Investing in Innovation (i3) Grant


Last Updated: July 05, 2012
 

Rural School Innovations Webinar Series: Parents as Teachers

The featured innovation of this Rural School Innovations Series Webinar from June 2012 was Parents as Teachers, and focused on the i3 "Improving Educational Outcomes for American Indian Children" project, named BabyFACE.

***Audio and Presentation PDF Now Available!***

The vision of Parents as Teachers is that all children will learn, grow, and develop to realize their full potential. We achieve this vision through our mission of providing the information, support, and encouragement that parents need to help their children develop optimally during the crucial early years of life. Read more 

 

2012 i3 Grant Competition News

The 2012 Investing in Innovation (i3) grant competition is open, and the U.S. Department of Education i3 website lists deadlines for applications and includes an archive of webinars and other resources.
Read more 

 

i3 Call for Peer Reviewers

Peer reviewers are needed for the 2012 Investing in Innovation (i3) grant competition.
Read more 

 

Department of Education Launches Pre-Application for 2012 i3 Program

The U.S. Department of Education announced the third year of the Investing in Innovation grant competition for local educational agencies, groups of schools and non-profit organizations to improve student results through innovative practices. Changes to third round of i3 competition simplify application process and add priority for Parent and Family Engagement.
Read more 

 

Rural School Innovations Webinar Series: The Niswonger Foundation's Northeast Tennessee College and Career Ready Consortium

The Niswonger Foundation's Northeast Tennessee College and Career Ready Consortium was the focus of the fourth Rural School and Community Trust webinar in the 2010–2011 Rural School Innovations Webinar Series. This event was held September 21, 2011.

***Audio and Presentation PDF Now Available!***

The Niswonger Foundation's Northeast Tennessee College and Career Ready Consortium serves approximately 26,100 high school students in 29 high schools. The goals of the Consortium are to ensure all students, especially students from under-represented populations, graduate from high school prepared for college or a career; and to improve the likelihood that students successfully complete college Read more 

 

Rural School Innovations Webinar Series: The New England Network for Personalization and Performance (NETWORK)

The New England Network for Personalization and Performance (NETWORK), created by the Plymouth, Massachusetts School District and the Center for Secondary School Redesign, Inc. (CSSR), was the focus of the third Rural School and Community Trust webinar in the 2010-2011 Rural School Innovations Webinar Series.

Hosted by Doris Terry Williams, Executive Director, Rural School and Community Trust, this webinar was held Wednesday, May 11, 2011.

***Audio and Presentation PDF Now Available!***

NETWORK's innovation envisions a redesigned rural high school where learning happens anytime, anyplace, and where students demonstrate their learning through complex, rigorous performance assessments. This builds on very innovative work that has been accomplished in a number of rural schools in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont that have implemented performance-based initiatives. Read more 

 

Rural School Innovations Webinar Series: Building Assets-Reducing Risks

The Search Institute's "Building Assets-Reducing Risks (BARR) Program: Replication and Expansion of an Effective Strategy to Turn Around Low-Achieving Schools" was the focus of the third Rural School and Community Trust's 2010-2011 Rural School Innovations Webinar Series, held March 16, 2011.

***Audio and Presentation PDF Now Available!***

This webinar series features practical innovations that have proven to be effective in rural schools. Presenters include select i3 grantees that claimed a rural competitive preference and received Rural Trust matching grant support as well as rural K–16 educators, policy analysts and advocates, and community-based education activists. Read more 

 

Taking Advantage: The Rural Competitive Preference in the Investing in Innovation Program

Taking Advantage: The Rural Competitive Preference in the Investing in Innovation ProgramThis Rural Trust report analyzes the impact of the rural competitive preference in the first round of i3 grants issued by the U.S. Department of Education. The analysis considers whether the rural claim was well-made by the applicants and well-evaluated by the readers. In short, the federal grant program did little to attract authentically rural innovations to address the challenges of high-needs rural schools. Read more…

 

Rural School Innovations Webinar Series

"Schools to Watch: School Transformation Network" was the theme of the first Rural School and Community Trust 2010-2011 Rural School Innovations Webinar Series.

***Audio and Presentation PDF Now Available!***

This webinar series features practical innovations that have proven to be effective in rural schools. Presenters include select i3 grantees that claimed a rural competitive preference and received Rural Trust matching grant support as well as rural K–16 educators, policy analysts and advocates, and community-based education activists. Read more 

 

Rural School Districts Eligible for Federal i3 Grant Application Assistance

Through a $1.4 million grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the Rural School and Community Trust (Rural Trust) provides customized technical assistance for rural school districts regarding all aspects of the i3 grant program. The Rural Trust assists rural i3 applicants in identifying potential matching funds and other promising rural innovations and building long-term capacity to complete competitive grant applications in the future.

 

About the i3 Grant

The Investing in Innovation (i3) Grant was established under section 14007 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) and provides funding to support local educational agencies (LEAs) and nonprofit organizations in partnership with one or more LEAs or a consortium of schools.

 

Purpose of the i3 Grant

The purpose of the i3 program is to provide competitive grants to applicants with a record of improving student achievement and attainment in order to expand the implementation of, and investment in, innovative practices that are demonstrated to have an impact on improving student achievement or student growth, closing achievement gaps, decreasing dropout rates, increasing high school graduation rates, or increasing college enrollment and completion rates.

These grants will

  1. allow eligible entities to expand and develop innovative practices that can serve as models of best practices,
  2. allow eligible entities to work in partnership with the private sector and the philanthropic community, and
  3. identify and document best practices that can be shared and taken to scale based on demonstrated success.

 

Rural-Priority Applicants Request $5.8 Billion to Invest in Innovation

Of the nearly 1,700 applicants for the federal i3 grant, more than a third (652) claimed a rural competitive priority. Requests totaled some $5,871,390,593 and would require private matches of $1,174,278,119.

 

38% of i3 Applicants Claim Rural Priority

More than 38% of i3 applicants claimed a rural competitive priority in the recent federal i3 grant competition. This means that these applicants are or proposed to work in small and low-income rural districts that are REAP eligible. Some rural districts or partnerships that applied are not REAP eligible and therefore did not claim the rural priority. So, if you do not see your application listed among rural applicants, check out the US Department of Education's interactive database at http://www.data.ed.gov for a full list of i3 applicants.

 

Department of Education Launches Data.Ed.Gov

The U.S. Department of Education has launched data.ed.gov, reflecting the administration's "commitment to government that is transparent, participatory, and collaborative." The Open Grantmaking section of data.ed.gov is a pilot initiative that includes a searchable dataset and data tools for the i3 and Promise Neighborhood grant competitions. Run customized reports, charts, and graphs, and see descriptions of applicants and their projects.

 

Resources for Potential i3 Match Funds

Applicants are encouraged to seek matching funds or in-kind donations from a diverse range of individuals, corporations, private businesses, local charitable and service organizations, and foundations (including foundations not included in the resources listed below). The Department has posted a document on its website titled "Securing the i3 Private-Sector Match: A Resource for Applicants" (http://www2.ed.gov/programs/innovation/privatesectormatch.pdf) that cites i3 match requirements and some resources an applicant may consider when seeking its required match.

  • Foundation Registry i3
    https://www.foundationregistryi3.org/)
    The Foundation Registry i3 was created by a group of national foundations to simplify the process for eligible applicants seeking matching foundation funds for their i3 applications and to improve the ability of the participating foundations to examine potential investment opportunities. Eligible applicants may register their i3 application on the Foundation Registry i3, which will make their proposals accessible and viewable to all participating member foundations. Please note that while the Foundation Registry i3 enables registered applicants to seek matching funds from all of the participating foundations, each foundation maintains its own decision-making authority.
  • Foundation Center
    http://foundationcenter.org/educationexcellence/
    The Foundation Center's Foundations for Education Excellence Initiative and internet site are resources focused on education funding. The site provides interactive maps of foundations supporting education reform by state and lists the top education grant-makers by program/reform area. Daily news feeds include announcements of new foundation grants and programs in the field.
  • Open Innovation Portal
    https://innovation.ed.gov/
    The Department of Education's Open Innovation Portal is an open online community that allows individuals and applicants to register ideas, collaborate on solutions, and find partners and resources. The Open Innovation Portal provides a venue for i3 applicants to meet new partners, including potential funders, and refine their ideas based on feedback from other members of the portal community.

 

i3 Resources