SUMMARY: The goal of the Education Innovation and Research (EIR) Program is to provide funding to enable eligible applicants to:
- Create, develop, implement, replicate, or take to scale entrepreneurial, evidence-based, field-initiated innovations to improve student achievement and attainment for high-need students, and
- Rigorously evaluate such innovations.
The EIR Program uses a multi-tiered structure that ties funding levels to the strength of evidence supporting a proposed project's potential to achieve its intended outcomes. The intention is to help projects build and strengthen this evidence base as they progress through the program’s three grant tiers: Early-Phase, Mid-Phase, and Expansion. Applicants proposing innovative practices with limited evidence may receive smaller grants to support development and early testing. In contrast, projects backed by rigorous evaluations may qualify for larger awards to support nationwide scaling. Typical five-year EIR awards range from $6 million for Early-Phase projects to $10 million for Mid-Phase and $15 million for Expansion.
Examples of past awarded projects include:
- Raising Engagement and Attendance through Community and Homeschool Partnerships [Early-Phase]
- Combining Early Warning Systems and School Connectedness to Propel Social-Emotional and Academic Development Among Baltimore City Students [Early-Phase]
- Game-Based Learning Platform to Enhance Student Science Outcomes [Mid-Phase]
- Growing Student Futures through GenAI Enhanced Project-Based Learning [Mid-Phase]
- Increasing Dual Enrollment Access and Success [Expansion]
- Expanding Professional Learning to Improve Mathematics Outcomes for Students in High-Need Schools [Expansion]
DEADLINE: Applications for the Early-Phase competition were last due July 22, 2024. Applications for the Mid-Phase and Expansion competitions were last due October 14, 2025. Competitions are anticipated annually.
ELIGIBILITY: Eligible applicants include a Local Education Agency (LEA); a State Education Agency (SEA); The Bureau of Indian Education (BIE); A consortium of SEAs or LEAs; A nonprofit organization; and a single SEA, a single LEA, a consortium of SEAs/LEAs, or the BIE, in partnership with a nonprofit organization; a business; an educational service agency; or an institution of higher education.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: https://www.ed.gov/grants-and-programs/grants-special-populations/grants-economically-disadvantaged-students/education-innovation-and-research