Obtaining Funding for Education Research

Joseph A. Heppert
Department of Chemistry, KU
KU Center for Science Education

Approaching Funding for K-16 Education Projects

Set a priority: K-12 or 13-16?
Get to know your target agency
Bring together a collaborative
Construct a competitive proposal
Think outside of the box

Set a priority: K-12 or 13-16?

Undergraduate curriculum change:
Advantages
Science content focused
Obvious value to the institution
Less extensive network building
Disadvantages
Fewer sources of funding available than K-12
Still have to build consensus and develop a plan to generate scholarship

Set a priority: K-12 or 13-16?

K-12 curriculum change:
Advantages
Magnified impact
Many potential sources of funding
Significant visibility for projects
Disadvantages
Extensive inter- and intra-institutional network building (SOE, K-12, and state)
Focus on both science and pedagogical issues
Need to build in a mechanism for reward


Getting to Know Your Target Agency

Identify a target agency
Look for an agency that funds programs like the one you have conceived
Keep an eye out for programs for which your idea could be adapted
Contact a program officer
Make direct phone contact or schedule a visit
Send a one- or two-page synopsis including a brief outline of funding requirements
Do not write a proposal then look for an agency to submit it to
Obtain samples of successful proposals

Getting to Know Your Target Agency

NSF (www.nsf.gov)
Elementary Secondary and Informal Education (EISE)
Instructional Materials Development
Teacher Enhancement
Division of Undergraduate Education
Course Curriculum and Laboratory Improvement
Research Experiences for Undergraduates
Many programs in research Directorates

Getting to Know Your Target Agency

NSF (www.nsf.gov)
Graduate Teaching Assistants in K-12 Classrooms
Mathematics and Science Partnerships
A major K-12 initiative
Centers for Learning and Teaching
Research centers examining issues in teaching and learning K-12 and higher eduction
Teaching for the 21st Century (new)
New NSF-sponsored content institutes

Getting to Know Your Target Agency

Department of Education
Fund for the Improvement of Post-secondary Education (FIPSE)
Undergraduate curriculum
Many programs under Title 1 and 2, educational research and special education
K-12 funding
Collaborate with a School of Education or a School District

Getting to Know Your Target Agency

NASA
Many smaller educational programs
School Districts and State Departments of Education
These agencies have Title 2 funds for teacher professional development
Private Foundations
Initiatives focused around concerns of the foundation
Often require one- to two-page letters prior to proposal submission

Bring Together a Collaborative

Visit potential partners
Listen to their ideas and needs before you present your own
Don’t waste people’s time
Be willing to use your time as a “loss leader”
Attract participants with appropriate and diverse knowledge and abilities
Follow through on your commitments

Construct a Competitive Proposal

Competitive education proposals demonstrate abilities, knowledge and planning in six critical areas
The literature
Content, pedagogical, technological and systemic challenges (objectives of your project)
Assessment: up to 10% of the budget
Capabilities of participants
Timetable for implementation
Dissemination plan: Goes beyond publication

Construct a Competitive Proposal

Literature
You must convince program officers and reviewers that you know what has been done
Objectives of your project
Your project must address an important local challenge, but one that obviously addresses a need on the national level
Your project can and, if you have little prior experience, probably should start small

Construct a Competitive Proposal

Assessment
Large projects require an external evaluator and an extensive and detailed evaluation plan
Even smaller projects may require that you team with an evaluator at your institution
Total evaluation budgets for large projects can comprise 10% of the project budget
It is important that you get data that you need out of the evaluation

Construct a Competitive Proposal

Capabilities of Participants
You must convince reviewers that you have the knowledge and experience to carry out the plan
Timetable
Your timetable for implementation must be reasonable

Construct a Competitive Proposal

Dissemination Plan
This must go beyond publications and presentations
Do you have a publisher in tow?
Are you working with other school districts?
Have faculty at other institutions agreed to pilot test your materials?
Do you involve minority students and institutions?
This issue matter more as the size of the project increases

Think Outside of the Box

Do not expect to be funded the first time
After you calm down, do read and respond to the broad themes in the reviews
Submit your proposal or a variation of your idea to more that one agency
Be willing to adapt your ideas to fit the needs of others
Be willing to become a secondary partner if it serves the broader goals of the collaborative