Office of Innovation and Improvement July 18, 2017

American History and Civics Education-National Activities

Grant Competition

Note: These slides are intended as guidance only. Please refer to the official documents published in the Federal Register.

American History and Civics Education-National Activities (National Activities) Grant Competition

Note: These slides are intended as guidance only. Please refer to the official documents published in the Federal Register.

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Note About These Slides Note: These slides are intended as guidance only. Please refer to the official documents published in the Federal Register. The slides presented on this webinar will be available for download on the Resources page of the National Activities website. Additional guidance is provided in our application package on Grants.gov

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• We cannot answer questions that are specific to your state or region.

• We cannot answer questions that are applicant-specific. • “Does this sound like a good idea?” • “Does this idea address the absolute priority?”

• We may not be able to answer all questions received during today’s webinar. If you have additional questions, please send them to the National Activities inbox at: National Activities@ed.gov

Notes on General Q&A

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Agenda for Today’s Webinar

I. Program Purpose and Overview II. Eligibility Requirements III. FY 17 Competition Priorities IV. Selection Criteria & Scoring V. Submission Guidance VI. Final Reminders

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National Activities Program Purpose

Promotes innovative instruction, learning strategies, and professional development in American history, civics and government, and geography, with an emphasis on activities and programs that benefit low-income students and underserved populations.

https://innovation.ed.gov/what-we-do/teacher-quality/national-activities-grant/

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Authorizing Legislation

The National Activities program authority is contained in Section 2233 of the ESEA. To view a full copy of the law please go to this link:

https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-114publ95/pdf/PLAW-114publ95.pdf

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FY 17 Funding Estimates

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Estimated Available Funds: $1.7 Million Estimated Range of Awards: $200,000-$700,000

per year. Estimated Average Size of Awards: $500,000 per

year. Estimated Number of Awards: 2-7. Project Period: Up to three years, with renewal of up

two additional years if the grantee demonstrates to the Secretary that the grantee is effectively using funds.

Estimated Project Start Date: October 1, 2017 *The Department is not bound by any of these estimates.

Eligibility Requirements

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Eligible Applicants may include:

• Eligible Applicants: An institution of higher education or other nonprofit or for-profit organization with demonstrated expertise in the development of evidence-based approaches with the potential to improve the quality of American history, civics and government, or geography learning and teaching.

FY 17 National Activities Priorities

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Note: These slides are intended as guidance only. Please refer to the official Notices in the Federal Register.

National Activities Priorities

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One Absolute Priority—Applicants Must Address Absolute Priority 1: Innovative Instruction or Professional Development in American History, Civics and Government, and Geography

Absolute Priority

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• Applicants should read the National Activities Notice Inviting Applications (NIA) for full Absolute Priority language.

• Applicants must address the Absolute Priority in order to be considered for funding.

• Applications that do not address the Absolute Priority will not be reviewed.

Absolute Priority 1: Innovative Instruction or Professional

Development in American History, Civics and Government, and Geography

• Projects that are designed to develop, implement,

expand, evaluate, and disseminate for voluntary use, innovative, evidence-based approaches or professional development programs in American history, civics and government, and geography

(See NIA for full Absolute Priority 1 language)

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• To meet this priority, a project must: • (i) Show potential to improve the quality

of student achievement in, and teaching of, American history, civics and government, or geography, in elementary schools and secondary schools; and

• (ii) Demonstrate innovation, scalability, accountability, and a focus on underserved populations.

Absolute Priority 1

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• In addressing this priority, a project may include:

• (i) Hands-on civic engagement activities for teachers and students; and

• (ii) Programs that educate students about the history and principles of the Constitution of the United States, including the Bill of Rights.

Absolute Priority 1

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Competitive Preference Priority (CPP)

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• Applicants should read the National Activities Notice Inviting Applications (NIA) for full CPP language.

• The CPP is optional; applicants may chose to address this priority.

• Applicants should clearly identify in the Abstract if they have addressed this priority and where this response can be found.

• Applicants may address the CPP as a separate section of the application, or throughout the application.

• CPP points will only be awarded to applicants that rate highly on the Selection Criteria.

Competitive Preference Priority 1

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Leveraging Technology To Support Instructional Practice and Professional Development • Worth up to 10 points. • Under this priority, we provide funding to

projects that are designed to leverage technology through one or more of the following:

• (a) Using high-speed internet access and devices to increase students' and educators' access to high-quality accessible digital tools, assessments, and materials, particularly Open Educational Resources;

Competitive Priority 1 (cont.)

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(b) Implementing high-quality accessible digital tools, assessments, and materials that are aligned with rigorous college- and career-ready standards;

Competitive Priority 1 (cont.)

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(c) Implementing high-quality, accessible online courses, online learning communities, or online simulations, such as those for which educators could earn professional development credit or continuing education units through Digital Credentials based on demonstrated mastery of competencies and performance-based outcomes, instead of traditional time-based metrics; and

Competitive Priority 1 (cont.)

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• (d) Using data platforms that enable the development, visualization, and rapid analysis of data to inform and improve learning outcomes, while also protecting privacy in accordance with applicable laws.

Competitive Priority 1

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Priority Questions

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Please enter your questions in the chat box to the right of your screen. We may not be able to answer all

questions at this time, but we will answer as many questions as possible in the allotted Q&A time.

National Activities Selection Criteria & Scoring

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Note: These slides are intended as guidance only. Please refer to the official Notices in the Federal Register.

National Activities Selection Criteria & Scoring

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• The Selection Criteria are the criteria against which the peer reviewers score each application

• The Department selects grantees based on peer reviewer scores. It is critical to clearly address the Selection Criteria

• Applicants should review the NIA for full Selection

Criteria language.

National Activities Selection Criteria Point Allocation

Selection Criteria Max Points

A.Quality of the Project Design 35

B. Significance 20

C.Quality of the Management Plan 20

D.Quality of the Project Evaluation 25

Total Points 100 25

Balance of Costs with Outcomes of

Project

Selection Criterion: Quality of the Project Design

Is there a strong plan to implement

proposed project?

Is there evidence that the plan is

research based?

• The extent to which the proposed project represents an exceptional approach to the priority or priorities established for the competition.

• The extent to which the services to be

provided by the proposed project involve the collaboration of appropriate partners for maximizing the effectiveness of project services.

• The extent to which the design of the proposed project reflects up-to-date knowledge from research and effective practice.

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Are project partners working together to

ensure project is successful?

Selection Criterion: Significance

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• The extent to which the proposed project is likely to build local capacity to provide, improve, or expand services that address the needs of the target population.

• The importance or magnitude of the results or outcomes likely to be attained by the proposed project, especially improvements in teaching and student achievement.

• The extent to which the results of the proposed project are to be disseminated in ways that will enable others to use the information or strategies.

How can your project improve

teacher quality and student

achievement?

How will your program outcomes improve teaching

and learning in the field?

How specifically

will you disseminate results

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Selection Criterion: Quality of the Management Plan

Is there a viable plan to carry out

the proposed project?

• The adequacy of the management plan to achieve the objectives of the proposed project on time and within budget, including clearly defined responsibilities, timelines, and milestones for accomplishing the project tasks.

• The extent to which the time commitments of the project director and principal investigator and other key project personnel are appropriate and adequate to meet the objectives of the proposed project.

Will these time commitments

lead to successful outcomes?

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Selection Criterion: Quality of Project Evaluation

What data will be generated to help determine if the

project will meet its goals?

Is there a plan to provide intermediate

feedback on successful outcomes?

• The extent to which the methods of

evaluation include the use of objective performance measures that are clearly related to the intended outcomes of the project and will produce quantitative and qualitative data to the extent possible.

• The extent to which the methods of evaluation will provide performance feedback and permit periodic assessment of progress toward achieving intended outcomes.

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Additional Evaluation Plan Guidance

Evaluation plans should be clear and detailed.

Evaluation plans should include objectives that are S.M.A.R.T (Specific, Measureable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely)

Evaluation plans should include key questions and proposed methods for addressing them.

• Evaluation plans should include a summary of data to be collected and how it will be collected.

• Evaluation plans should include a justification for evaluation costs.

• Evaluation plans should include qualifications of proposed evaluation staff.

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Please see section 4 of the NIA for full description of the performance measures

for the National Activities program.

Performance Measures

Selection Criteria Questions

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Please enter your questions in the chat box to the right of your screen. We may not be able to answer all

questions at this time, but we will answer as many questions as possible in the allotted Q&A time.

Application Submission Guidance

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Note: These slides are intended as guidance only. Please refer to the official Notices in the Federal Register.

Registering for Grants.gov

• Applications for grants under this competition MUST be submitted electronically using the Grants.gov site (www.Grants.gov).

• Register with System Award Management (SAM). www.sam.gov

• Register TODAY

• Your ability to apply for a grant, via Grants.gov, is contingent upon an active SAM registration.

• Current registrants should confirm that your account is active.

• Additional guidance and tips: http://www2.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/sam-faqs.html

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Applying Through Grants.gov

• To apply for a grant, go to the “Apply for Grants” link on the left hand side of the Grants.gov homepage.

• Next, follow the step-by-step application instructions. The CFDA number you will enter for Step 1 is 84.422. If the CFDA is not available, use the Funding Opportunity number: ED-GRANTS-071117-001

• If you are experiencing problems submitting your application through Grants.gov, please contact the Grants.gov Support Desk, toll free, at 1-800-518-4726. You must obtain a Grants.gov Support Desk Case Number and keep a record of it. You can also contact them via email at support@grants.gov.

• Further submission instructions are found in the FY 17 National Activities notice in the Federal Register.

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Grants.gov Tips

• REGISTER EARLY – Do It TODAY! o This process could take days to weeks to complete.

• SUBMIT APPLICATION EARLY o Depending on the size of the file, transmittal may take

several minutes to hours.

o Applications time stamped after 4:30:00 Washington D.C. time on August 21, 2017 will be marked late and will not be read.

• When in doubt, CALL THE GRANTS.GOV HELPDESK! (1-800-518-4726)

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Final Reminders

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Competition Resources

• FY 17 Notice Inviting Applications (NIA)

• Program Website https://innovation.ed.gov/what-we-do/teacher-quality/national-activities-grant/

• FY 17 Application Package

• All questions may be sent to Christine.Miller@ed.gov

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Closing Date: August 21, 2017

4:30:00 PM Washington, D.C. Time

Note: These slides are intended as guidance only. Please refer to the official Notices in the Federal Register.

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Intent to Apply

Please email your Notice of Intent to Apply to Christine.Miller@ed.gov by August 10. Please use “Intent to Apply” in the subject line.

Please include name of your institution/organization. You may also list partnering institutions/organizations.

Intent to Apply is an optional step but it will help us plan for a more efficient peer review. Thank you!

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Questions & Answers

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Call for Peer Reviewers!

• Peer Reviewers needed

• Must be available for panel calls Aug 31-Sept 6. (Exact dates and call times will be announced later.)

• Must not have conflict of interest with submitted applications.

• Must have strong writing skills.

• Send resume and brief cover letter to Christine.Miller@ed.gov

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Thank you for your interest in the National Activities Grant

Program.

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