Extramural Funding in the Social Sciences and Education

Wisconsin Center for Education Research, UW-Madison

Finding funding for your work

I will talk about two federal agencies (National Science Foundation and the U.S. Dept of Ed), private foundations, & other options for grad funding of research

Federal Funding Sources

UW-Madison is a national leaderOver $500 million in federal research

support in 2006-07 (5th most in the nation)Over $400 million in non-federal research

support (most in the nation)

National Science Foundation

Supports basic research on fundamental discipline-based and interdisciplinary problems

Key program areas for social scientists Social and Behavioral, and Economic

Sciences (SBE) Education and Human Resources (EHR)

National Science Foundation

Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences Discipline-based programs

E.g., anthropology, political science, sociology

Interdisciplinary programs Cyber-Enabled Discovery and Innovation Human and Social Dynamics Science of Learning Centers …and many others

See www.nsf.gov

National Science Foundation

Most NSF programs have small and large awards Smaller awards for pilots, conferences,

syntheses, applications, dissemination Large awards for full projects

Most NSF awards are for basic research, but some span basic and applied research

National Science Foundation

Disciplinary programs generally have two deadlines each year, e.g. January and August

Interdisciplinary programs have ad hoc deadlines, usually once per year

Disciplinary programs are relatively permanent, interdisciplinary programs seem to come and go as funding and interests wax and wane

National Science Foundation

Whether in SBE or EHR, NSF reviewers are looking for Clear, concise statements of purpose Relevant literature and theoretical framework Valid and reliable measurement Effective dissemination

Two key elements of NSF proposals Intellectual merit: Contribute to knowledge Broader impact: Enhance diversity and benefit

society

National Science Foundation

Education and Human Resources Divisions Undergraduate Education Graduate Education Human Resource Development Research on Learning in Formal and Informal

Settings NSF-supported education research at UW-Madison

mostly falls within this program Note: NSF’s interest in education is limited to

science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education

National Science Foundation

NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) Social Sciences is one of the program areas For beginning or first-year graduate students Must be US citizen or permanent resident Applied fields are excluded, specifically

including social work and education (except science education)

Institute of Education Sciences

The U.S. Department of Education’s research division is the Institute of Education Sciences Four centers: research, statistics, evaluation,

and special education research Research is supported by the research and

special education research centers

Institute of Education Sciences

IES supports research in a variety of programs, such as: Math and science education/teacher quality Reading and writing education/teacher quality Education policy, finance, and systems Cognition and student learning …and many more See http://ies.ed.gov/ncer/funding/

Institute of Education Sciences

IES supports research that tests the impact of educational interventions on student outcomes, generally test scores

IES privileges randomized controlled trials, because that is the best methodology for testing causal effects

Other methodologies are suited to other questions, but IES is interested in impact assessments

Institute of Education Sciences

All IES program areas support research that addresses one of five goals Goal 1: Analyze large-scale data sets to

develop hypotheses that could later be tested in randomized trials

Goal 2: Develop interventions that could later be tested in randomized trials

Goal 3: Small-scale efficacy trials Goal 4: Large-scale randomized trials Goal 5: Develop instruments/assessments

Institute of Education Sciences

IES proposals require less emphasis on theory and more emphasis on application

IES proposals tend to be tightly scripted Specific elements depend on the goal Application is preceded by (optional) letter of

intent Full proposals always include the following

sections: significance, methods, personnel, resources

Institute of Education Sciences

IES also has a graduate fellowship program, but it is provided to universities rather than to students directly UW-Madison has an interdisciplinary training program

in education sciences Enables social science doctoral students to apply

rigorous methods that permit causal inference to pressing problems of education policy and practice

Students in economics, political science, psycology, sociology, and social welfare are eligible

www.wcer.wisc.edu/itp

Private Foundations

Private foundations are nongovernmental, nonprofit organizations that operate from a principle fund or endowment and are governed by their own trustees and board of directors.

Often able to focus on more long term research initiatives, specific local concerns, or more esoteric issues

Foundation 101

Often fund small studies, requiring less extensive review, Shorter timeframesallows bundling of research funding

Independent Foundations

Established by familiesSpencer FoundationAnnenberg FoundationRockefeller BrothersCarnegieGates Foundation

Company Sponsored Foundations

Aka corperate foundations funded by businessesBest Buy FoundationSprint FoundationVerizon Foundation

Operating Foundations

Combined focus on research, social welfare, other charitable programsJohnson Foundation - Wingspread

Community Foundations

Supported by & operated for benefit of specific community/regionHelen Bader FoundationGreater Milwaukee Foundation

Spencer Foundation

The relation between education & social opportunity

Organizational learning in schools, school systems & higher education institutions

Teaching, learning & instructional resourcesPurposes & values in education

Funding opportunities

Dissertation year fellowship Exemplary dissertation award

The National Academy of Education / Spencer Postdoctoral Fellowships

“Small grants” - <$50,000 “Large grants” - >$50,000

AERA Dissertation Grants

To stimulate research on U.S. education policy- and practice-related issues using NCES and NSF data sets;

To improve the educational research community's firsthand knowledge of the range of data available at the two agencies and how to use them; and

To increase the number of educational researchers using the data sets

Evaluation criteria: Importance of the proposed policy issue, the strength of the

methodological model and proposed statistical analysis of the study, and relevant experience and research record of the applicant.

Reviews: January, February & August

Local funding opportunities

Department fellowships/scholarshipsUniversity fellowships

superior academic achievement, letters of recommendation, GRE scores, and an effective statement of purpose/reasons for graduate study

Annual Fellowships, Prize Fellowships, Two-year Recruitment Fellowships, and Dissertator Fellowships

Other sources for information

http://www.gradschool.cornell.edu/?p=132 http://www.aauw.org/education/fga/