FR Doc 03-26656
[Federal Register: October 22, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 204)]
[Notices]
[Page 60607-60609]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr22oc03-166]
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Part VI
Department of Education
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Institute of Education Sciences; Notice Inviting Applications for
Grants To Support Education Research for Fiscal Year (FY) 2004; Notice
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
[CFDA Nos. 84.305G, 84.305H, 84.305K, 84.305M, and 84.305E]
Institute of Education Sciences; Notice Inviting Applications for
Grants To Support Education Research for Fiscal Year (FY) 2004
SUMMARY: The Director of the Institute of Education Sciences
(Institute) announces five FY 2004 competitions for grants to support
education research. The Director takes this action under the Education
Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (Act), Title I of Pub. L. 107-279. The
intent of these grants is to provide national leadership in expanding
fundamental knowledge and understanding of education from early
childhood education through postsecondary study.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Mission of Institute: A central purpose of the Institute is to
provide parents, educators, students, researchers, policymakers, and
the general public with reliable information about education practices
that support learning and improve academic achievement and access to
education opportunities for all students. In carrying out its mission,
the Institute provides support for programs of research in areas of
demonstrated national need.
Competitions in this notice: The Institute currently plans to
support the following competitions in FY 2004:
[sbull] Reading Comprehension and Reading Scale-up Research;
[sbull] Cognition and Student Learning Research;
[sbull] Mathematics and Science Education Research;
[sbull] Teacher Quality Research; and
[sbull] Research on Education Finance, Leadership, and Management.
Additional competitions for FY 2004 may be announced later.
Eligible Applicants: Applicants that have the ability and capacity
to conduct scientifically valid research are eligible to apply.
Eligible applicants include, but are not limited to, non-profit and
for-profit organizations and public and private agencies and
institutions, such as colleges and universities.
Request for Applications and Other Information: Information
regarding program and application requirements for each of the
Institute's competitions is contained in the applicable Request for
Applications package (RFA), which will be available at the following
Web site: http://www.ed.gov/programs/edresearch/applicant.html.
The RFAs will be available--
(1) On or before October 22, 2003, for Cognition and Student
Learning Research; Mathematics and Science Education Research; Teacher
Quality Research; and Reading Comprehension and Reading Scale-up
Research; and
(2) On or before November 14, 2003, for Research on Education
Finance, Leadership and Management.
Interested potential applicants should periodically check the
Institute's Web site.
Information regarding selection criteria and review procedures will
also be posted at this Web site.
Fiscal Information: Although Congress has not enacted a final
appropriation for FY 2004, the Institute is inviting applications for
these competitions now so that it may be prepared to make awards
following final action on the Department's appropriation bill. The
President's Budget for the Institute for FY 2004 includes sufficient
funding for all of the competitions included in this notice. The actual
award of grants is pending the availability of funds.
Applicable Regulations: The Education Department General
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 77, 80, 81, 82,
85, 86 (part 86 applies only to Institutions of Higher Education), 97,
98, and 99. In addition 34 CFR part 75 is applicable, except for the
provisions in 34 CFR 75.100, 75.101(b), 75.102, 75.103, 75.105,
75.109(a), 75.200, 75.201, 75.209, 75.210, 75.211, 75.217, 75.219,
75.220 and 75.230.
Performance Measures
To evaluate the overall success of its education research program,
the Institute of Education Sciences annually assesses the quality and
relevance of newly funded research projects, as well as the quality of
research publications that result from its funded research projects.
Two indicators address the quality of new projects. First, an external
panel of eminent senior scientists reviews the quality of a randomly
selected sample of newly funded research applications, and the
percentage of new projects that are deemed to be of high quality is
determined. Second, because much of the Institute's work focuses on
questions of effectiveness, newly funded applications are evaluated to
identify those that address causal questions and then to determine what
percentage of those projects use randomized field trials to answer the
causal questions. To evaluate the relevance of newly funded research
projects, a panel of experienced education practitioners and
administrators reviews descriptions of a randomly selected sample of
newly funded projects and rates the degree to which the projects are
relevant to educational practice.
Two indicators address the quality of new research publications,
both print and web-based, which are the products of funded research
projects. First, an external panel of eminent scientists reviews the
quality of a randomly selected sample of new publications, and the
percentage of new publications that are deemed to be of high quality is
determined. Second, publications that address causal questions are
identified, and are then reviewed to determine the percentage that
employ randomized experimental designs. As funded research projects are
completed, the Institute will subject the final reports to similar
reviews.
To evaluate impact, the Institute surveys a random sample of K-16
policymakers and administrators once every 3 years to determine the
percentage who report routinely considering evidence of effectiveness
before adopting educational products and approaches.
Application Procedures
The Government Paperwork Elimination Act (GPEA) of 1998, (Pub. L.
105-277) and the Federal Financial Assistance Management Improvement
Act of 1999, (Pub. L. 106-107) encourage us to undertake initiatives to
improve our grant processes. Enhancing the ability of individuals and
entities to conduct business with us electronically is a major part of
our response to these Acts. Therefore, we are taking steps to adopt the
Internet as our chief means of conducting transactions in order to
improve services to our customers and to simplify and expedite our
business processes.
We are requiring that applications to the FY 2004 competitions be
submitted electronically to the following Web site: http://ies.constellagroup.com.
Information on the software to be used in submitting applications
will be available at the same Web site.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The contact person and the deadline
for receipt of applications associated with a particular program of
research is listed in the following chart and in the RFA that will be
posted at: http://www.ed.gov/programs/edresearch/applicant.html.
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Deadline for receipt of
CFDA number and program of research applications For further information contact
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84.305G Reading Comprehension and January 8, 2004...................... Elizabeth Albro, E-mail: Reading Scale-up Research. elizabeth.albro@ed.gov.
84.305H Cognition and Student Learning January 8, 2004...................... Elizabeth Albro, E-mail: Research. elizabeth.albro@ed.gov.
84.305K Mathematics and Science January 8, 2004...................... Heidi Schweingruber--E-mail: Education Research. heidi.schweingruber@ed.gov.
84.305M Teacher Quality Research........ January 8, 2004...................... Harold Himmelfarb--E-mail: harold.himmelfarb@ed.gov.
84.305E Research on Education Finance, February 5, 2004..................... Jon Oberg--E-mail: Leadership, and Management. jon.oberg@ed.gov.
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If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may
call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an
alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer
diskette) on request to the program contact person listed under FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
Individuals with disabilities may obtain a copy of the application
package in an alternative format by contacting that person. However,
the Department is not able to reproduce in an alternative format the
standard forms included in the application package.
Electronic Access to This Document
You may view this document, as well as all other Department of
Education documents published in the Federal Register, in text or Adobe
Portable Document Format (PDF) on the Internet at the following site:
http://www.ed.gov/news/fedregister/.
To use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available
free at this site. If you have questions about using PDF, call the U.S.
Government Printing Office (GPO), toll free, at 1-888-293-6498; or in
the Washington, DC area at (202) 512-1530.
Note: The official version of this document is the document
published in the Federal Register. Free Internet access to the
official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal
Regulations is available on GPO Access at: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/index.html.
Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 9501 et seq. (the ``Education
Sciences Reform Act of 2002'', Title 1 of Public Law 107-279,
November 5, 2002).
Dated: October 17, 2003.
Grover J. Whitehurst,
Director, Institute of Education Sciences.
[FR Doc. 03-26656 Filed 10-21-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P