Please see the full solicitation for complete information about the funding opportunity. Below is a summary assembled by the Research & Innovation Office (RIO).

Program Summary

IES requests applications for training projects that will contribute to NCER鈥檚 Research Training Programs in the Education Sciences (Research Training). For FY 2020, IES is accepting applications for training under three programs:

  • Predoctoral Interdisciplinary Research Training Program in the Education Sciences (Predoctoral Training Program): Funds interdisciplinary programs at doctoral-granting institutions to train doctoral students to conduct rigorous and relevant education research that advances knowledge within the field of education sciences and addresses issues important to education leaders and practitioners. These students are also expected to engage with education policy and practice by participating in an apprenticeship with a state or local education agency or an education-focused organization such as a professional education association or a Regional Educational Laboratory.
  • Postdoctoral Research Training in the Education Sciences (Postdoctoral Training Program): Funds programs to prepare researchers with a doctoral degree to conduct high-quality education research that advances knowledge within the field of education sciences and addresses issues important to education leaders and practitioners. These researchers are expected to learn how to conduct independent research, take on leadership positions within research teams, work directly with practitioners and policymakers, and clearly communicate their findings to multiple audiences.
  • Methods Training Program for Education Researchers (Methods Training Program): Funds programs to help current education researchers maintain and upgrade their research and analysis skills in order to conduct rigorous and relevant education research.

As part of the training programs, IES supports

  • new approaches to train and mentor students and researchers from diverse backgrounds in order to encourage their entry into and success in education research careers;
  • training that includes new ideas, approaches, and perspectives to address long-standing education issues;
  • training that helps researchers and state and local education agency staff acquire skills necessary to obtain and generate evidence needed for policy and programmatic decisions.

IES does not provide funds directly to individuals seeking training. IES provides funds to institutions to establish training programs and independently recruit and train participants for those programs. IES is interested in broadening institutional participation in its research training programs. IES encourages applications from minority-serving institutions (MSIs), alone or in combination with other institutions.

Deadlines

CU Internal Deadline: 11:59pm MST July 2, 2019

Sponsor Letter of Intent Deadline (not required, but encouraged): July 11, 2019

Sponsor Application Deadline: 9:59pm MT August 29, 2019

Internal Application Requirements (all in PDF format)

  • Proposal Type (choose one): Predoctoral Training Program, Postdoctoral Training Program, Methods Training Program
  • Training Program Narrative (2 pages maximum): Please address the following: significance (focus of training program), research training plan (activities the training program will provide), personnel (training team, relevant expertise, responsibilities), and resources (access to institutional resources; access to schools and data sets where applicable; for methods training program: institutional capacity to complete project of this size, access to resources to successfully complete project).
  • Key Personnel (1 page maximum): Please list name, title, department/college/institute, and organizational/institutional affiliation of ALL key personnel. The PI, any Co-PIs, and core training faculty are considered key personnel.
  • Budget Overview (1 page maximum): A basic budget outlining project costs is sufficient; detailed OCG budgets are not required.

To access the online application, visit:

Eligibility

Predoctoral Training Program:

The applicant must be an academic institution located in the territorial United States that confers doctoral degrees in academic fields relevant to education IES is accepting applications for new predoctoral training programs and applications to renew existing training programs. An academic institution may host no more than one IES-supported predoctoral training program at a time. Academic institutions that currently have a predoctoral training program that will still be operating in August 2020 can apply only to renew the existing training program. The research training and budget narratives should describe how the applicant proposes to transition the training program from the existing grant to the new award. Faculty members serving as PI, Co-PIs, or core training faculty must be able to provide intensive training in the education sciences including research methodology and statistics. The PI, any Co-PIs, and core training faculty are considered key personnel and must be named and listed as key personnel in the application.

The applying academic institution must be able to

  • implement a strategy to recruit fellows from groups underrepresented in doctoral programs;
  • provide fellows a research apprenticeship on research grants or contracts carrying out the type of research supported by IES;
  • provide fellows a policy/practitioner apprenticeship with an education agency or educationfocused organization;
  • award an Education Sciences Certificate to fellows who successfully complete the program; and
  • provide fellows training in career opportunities and support their entry into the labor market when the fellowship ends.

Postdoctoral Training Program:

The applicant must be an academic institution located in the United States and its territories that confers doctoral degrees in fields relevant to education. The applying organization/institution may hold more than one Postdoctoral Training Program award from IES. An applicant may partner with another institution that will provide fellows with research opportunities aligned with the training program focus.

The PI, any Co-PIs, and core training faculty are considered key personnel and must be named and listed as key personnel in the application. All key personnel must be on one or more new or ongoing education research projects currently supported by the IES or another funding source. These projects should be appropriate for postdoctoral-level research training, and there must be at least one active project that will provide training opportunities for postdoctoral fellows for at least the first 2 years of the training grant. Key personnel on a postdoctoral training grant can take part in only one IES-funded postdoctoral training grant at a time, regardless of whether that training grant is funded by the National Center for Education Research (under CFDA 84.305B) or the National Center for Special Education Research (under CFDA 84.324B).

Methods Training Program:

Applicants located in the territorial United States that have the ability and capacity to conduct training in scientific research methods are eligible to apply. An applying institution may hold more than one award from IES and may submit more than one application as long as each actual or proposed training program addresses a different issue and includes a different set of key personnel.

Limited Submission Guidelines

An institution may submit only one application to the Predoctoral Training Program. An institution may submit multiple applications to the Postdoctoral Training Program or Methods Training Program only if the applications are substantively different from one another and do not include any key personnel that are also on another application to the same program.

Award Information

Predoctoral Training Program:

  • Award Amount: $4,600,000
  • Expected Number of Awards: IES intends to make no more than 5 awards. However, should funding be available, IES may consider making additional awards to high-quality applications that remain unfunded after five awards have been made.
  • Award Duration: Up to 5 years

Postdoctoral Training Program:

  • Award Amount: $766,000
  • Award Duration: Up to 5 years

Methods Training Program:

  • Award Amount: $800,000
  • Award Duration: Up to 3 years