Investing in Innovation Fund (i3)

The Parents as Teachers National Center’s BabyFace project, an i3 Validation grantee, will be featured in a Rural Schools Innovations Webinar series hosted by the Rural School and Community Trust on June 13, 2012. The i3 project is using the home-based services of the successful Family and Child Education (FACE) program in 22 Bureau of Indian Education schools to serve high-needs American Indian families and children ages prenatal to three years. The goal is to narrow the achievement gap between American Indian and non-American Indian children at kindergarten and to improve student achievement in reading and math through third grade. For news and information on the Department of Education’s rural education outreach and resources, click here.

(November 10, 2011) The U.S. Department of Education announced today 23 highest-rated Investing in Innovation (i3) applicants as potential grantees for the 2011 grant fund of the $150 million. The finalists, selected from nearly 600 applicants, must now secure matching private matching funds equivalent to at least 5% of Scale-up, 10% of Validation, or 15% of Development awards by December 9, 2011, in order to receive their grant.

The Department has scheduled three pre-application meetings this month to provide technical assistance to interested applicants for all three types of i3 grants (Scale-up, Validation, and Development). On-site meetings will be held in Washington, DC on June 17; San Francisco, CA on June 24; and Houston, TX on June 28. Live webinars will also be available to potential applicants.  Registration is required for both the onsite meetings and the webinars.

The Department is currently seeking peer reviewers for the FY 2011 i3 competition. If you are interested in serving as a peer reviewer, please read the FY 2011 i3 Call for Peer Reviewers. The information on this page describes the necessary qualifications and provides instructions for submitting your resume and the "i3 Peer Reviewer Checklist" by Friday, July 8.

Today, the U.S. Department of Education launched the 2011 Investing in Innovation (i3) competition. This second round of i3 makes $150 million available to school districts and non-profit organizations to continue support of innovative approaches that significantly improve teacher effectiveness and student achievement, engagement and attainment.

In 2010, the i3 competition received an unprecedented response. Nearly 1,700 applicants vied for $650 million in funding, and 49 organizations received awards ranging from $3 million to $50 million dollars. Information about last year’s applicants is available at data.ed.gov.