EIR FY 2018 Competition Page

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FY 2018 Education Innovation and Research (EIR) Competitions

FY 2018 Education Innovation and Research (EIR) Competition Announcement

On April 19, 2018, the U.S. Department of Education published in the Federal Register, three notices inviting applications for the Education Innovation and Research Program’s Early-phase, Mid-phase, and Expansion competitions.

TIMELINE FOR FY 2018 EARLY-PHASE, MID-PHASE, AND EXPANSION COMPETITIONS

• Deadline for Notice of Intent to Apply: May 9, 2018
• Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: June 5, 2018
• Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: August 6, 2018

Dear Education Innovation and Research Applicants, It has come to our attention that at least some applicants for the Education Innovation and Research (EIR) Grant Opportunities have experienced difficulties renewing or completing their System for Award Management (SAM) registration system operated by the General Services Administration (GSA), because of a new GSA requirement concerning the submission of a notarized letter appointing a designated entity administrator. As you know, successful registration in SAM is a prerequisite to being able to register in Grants.gov and submit an application electronically.

Because of this issue, the U.S. Department of Education is allowing those Education Innovation and Research applicants that have experienced or are experiencing difficulty in registering or renewing their SAM registration the opportunity to submit their applications as a PDF attachment to an email to EIR@ed.gov by the deadline, June 5, 2018 by 4:30:00 pm, Eastern Time. This deadline was established in the following Notices Inviting Applications for the EIR program, which were published on April 19 2018: https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2018-04-19/pdf/2018-08237.pdf” (Expansion Grants); https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2018-04-19/pdf/2018-08238.pdf (Mid-Phase Grants); and, https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2018-04-19/pdf/2018-08239.pdf (Early-Phase Grants). We note that the Department’s e-mail system will not accept attachments that are larger than 25 MB. Therefore, applicants that chose to submit an application as a PDF file attached to an e-mail should confirm that it is not larger than 25 MB and confirm the maximum file size that their own e-mail systems can transmit. If an application exceeds the 25 MB limit for files submitted to the Department by e-mail, or exceeds the file size that an applicant’s e-mail will transmit, the applicant should divide their applications into sections and submit in multiple e-mails, using an “easy to understand” naming convention, e.g. InstitutionNameSection1, InstitutionNameSection2, and so on.

An applicant, which has not been able to access Grants.gov because of the notarized letter requirement and cannot submit an application as an attachment to an e-mail, has the option of submitting a hard copy through a delivery service that provides next day delivery. If you exercise the option to submit a hardcopy with a next day delivery, rather than e-mailing your application or submitting it electronically through Grants.gov, please include with your application a dated invoice or mail receipt that proves your application was mailed or submitted for delivery by June 5, 2018. Your application must be sent to the following address:

U.S. Department of Education, Application Control Center, Attention: (Select appropriate CFDA Number 84.411A (Expansion), 84.411B (Mid-Phase), 84.411C (Early-Phase) LBJ Basement Level 1, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20202–4260.

Please note that applicants that receive an EIR grant will need to complete their SAM registration before they can draw down funds. If you need further assistance for your SAM account, please go to www.fsd.gov, click on the “Submit a Question” Webform or the Webchat link to correspond with an agent. It will be necessary for you to sign-in to your FSD Account. The ‘Submit a Question’ will accept submissions 24 hours 7 days a week. Federal Service Desk Agents will respond to your request during normal business hours.

If there are any other issues please contact the EIR inbox at EIR@ed.gov and please remember to document your issue by providing any e-mails you received from or submitted to SAM or Grants.gov and other relevant material concerning your issue.

Application Materials for Early-phase, Mid-phase, and Expansion Competitions

Each application will be reviewed under the competition it was submitted under in the Grants.gov system, and only applications that are successfully submitted by the established deadline will be peer reviewed. Applicants should be careful that they download the intended EIR application package and to submit their applications under the intended EIR competition.

• Early-phase Application Package PDF (741 KB)
• Mid-phase Application Package PDF (819 KB)
• Expansion Application Package PDF (821 KB)

Notice of Intent to Apply

Applicants are strongly encouraged to notify the Department of intent to submit an application for funding under the Education Innovation and Research Program (EIR). Please note that an entity that submits a notice of intent to apply is not obligated to apply for an EIR grant, nor is it bound to the information provided in its notice of intent to apply.

• Early-phase: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/68R7WHZ
• Mid-phase: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PBVB8PJ
• Expansion: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PXRTP7T

Eligibility Instructions Documents

This eligibility instructions document provides guidance on how applicants may consider documenting the eligibility requirements. Applicants may consider attaching their documentation for eligibility requirements to the SF 424 Form.

• Applicant Eligibility Instructions—Early-phase Grants MS Word (43 KB)
• Applicant Eligibility Instructions—Mid-phase Grants MS Word (45 KB)
• Applicant Eligibility Instructions—Expansion Grants MS Word (45 KB)
• Applicant Eligibility Instructions Example PDF (49 KB)

Evidence Checklist

This Evidence Requirements Checklist is intended to help applicants determine what studies to include on the Evidence Form with their application for the purposes of meeting the evidence requirement. Applicants can use the checklist as an informal worksheet to understand the evidence criteria used to review studies and learn about additional evidence-related resources available online.

• Applicant Evidence Checklist—Mid-phase MS Word (60 KB)
• Applicant Evidence Checklist—Expansion Grants MS Word (60 KB)

Pre-Application Webinar

On April 24, 2018, the Department hosted a webinar highlighting some of the programs that can support STEM and Computer Science education under the new Secretary’s Supplemental Priorities. You can access the recorded webinar using the following link: https://educateevents.webex.com/educateevents/onstage/playback.php?RCID=5bb0ff0eb3a176901cb57aabef97838e

Informational Recordings and Resources

Last year, an informational workshop was held for prospective applicants. There is no in-person workshop this year. In lieu of a workshop, a series of informational recordings and their associated PowerPoints below will serve a similar role.

• Understanding the Evidence Definitions Used for U. S. Department of Education Programs Presentation by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) that includes audio: PowerPoint
• Using the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) to Identify Strong or Moderate Evidence of Positive Effects from Education Interventions that includes audio: PowerPoint

• Common Instructions for Applicants to Department of Education Discretionary Grant Programs: www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2018-02-12/pdf/2018-02558.pdf