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Connecting Research,Connecting Research,Policy and PracticePolicy and Practice
Amy Sussman, Ph.D.Program Officer
National Center for Special Education Research
Amanda Hoffman, Ph.D.Program Officer
National Center for Special Education Research
Research Training Program in Special Education: Early Career Development and Mentoring
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Agenda
• Introduction to IES and NCSER• Early Career Program
– Purpose– Eligibility Requirements– Components: Career Development and Research– Overview of Topic and Goal Structure for Research
Component• Application Submission and Review
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Organizational Structure
Office of the Director
National Board for Education Sciences
National Center for Education Evaluation
National Center for Education Statistics
National Center for Education Research
Standards & Review Office
National Center for
Special Education Research
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The National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER)
• Mission– NCSER sponsors a rigorous and comprehensive
program of special education research designed to expand the knowledge and understanding of infants, toddlers and students with or at risk for disabilities from birth through high school
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Agenda
• Introduction to IES and NCSER• Early Career Program
– Purpose– Eligibility Requirements– Components: Career Development and Research– Overview of Topic and Goal Structure for Research
Component• Application Submission and Review
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Request for Applications
Research Training Program in Special Education: Early Career Development and
Mentoring (CFDA #84.324B)
New competition for FY2013
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Purpose of Early Career Program
• Develop and maintain a strong cadre of researchers interested in addressing the needs of infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities, and their families and teachers
• Support for an integrated research and career development plan for investigators in the early stage of their academic careers
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Purpose (cont)
• More specifically…– Support to further develop methodological,
content, and grant writing expertise needed to develop a strong line of research
– Ensure that the research and training be guided closely by a scientist experienced in the study of children with or at risk for disabilities (mentorship)
– Provide new investigators with protected time, if needed, to concentrate on developing research skills and a program of research
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Awards
• Maximum Awards– 4 years– $400,000 total (direct plus indirect)
• Award will be a Cooperative Agreement– Involves partnership between PI and IES
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Principal Investigators
• Eligibility – Focus of research on infants, toddlers, children, or
youth with or at risk for disabilities– Need for additional research training– Completed doctoral degree or postdoctoral
training within 3 years of the application due date– Tenure-track position at an Institution of Higher
Education (IHE)– No previous IES award as PI or co-PI
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Requirements for Proposal
• Significance• Research and Career Development Plans• Personnel• Resources
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Significance
• Justify and describe…– Need for further career development (esp. if received
postdoc training)– Planned program of research (from prior through
future)– Significance of proposed research project– Significance of the career development plan (including
mentor’s role and additional training opportunities)• How will research and career development
activities enhance your knowledge and skills?
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Research and Career Development Plans
• Research and career development plans designed to enhance knowledge and skills of early investigator
• Plans must be integrated: Career development plan must support the research plan
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Research Plan
• Major Elements– Research Questions/Aims– Methodology
• Sample• Research design• Measures/data sources• Data analysis
• Expectation of further research plan development with guidance of mentor
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Research Plan
1. What education problem do you want to solve? What question do you want to answer?
2. Does the underlying issue of this research question/problem fit within one of the IES grant topics?
3. What content will you address? What sample will you study?
4. Does your research method fit the requirements of one of the IES goals?
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Special Education Research Topics (84.324A)
• Autism Spectrum Disorders• Cognition and Student Learning in Special Education• Early Intervention and Early Learning in Special Education• Families of Children with Disabilities• Mathematics and Science Education• Professional Development for Teachers and Related Service Providers• Reading, Writing, and Language Development• Social and Behavioral Outcomes to Support Learning• Special Education Policy, Finance, and Systems• Technology for Special Education• Transition Outcomes for Secondary Students with Disabilities
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FY2013 Research Goals
• *Exploration
• *Development & Innovation
• Efficacy & Replication
• Effectiveness
• *MeasurementRFA for Special Education Research Grants found at http://ies.ed.gov/funding/pdf/2013_84324a.pdf
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Exploration Goal
• Explore associations between education outcomes and malleable factors
• Identify factors and conditions that may mediate or moderate the relations between malleable factors and student outcomes
• Possible methodological approaches include:– Analyze secondary data– Collect and analyze primary data– Complete a meta-analysis
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Development & Innovation Goal
• Develop an innovative intervention (e.g., curriculum, instructional approach, program, or policy)
• OR improve existing education interventions
• AND collect data on its feasibility and usability in actual education settings
• AND collect pilot data on student outcomes
Development process must be
iterative!
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Measurement Goal
• Development of new assessments or refinement of existing assessments, and the validation of these assessments
OR
• Validation of existing assessments for specific purposes, contexts and populations
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Career Development Plan
• Two components of career development plan– Mentoring plan– Additional training plan
• Both components of career development plan must be integrated with (and support) the research plan
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Career Development: Mentoring Plan
• One primary mentor is required• Co-mentors are allowed• Eligibility requirements
– Relevant expertise– Tenured positions at IHE– Not the PI’s graduate school/dissertation advisor or
postdoctoral supervisor• Proposal requires detailed description of
mentoring process• Expectation that mentor will work with you in
developing career development plan
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Career Development: Additional Training Plan
• Educational opportunities (examples):– IES Summer Institute (e.g., RCT or single-case
design)– Grant-writing workshop– Advanced statistical coursework to learn new
analysis skill (e.g., SEM)• How will training activities help reach concrete
training goals and support the proposed research?
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Personnel• Focus is mainly on you as the PI and your
mentor(s), though you may have other key personnel listed as well (e.g., consultant)
• How does research expertise of each of you reflect the foci of IES – content and methodology?
• Time commitment of mentor must be clear• Outside of narrative, there is space for:
– Brief CVs / biosketches (4 pages) plus research support pages
– Appendix A requires letter of support from each mentor, and description of each mentor’s research projects
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Resources• Show the institutions involved have the capacity to
support the work– Do not use university boilerplate– Describe institutional training supports (e.g., workshops,
research groups on campus)– Include start-up packages
• Outside of narrative, show that all organizations involved understand and agree to their roles– Appendix A requires letter of support from your
institution– Letters of agreement are eventually needed from
schools/districts that are participating in research
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Additional Requirement for Early Career Program
• Evaluation Plan– Timeline of activities to support research and
training goals– Outcomes for both research and career
development plans (examples):• Completion of workshop to obtain necessary data
analysis skills• Manuscripts submitted for publication• Grant proposals submitted
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FAQ: Am I eligible to apply?
Q: I received my PhD 3 years ago in May 2009. Am I eligible to apply?
Q: I recently received my PhD and am working full-time as a Research Scientist at a university. It is a non-tenure-track position, but it is a stable appointment in a research center. Am I eligible to apply?
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FAQ: Am I eligible to apply?
Q: Although I recently received my PhD, I already had a faculty position, non-tenured and at the level of Associate Professor. Because I just finished my PhD, I am a junior researcher. Am I eligible to apply?
Q: I am an Assistant Professor at a university, and I received my PhD less than 3 years ago. However, my department does not offer tenure, and therefore I am not technically in a “tenure-track” position. Am I eligible to apply to the Early Career competition?
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FAQ: Can this person be my mentor?
Q: Can my mentor be someone from my dissertation committee who was not directly my advisor?
Q: My primary mentor will be at a different institution. Can my co-mentor be on a different campus of the same university system? Does this count as the same institution?
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Agenda
• Introduction to IES and NCSER• Early Career Program
– Purpose– Eligibility Requirements– Components: Career Development and Research– Overview of Topic and Goal Structure for Research
Component• Application Submission and Review
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Writing the Proposal: Narrative
• Key portion of your application• Comprised of four sections:
1) Significance (of research and career development)
2) Research & Career Development Plans3) Personnel4) Resources
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Appendices• Appendix A (10 page limit)
– Figures, charts, and tables– Examples of measures to be used in research– Letter of Agreement from each mentor and the
Institution– Summary table of special education research projects
of each mentor• Appendix B (10 page limit)
– Examples of materials used in an intervention or assessment
• Appendix C (no page limit)– Letters of Agreement (districts, schools, data providers,
other partners, consultants)– Clearly state responsibilities of the writer
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Budget and Budget Narrative
• Provide a clear budget and budget narrative for overall project
• IES Grants.gov Application Submission Guide describes budget categories
• Ensure agreement among Research Narrative, Budget, and Budget Narrative
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Budget for Early Career Program• Salary: Up to 50% of academic year salary
– Can be used for protected time (or “buy out”) to concentrate on research
• Honoraria for mentor(s) up to $3000 total per year• Costs directly associated with research project and
career development plan• Travel
– Meet with primary mentor (if different institution)– Travel to workshops available at other institutions– Travel to professional conferences (including IES PI meeting
in Washington, DC)
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Important Dates and Deadlines
FY 2013 Program Application Deadline
Letter of Intent Due
Date
Application Posted
Start Dates
324B: Early Career Program
9/20/12 7/19/12 7/19/12 7/1/13to
9/1/13
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Review Application Requirements
Request for Applications Currently available at http://ies.ed.gov/funding
Grants.gov Application Submission Guide Will be available 7/19/12 at http://ies.ed.gov/funding
Application Package Will be available on Grants.gov on 7/19/12
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Information Sources
• Begin at the IES website (http://ies.ed.gov/)• Sign up for the IES Newsflash• Look at the IES funding webpage• Review current Requests for Applications• Look at the abstracts of projects funded under a
research topic or program• Contact relevant program officer
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Resources for Researchers
• Visit links for researchers on IES website• Review past webinars• Participate in future webinars for the FY 2013
competitions• Watch methodology videos
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Resources for Researchers
• Visit links for faculty and researchers on IES website
• Review past webinars, and participate in future webinars for the FY 2013 competitions
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http://ies.ed.gov/resourcesforresearchers.asp
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Submit a Letter of Intent
• LOIs are submitted electronically using the instructions provided at: https://iesreview.ed.gov
• We encourage all researchers to submit Letters of Intent–7/19/12 (after due date, email LOI directly to the
program officer)
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Grant Submission
• Make sure your institution is registered on Grants.gov
• Complete your online forms and upload PDFs• Authorized representative completes the process• Submit by 4:30:00pm DC time on deadline –
earlier is safer• If problems uploading
– Contact Help Line 1-800-518-4726 and get a case number
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Verification of Submission
• You should receive three e-mails – Grants.gov will say they have received your
submission and assign you a number that starts with GRANT
– Grants.gov will say your application is validated or rejected due to errors. If the latter, resubmit until validated.
– Department of Education will assign you a grant number starting with R324
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Application Review (Standards & Review Office)
• Compliance screening for format requirements• Responsiveness screening to program requirements• Assigned to review panel
– 2-3 reviewers (substantive and methodology)– If scored high enough, application is reviewed by full panel
• Many panelists will be generalists to your topic• There should be an expert in every procedure you use
– Overall score plus scores on Significance, Research & Career Development Plans, Personnel, and Resources
– So far, all applications with overall score of Outstanding and Excellent have been funded
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Peer Review Process Information
http://ies.ed.gov/director/sro/peer_review/index.asp
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Notification Process
• All applicants will receive email notification of the status of their application
• All applicants receive copies of reviewer comments via email
• If you are not granted an award, talk to your program officer about next steps
