Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE): Innovation and Early Learning Programs: Education Innovation and Research (EIR) Program—Expansion Grants Assistance Listing Number (ALN) 84.411A | ED GRANTS 042722 001

Opportunity Information: Apply for ED GRANTS 042722 001

The U.S. Department of Education, through the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE), offered this discretionary grant competition under the Education Innovation and Research (EIR) Program, specifically for Expansion Grants (Assistance Listing Number 84.411A). The EIR program is authorized under section 4611 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and is built to support education innovations that are not only promising in concept, but backed by real evidence. At its core, EIR is meant to improve student achievement and educational attainment for high-need students by funding the creation, development, implementation, replication, or scaling of entrepreneurial and field-initiated approaches, while also requiring rigorous evaluation so the field learns what works, for whom, and under what conditions.

This particular notice focused only on Expansion Grants, which sit at the top of EIR's multi-tier evidence structure (Early-phase, Mid-phase, and Expansion). The tiers are designed so the amount of available funding and the expectations for scale rise as the strength of evidence increases. Expansion Grants are reserved for projects that already have strong evidence of effectiveness, meaning the approach has demonstrated meaningful, statistically significant impacts in at least one population and setting. The federal goal at this stage is not to pilot an idea, but to take an intervention that has already shown results and test whether those results can be reproduced and sustained when implemented more broadly, often at a national level, while also studying the implementation conditions that make it succeed.

Expansion Grant funds are intended to support both implementation at much larger scale and a rigorous evaluation. The evaluation component is a central requirement because the Department is trying to grow the number of proven, replicable solutions to long-standing challenges in elementary and secondary education. In practice, applicants are expected to propose a program or model with a strong prior evidence base (for example, a program that produced sizable impacts under a Mid-phase EIR grant or under another comparable effort) and then design a project that can confirm those impacts across additional sites and over time. Just as importantly, projects are expected to generate practical knowledge about where the program works best and what needs to be in place for strong outcomes, which is critical when moving from successful demonstrations to broader adoption.

Eligibility for this competition was broad and included many types of entities that commonly implement or support K-12 innovations. Eligible applicants included state, county, and local governments; independent school districts; special district governments; public and private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Tribal governments and other Tribal organizations; nonprofit organizations (including both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3) nonprofits that are not higher education institutions); for-profit organizations (including small businesses); and other entities as further clarified in the official notice. This wide eligibility reflects EIR's intent to attract solutions developed in many different parts of the education ecosystem, as long as they can meet the evidence and evaluation expectations.

For the FY 2022 competition described, the Department anticipated making about five awards, with an award ceiling of up to $15,000,000 per grant. Key dates included applications becoming available on April 29, 2022; a strongly encouraged (but not mandatory) Notice of Intent to Apply due May 27, 2022; the application deadline (deadline for transmittal) on July 21, 2022; and an intergovernmental review deadline of August 22, 2022. The Department noted that it could process applications more efficiently if applicants filed the Notice of Intent to Apply, but applicants who did not submit that notice were still allowed to apply, and submitting a notice did not commit an applicant to submit a full application.

The synopsis also emphasized that the authoritative requirements, priorities, selection criteria, performance measures, and submission instructions are contained in the official Federal Register application notice, along with the Department's Revised Common Instructions for Applicants to Department of Education Discretionary Grant Programs (published December 27, 2021). Applicants were directed to monitor the EIR program website for additional competition resources and updates. For direct questions, the listed program contact for this competition was Yvonne Crockett at the U.S. Department of Education, with the program email address eir@ed.gov and telephone number (202) 401-8105.

• The Department of Education in the education sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE): Innovation and Early Learning Programs: Education Innovation and Research (EIR) Program—Expansion Grants Assistance Listing Number (ALN) 84.411A" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 84.411.
• This funding opportunity was created on Apr 27, 2022.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jul 21, 2022 Applications Available April 29, 2022. Deadline for Notice of Intent to Apply May 27, 2022. Notice of Intent to Apply The Department will be able to review grant applications more efficiently if we know the approximate number of applicants that intend to apply. Therefore, we strongly encourage each potential applicant to notify us of their intent to submit an application. Applicants may access this form using the link available on the Notice of Intent to Apply section of the competition website https://oese.ed.gov/offices/office-of-discretionary-grants-support-services/innovation-early-learning/education-innovation-and-research-eir/fy-2022-competition/. Applicants that do not submit a notice of intent to apply may still apply for funding applicants that do submit a notice of intent to apply are not bound to apply or bound by the information provided. Deadline for Transmittal of Applications July 21, 2022. Deadline for Intergovernmental Review August 22, 2022. Pre-Application Information The Department will post additional competition information for prospective applicants on the EIR program website https://oese.ed.gov/offices/office-of-discretionary-grants-support-services/innovation-early-learning/education-innovation-and-research-eir/fy-2022-competition/. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT Yvonne Crockett, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW, room 3E344, Washington, DC 20202-5900. Telephone (202) 401-8105. Email eir@ed.gov.. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $15,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 5 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses, Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

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