Office of Innovation and Improvement (OII): Education Innovation and Research Program--Expansion Grants CFDA Number 84.411A | ED GRANTS 121516 001

Opportunity Information: Apply for ED GRANTS 121516 001

The Office of Innovation and Improvement (OII) Education Innovation and Research (EIR) Program Expansion Grants (CFDA 84.411A) is a U.S. Department of Education discretionary grant competition designed to help proven, evidence-based education innovations reach many more students, especially high-need students. The program is authorized under section 4611 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), as updated by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). At its core, EIR is meant to support ideas that originate in the field (from educators and practitioners) and that aim to improve student achievement and attainment, while also requiring rigorous, independent evaluation so the broader education community can learn what works, for whom, and under what conditions.

A defining feature of EIR is its tiered evidence model, where the size and purpose of the grant depend on how strong the existing evidence is for the proposed practice. The overall EIR program includes Early-phase, Mid-phase, and Expansion grants. Early-phase awards are meant for newer innovations with limited evidence so they can be developed, refined, and initially studied. Mid-phase awards support initiatives with moderate evidence so they can be implemented more broadly and evaluated more rigorously. This particular opportunity, however, is only for Expansion grants. Expansion grants are aimed at scaling interventions that already have strong evidence of effectiveness for at least one population and setting and are considered ready to grow to a national level. In other words, the Department is not funding brand-new ideas under this notice; it is funding the growth and replication of approaches that have already demonstrated results through rigorous research.

Because EIR is intended to strengthen the national knowledge base about effective education strategies, every funded Expansion project is expected to contribute credible information about results and implementation. The notice emphasizes that grantees must conduct independent evaluations, which helps ensure findings are trustworthy and useful beyond the individual project site. The broader intent is not just to fund services, but to generate validated, transferable solutions to persistent educational challenges and to address common barriers that arise when scaling up, such as maintaining implementation fidelity across sites and creating sustainable cost structures.

This competition is open to a range of applicant types. Eligible applicants include local educational agencies (LEAs), State educational agencies (SEAs), the Bureau of Indian Education, consortia of SEAs or LEAs, and nonprofit organizations (as defined in the official notice). The competition also allows partnership-based applications where an SEA, LEA, eligible consortium, or the Bureau of Indian Education applies in partnership with one or more entities such as a nonprofit organization, a business, an educational service agency, or an institution of higher education. The notice also lays out specific criteria for being considered a rural applicant under EIR, tied to the applicant type and to whether a majority of schools served are located in locales identified by certain urban-centric locale codes (32, 33, 41, 42, or 43), as determined by the Secretary.

Applications must be submitted electronically through Grants.gov, and applicants are instructed to search for the application package using CFDA number 84.411 (without the letter suffix). The synopsis notes that the full, legally controlling requirements are in the Federal Register application notice, including detailed eligibility rules, submission requirements, priorities, performance measures, and contact information. The opportunity listed an original closing date of April 13, 2017, and identifies the funding instrument type as a cooperative agreement under the Department of Education’s education funding category.

• The Department of Education in the education sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Office of Innovation and Improvement (OII): Education Innovation and Research Program--Expansion Grants CFDA Number 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 2016-12-15.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2017-04-13. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for ED GRANTS 121516 001

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