02/29/00: Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI) Field-Initiated Studies (FIS) Education Research Grant Program; Notice of Application Review Procedures for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2000, [OERI]


[Federal Register: February 29, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 40)]
[Notices]
[Page 10925-10926]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr29fe00-138]

[[Page 10925]]

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Part V

Department of Education

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Office of Educational Research and Improvement Field-Initiated Studies
Education Research Grant Program; Application Review Procedures for New
Awards for Fiscal Year 2000; Notice

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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[CFDA No: 84.305T]


Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI) Field-
Initiated Studies (FIS) Education Research Grant Program; Notice of
Application Review Procedures for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2000

SUMMARY: On November 9, 1999, we published in the Federal Register (64
FR 61198) a notice inviting applications for new awards for FY 2000 for
the FIS Education Research Grant Program. This notice explains the
procedures that we will use to review your application.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Application Review Procedure

    We will use a two-tier review process for the FIS program
competition for FY 2000. This two-tier process and scoring system are
authorized by and in accordance with OERI program regulations at 34 CFR
Part 700, particularly sections 700.21 and 700.30.
    Tier I. At the Tier I level, your application will be assigned to
at least three reviewers who are selected according to the
appropriateness of their expertise and experience and who specifically
meet the qualifications for reviewers established in the regulations at
34 CFR 700.11. Reviewers will evaluate your application in accordance
with the three selection criteria in the application package:
    (1) National Significance.
    (2) Quality of the Project Design.
    (3) Quality and Contribution of Personnel.
    Reviewers will weigh the three selection criteria equally to rate
your application for further consideration as either--
    (1) Very highly recommended;
    (2) Highly recommended;
    (3) Recommended;
    (4) Not recommended, but recommended for resubmission; or
    (5) Not recommended.
    We will arrange a conference call for each review panel to discuss
their assigned applications and their rankings. For each application,
reviewers will read only 20-page narratives. As noted in the
application package, the application narrative must not exceed a total
of 20 double-spaced pages, with printing on one side of 8\1/2\ x 11-
inch paper. All pages in excess of the 20-page narrative maximum will
be removed, unread, and returned to the applicant.
    Based on the Tier I reviews, the top 40 applications will advance
to the Tier II review. For every rating an application receives, we
will determine the top 40 applications by assigning one of the
following scores to your application:
    (1) 5 for every ``very highly recommended'';
    (2) 2 for every ``highly recommended'';
    (3) 1 for every ``recommended'' rating; or
    (4) 0 for either of the ``not recommended'' ratings.
    In the event of a tie at the 40th rank, all tied applications will
advance to the Tier II review.
    Tier II. If your application advances to the Tier II level, it will
be read and rated by 23 to 27 Tier II reviewers, with written reviews
completed by at least 3 reviewers. These reviewers will meet the
qualification for reviewers established in 34 CFR 700.11. The Tier II
reviewers will apply the same selection criteria as was used in Tier I.
In Tier II the reviewers will rate your application as--
    (1) Extremely Competitive;
    (2) Very Competitive;
    (3) Competitive; or
    (4) Not Competitive.
    The Tier II reviewers will meet in Washington, DC. During this
meeting, each application will be discussed with the three reviewers
who have completed written reviews leading the discussion. Following
the discussion of each application, all reviewers will assign a final
rating to the application.
    When all the applications from Tier II have been discussed and
reviewers have completed their evaluations, we will rank the
applications to form the recommended slate. We will form the slate
according to the following score your application receives:
    (1) 3 for each ``Extremely Competitive'' rating;
    (2) 2 for each ``Very Competitive'' rating;
    (3) 1 for each ``Competitive'' rating; or
    (4) 0 for each ``Not Competitive'' rating.
    Applications will then be ranked by average score. In the event
that a group of applications at the funding cut-off point have an
identical score, the Assistant Secretary will determine which
application or applications from that group fill the most critical gaps
in existing education research.

Waiver of Proposed Rulemaking

    In accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 553),
it is the practice of the Secretary to offer interested parties the
opportunity to comment on proposed regulations. However, because this
notice merely establishes procedural requirements for review of
applications and does not create substantive policy, proposed
rulemaking is not required under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(A).
    (The valid OMB control number for this collection of information is
1850-0601.)

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONCTACT: Delores Monroe, Office of Educational
Research and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education, 555 New Jersey
Avenue, NW, room 627f, Washington, DC 20208. Telephone: (202) 219-2229.
(E-mail Delores__Monroe@ed.gov). 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 contact person listed in the preceding
paragraph.

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 either of the
following sites:

    http://ocfo.ed.gov/fedreg.htm
    http://www.ed.gov/news.html

    To use the PDF you must have the Adobe Acrobat Reader Program with
Search, which is available free at either of the previous sites. If you
have questions about using the 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.access.gpo.gov/nara/index.html

    Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 6031(c)(2)(B).

    Dated: February 23, 2000.
C. Kent McGuire,
Assistant Secretary for Educational Research and Improvement.
[FR Doc. 00-4770 Filed 2-28-00; 8:45 am]
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