PRE-CONFERENCE WORKSHOP III: HOW TO WRITE A RESEARCH GRANT APPLICATION TO THE INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION SERVICES: (IES) BRINGING PREVENTION SCIENCE TO IDEAS TO EDUCATION RESEARCH

This workshop will provide instruction and advice on writing a successful application to the Institute of Education Sciences’ (IES) Education Research Grants Program (84.305A) and Special Education Research Grants Program (84.324A). The workshop will focus on 1) the research topics that make up these two grant programs, 2) the research goal structure under which these programs operate, and 3) the four sections of the Research Narrative (Significance, Research Plan, Personnel, and Resources) that comprise the most important part of the grant application. This workshop will also include a focus on IES’ relatively newer requirement that its grantees disseminate the findings of their IES research projects in appropriate ways to a variety of researcher and non-researcher audiences. Direct instruction on these topics will be accompanied by review of examples, application to participants’ own work, and discussion.

Applicants make a large investment in writing an application to IES’ grant programs (and peer reviewers make a substantial time investment in reading them). Applications that do not address all of the requirements for the four sections of the research narrative are not accepted for review and are a poor investment of applicant time. Applications that do not respond well to the requirements and the Institute’s recommendations for a strong application often receive poor reviews and again represent a poor investment of applicant time and reviewer time. Although the peer review process provides feedback on substantive issues, it is more efficient for applicants to learn how to better present their intended research and avoid common pitfalls before submitting their application. This short course seeks to help applicants write clearer, responsive applications that can be judged on their substantive merits by the peer reviewers.