OII’s Investing in Innovation program—better known as i3—is among 111 Bright Ideas recognized by the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Now in its third year, Bright Ideas recognizes efforts from all government levels, including school districts, county, city, state, and federal agencies as well as public-private partnerships, that demonstrate “a creative range of solutions to issues such as urban and rural degradation, environmental problems, and the academic achievement of students.”
The i3 program supports efforts to develop, validate, and scale up practices, strategies, or programs that improve student outcomes, with the amount of funds tied to the strength of evidence of effectiveness. i3 “Development” grants are for new and promising practices whose impact should be studied further; i3 “Validation” grants verify the effectiveness of programs with moderate levels of evidence; and i3 “Scale-up” grants support applicants with the strongest evidence and track records of success. Abstracts of 2010 and 2011 i3 grantees can be found here.
For more information on the 2012 Bright Idea awards from the Ash Center, click here. And here for a complete list of the 111 awardees.
