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Connecting Research,Connecting Research,Policy and PracticePolicy and Practice

Funding Opportunities: Postdoctoral Research Training Programs

in the Education Sciences

Meredith Larson, Ph.D.Research Training Programs in the Education Sciences

Policy and Systems DivisionNational Center for Education Research

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Overview

□ IES and its Postdoctoral Training Programs□ Postdoctoral Training Grant Opportunities

(Topic 1 in the Research Training in the Education Sciences RFA)How to develop your application

□ Submitting an Application □ What Happens Next

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Legislative Mission

□ Describe the condition and progress of education in the United States

□ Identify education practices that improve academic achievement and access to education opportunities

□ Evaluate the effectiveness of Federal and other education programs

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Purpose of the Training Programs

□ To increase the supply of scientists and researchers in education who are prepared to conduct rigorous education research

□ To prepare highly skilled researchers who are able to write competitive proposals that address relevant education issues and meet the methodological requirements specified by IES’ research goals

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History of Training Programs at IES

IES has two postdoctoral training programs, one in the National Center for Education Research (NCER) and one in the National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER).

NCERProgram established in 2005

NCSERProgram established in 2008

Training programs = 32Number of fellows = 99

Training programs = 10Number of fellows = 30

This year, only NCER is competing postdoctoral training grants.

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Connecting Research,Connecting Research,Policy and PracticePolicy and Practice

Current Postdoctoral Training Grant Opportunities

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Changes from Previous Competitions1. The grants are now awarded as Cooperative

Agreements.

2. IES intends to award no more than five (5) training grants this year.

3. Key personnel may work on only one IES postdoctoral training program at a time.

4. Applications must include an example Letter of Agreement (to be included in Appendix B).

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IES’ Expectations:At the end of the grant

IES expects not only trained fellows but also…1.A description of training program (as realized) including all key components discussed in the original application

2.A description of measures used to track progress and data demonstrating program’s success in recruiting, training, and placing fellows

3.A determination of program’s success in preparing fellows with appropriate skills and knowledge to carry out type of research described in the original application

4.Recommendations for future training programs

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NCER’s Postdoctoral Training Programs

Your training should address general education (i.e., typically developing students) and include either

– a combination of a research topic and a research goal

OR

– a specific type of methods research.

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Focus of a Training Program: Research Topic

• Cognition & Student Learning• Early Learning Programs & Policies• Education Technology• Effective Teachers & Effective Teaching• English Learners• Improving Education Systems: Policies, Organization,

Management, & Leadership• Mathematics & Science Education• Postsecondary & Adult Education• Reading & Writing• Social & Behavioral Context for Academic Learning

See topics in FY 2013 RFA for 84.305A: http://ies.ed.gov/funding/13rfas.asp

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Focus of a Training Program: Research Goal

• Exploration• Development & Innovation• Efficacy & Replication • Effectiveness• Measurement

See research goals in FY 2013 RFA for 84.305A: http://ies.ed.gov/funding/13rfas.asp

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Focus of a Training Program:Research Method

Research on Statistical & Research Methodology in Education (84.305D)

Purpose•To develop new approaches, extend, and improve existing methods •To create other tools to enhance the ability of researchers to conduct the types of research that IES funds

See FY 2013 RFA for 84.305D: http://ies.ed.gov/funding/13rfas.asp

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Focus of Postdoctoral Training Programs

IES is especially interested in •Developing education researchers with skills and knowledge in– Education Technology – English Learners – Postsecondary and Adult Education – Development – Measurement (development and validation)

OR•Preparing researchers who can develop and provide education scientists with research designs and analytical methods

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Who Can Apply?□ Academic institutions in the U.S. and its territories that grant

doctoral degrees in fields relevant to education.

□ Program directors and all other faculty mentors must be PI or Co-PI on at least one education research grant supported by the IES or other sources. Programs must be able to provide training opportunities for

at least the first two years of the training grant.

□ Key personnel on postdoctoral training grant can take part in only one IES-funded postdoctoral training grant at a time, regardless of whether it is funded by NCER or NCSER.

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The Basics

• The designs of training programs can vary. – For example, you may propose having one or several

mentors and one or several fellows

• BUT there are some restrictions• Maximum– Number of Fellows: 4– Number of Years per Fellow: 3– Total Number of Training Years: 8

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Getting Started…

When thinking about your training program, consider •Type of researcher you hope to produce•Type of research s/he will conduct

Think of the types of experiences necessary for this type of researcher:– Background knowledge (e.g., theoretical, methodological)– Practical research experience (e.g., working in schools, running

studies)– Other professional skills (e.g., presentation and writing skills)

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What Should be in the Application?

The heart of the application is the…

Training Plan Narrative□Significance□Research Training Plan□Personnel□Resources

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Significance

In this section, you should describe how your training program will develop researchers and contribute to the field of education research:

□ What is the specific focus of your training program?□ What types of skills and knowledge will fellows who participate

in your training program acquire?□ What is the overall importance of your training program?

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Research Training Plan

In this section, you should detail your proposed training program. This includes everything from describing how you will identify fellows to how you will help them transition to new positions: □Recruitment□Training activities□Placement□Evaluation

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Training Plan: Recruitment

Detail your recruitment plan, strategies, and timeline. □Describe the types of fellows you wish to train and choose appropriate venues for finding them□Seek out minority and under-represented candidates□Note the possible start date for the grant and plan accordingly

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Training Plan: Recruitment Special Requirements

Each fellow□ Must be U.S. citizen or permanent resident□ Must have completed Ph.D. prior to beginning the

fellowship training□ Must receive IES permission if the proposed postdoctoral

fellow was a faculty member's pre-doctoral advisee or had a fellowship through another federal programs (including IES’ pre-doctoral training program)

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Training Plan: Training Activities

In this section, detail the specific training activities that will help fellows develop the knowledge, skills, and abilities you identified in the Significance section.

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Training Plan: Training Activities

You should describe□Fellows’ roles on their mentors’ education research grants□The supporting activities that will supplement the fellows’ training□The link between these activities and fellows’ development into independent researchers

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Training Plan: Training Activities

When describing the research projects that fellows will have access to…□Discuss what fellows will learn from their work on the grant projects□Elaborate both the topical and methodological focus of each grant held by the faculty mentors and how these support the focus of the training program

□ Include summary table in Appendix A with information on each project

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Training Plan: Placement

Discuss what your program will do to help transition the fellows to their next positions□E.g., support fellows as they prepare job packets, practice talks, and review job offers□Maybe include a timeline for when you think fellows should engage in these activities

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Training Plan: Evaluating the Progress of Fellows

Include description of how you will measure fellow’s progress toward meeting the program’s and his/her own goals

•You may set goals for specific tasks on the research projects

‒ collecting or compiling data, supervising research assistants, meeting with stakeholders, etc.

•You may set professional development milestones for fellows

‒ presenting at professional conferences, assisting in grant writing, submission of journal articles, etc.

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Training Plan: Evaluating the ProgramInclude a plan to evaluate the success of the program itself.Basic measures•Did you recruit the type of fellows you intended to?•Did they stay long enough to benefit from the training?•Did you assist them as they sought their next positions in the field of education?

Other potential measures•Self-defined measures that you value as signs of a program’s success (should be aligned to the program goals mentioned in the Significance section)•Analysis of cost per fellow training year including recruitment efforts

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PersonnelAfter discussing training program plan, describe who will deliver the training□Describe relevant expertise of key personnel, their responsibilities, and time commitments to the program□Elaborate on how their expertise aligns with goals of the program and reflects content and methodological foci of the Institute□If a mentor has held previous postdoctoral training grants, provide information about the fellows (e.g., current positions) in a table in Appendix A. (See page 14 of the RFA for details about what to include.)

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Resources

Finally, describe institutional resources you have access to and how these resources will support the program

This includes□the participating institution, and

□the field settings (e.g., schools, software development laboratories) with which the Training Director/PI has a relationship that could support fellows’ research projects.

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What Else Should be in the Application?

□ Appendix A□ Appendix B□ Budget and Budget Narrative

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Appendix A (required)LIMIT: 10 pages

You must include a summary table of ongoing education research projects being conducted by the PI and other faculty involved in the proposed program. You may include any figures, charts, or tables that supplement the training program narrative. If you currently have or in the past have had a postdoctoral research training grant, you must include information on current and former postdoctoral fellows.If this is a resubmission, you must include a response to reviewer comments (no more than 3 pages).

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Appendix B (required)

LIMIT: 2 pages

Include an example of a Letter of Agreement that the PI and each fellow will sign.

The purpose of this document is to clarify what the fellows can expect from the training program, what the training program expects from the fellow, and what IES’ expectations of both the fellows and their programs are (as specified by the RFA)

See the RFA for more details: http://ies.ed.gov/funding/pdf/2013_84305B.pdf

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Budget and Budget Narrative

Maximum amount of award is $687,000 over 5 yearsIDC: Limited to 8% on allowed costs

For the fellowsStipend support ($52,500 per year)Fringe benefits support ($12,000 per year) Funds for fellow research, travel, and recruitment ($12,000 per year)

For the programsUp to $15,000 per year for program expenses (e.g., PI travel to IES Annual PI Meeting, administrative assistant, visiting scholars)

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Budget and Budget NarrativeFellow training costs (per fellow per year of

fellowship)SF 424 section MAXIMUM

Stipend E Fellow 52,500.00$ Benefits E Fellow 12,000.00$

64,500.00$ Fellow software (including licenses) E FellowFellow hardware (e.g., laptops) E FellowFellow travel E FellowConference registration, membership fees, etc. E FellowResearch support (e.g., money for participants) E FellowRecruitment travel D FellowRecruitment advertising F Fellow

$12,000Program costs (per program year)Speaker honorarium F ProgramSpeaker travel D ProgramPI travel (to PI meeting) D ProgramAdminstrative assistant B ProgramSoftware/hardware for program use F ProgramWorkshop events F Program

15,000.00$

All funds spent on the individual fellows should be

in Section E of the SF 424.

Check your university’s IDC agreement to

determine what should go into indirect cost calculations.

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Preparing and Submitting an Application

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Application Deadline

Letter of Intent Due

Date

Application Package Posted

Start Dates

Sept 20, 2012

July 19, 2012

July 19, 2012 July 1, 2013to

Sept 1, 2013

Important Dates and Deadlines

36

R305B: Research Training in the Education Sciences

See the RFA at http://ies.ed.gov/funding/pdf/2013_84305B.pdf

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Getting Started

Request for Applications

IES Grants.gov Application Submission Guide

Application Package

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Finding Requests for Applications

FY 2013 Requests for Applications and the IES Grants.gov Application Submission Guide are available at

http://ies.ed.gov/funding/13rfas.asp

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Finding Application Packages

• FY 2013 Application Packages for Research Training Programs will be available on Grants.gov

• Will be available on July 19, 2012

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Page Restrictions for Postdoctoral Applications

Section Page LimitAbstract 1 pageTraining Program Narrative

15 pages, single-spaced

Bibliography NoneBiographical Sketch 4 pages (for each key personnel)Budget Justification NoneAppendix A 10 pages (no more than 3 pages

for responses to reviewer comments)

Appendix B 2

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Help Us Help You

• Read the RFA carefully

• Call or e-mail IES Program Officers early in the process

• IES program staff can review draft proposals and provide feedback

Don’t be afraid to contact us!

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Reading the RFA and Application Instructions

BE SURE TO ATTEND TO THE FOLLOWING:

•Eligible Applicants•Special Requirements•Content and Formatting Requirements•Application Submission and Processing •Application Due Dates

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Final Tips: Reviewers’ Perspectives

• Write clearly and concisely• Address the points described in RFA• Organize information in logical sequence• Label sections and number pages• Make it easy for reviewers to find and understand

the information

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Connecting Research,Connecting Research,Policy and PracticePolicy and Practice

What Happens Next?

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Peer Review

• Application is reviewed for compliance.• Compliant applications are assigned to a review

panel.• Two or three panel members conduct primary

review of each application.• The most competitive applications are reviewed by

the full panel at the panel meeting.

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Notification

• All applicants will receive e-mail notification of the status of their application.

• All applicants receive copies of reviewer comments.

• If you are not granted an award the first time, consider resubmitting and talking with your Program Officer.

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For more information about the Research Training Programs in the Education Sciences

(FY 2013) – 84.305B

Meredith LarsonMeredith.Larson@ed.gov

(202) 219-2025