FY2009: Education Research Training Grants (84.305B), Education Research and Development Center Grants (84.305C), and Special Education Research Training Grants (84.324B). For more information about IES funding opportunities, and to browse the RFAs, go to http://ies.ed.gov/funding/.