The Department of Education recently announced details for this year’s Education Innovation and Research Program (EIR) that will award $160 million dollars to projects addressing educational challenges with evidence-based solutions that can be scaled to serve a larger number of students. This annual competition is focused on exploring new ways to address persistent challenges educators face, building evidence on the effectiveness of solutions and replicating successful practices across new schools, districts and states.
Serving high-need students is a critical element of the EIR program. Although the definition of a high-need student is left open for applicants to determine, historically, these groups include students living in rural or low-income communities, underrepresented and economically disadvantaged populations.
Applicants must incorporate a high level of evidence into their projects and rigorously evaluate the effectiveness of their programs leveraging independent parties.
EIR grants will be awarded within a multi-tier structure based on the amount of evidence to support the effectiveness of proposed projects:
- Early-phase (demonstrating a rationale)
- Mid-phase (moderate evidence)
- and Expansion (strong supporting evidence)
Eligible applicants include LEAs, SEAs, the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE), consortiums of SEAs or LEAs and nonprofit organizations (including higher education institutions with distinction).
Applications for the EIR grants are now available and notice of intent to apply is due May 27th, 2022. The early-phase application deadline is July 21, 2022 and Mid-phase and Expansion deadlines are June 21, 2022.
Interested in applying? Visit the competition website for more info. Applicants must submit timely and accurate information to be considered for the peer review process.
Need help with your EIR grant application? Feel free to contact a Pearl team member with any questions, we’re here to help!