Call for Applications for Grants for Innovation Evaluation Institute for Effective Education November 2016 Goals of the Innovation Evaluation Project Teachers often try out innovations of teaching and learning practices with their pupils. Sometimes these are approaches that the teachers have developed themselves, either alone or in collaboration with colleagues in their school. Sometimes they are adaptations of approaches that have been proven to work elsewhere, which the teachers have altered to work with their particular pupils. The overall goal of the Research Schools Network is to improve the attainment of pupils by increasing the use of evidence-based teaching and learning practices. The specific goals of this fund are to increase the evidence base by supporting evaluations of innovations of teaching and learning approaches, communicating the findings among the Research Schools Network, and encouraging applications for larger systematic evaluations of promising approaches. The evaluations will be pilot studies of innovations, not large-scale randomised controlled trials. Nonetheless, there should be a comparison of pupil achievement that will indicate whether or not the intervention has potential. Amount of funding There will be two rounds of awards in the first year one awarded in February 2017 and one in June 2017. In subsequent years there will be three rounds per year, one in each school term. The amount of funding per project will vary depending on the length of the evaluation, the cost and intensity of the intervention, the number of involved, the number of year groups participating and the data that will be collected. Funds may be spent on supply cover, purchasing the intervention, materials, evaluation resources (e.g. tests), and UK travel. The maximum amount that can be requested per school participating in each project is 5,000. Schools are encouraged to collaborate on projects. Please note that this funding is only available to that are involved with the Research Schools Network. Schools submitting proposals will already be working closely with their local Research School. All proposals must be signed by the Research Lead at your local Research School. For an informal conversation about any aspects of your proposal, please contact either the Research Lead at your local Research School, or Alicia Shaw, the Research Schools Facilitator, at the Institute for Effective Education (01904 328108, alicia.shaw@york.ac.uk).
Application process Activity Who Deadlines: Round 1 Deadlines: Round 2 Issue call for IEE November 2016 1 March 2017 applications Prepare application Interested Autumn 2016 Summer 2017 Submit Application Lead school 31 January 2017 1 May 2017 Evaluate applications IEE February 2017 May 2017 Notify applicants IEE 15 February 2017 1 June 2017 Start-up meetings Awardees and March 2017 June 2017 IEE Conduct evaluations Recipient Depends on length of study Depends on length of study Submit final reports Recipient At the end of the evaluation At the end of the evaluation Examples of projects 1. A teacher has adapted a KS1 literacy programme that has evidence of effectiveness from the USA. She has adapted it for use in the UK and developed materials for use in her class. She tried it out last year and believes that it improved her Year 1 pupils phonics and fluency. She will evaluate its use this year and compare it to one other Year 1 class in her school who will be using it for the first time and to a third Year 1 class that will use the regular literacy teaching methods. 2. Three collaborate on the evaluation of an intervention to improve pupils KS3 algebra attainment, designed by a teacher in one of the. Costs might include supply cover to observe the intervention in the class of the teacher who designed the intervention, time for teachers to collaborate, and additional student materials. Evaluation Criteria 20 points Feasibility of the project (in terms of scope, time, budget, project management) 30 points Quality of the written proposal (ie, clarity, organisation, method, data) 20 points Potential for improving outcomes such as attainment, engagement or teacher efficiency, through the teaching and learning innovation to be evaluated 20 points Familiarity with the current evidence in the particular field and potential contribution to the knowledge base 10 points Potential for further systematic evaluation and future scale-up of the innovation In addition to the criteria above, obtaining maximum regional coverage will be a factor in the decisions.
How to prepare your application Applications should be submitted using the excel document Application for Innovation Evaluation, available from the Research Lead in your associated Research School. Complete the application form and approved by your associated Research School s Research Lead before being sent to Cheryl O Neil at cheryl.oneil@york.ac.uk. Application Form(See Application Form tab in the Application for Innovation Evaluation) Applications will be evaluated blindly so this information will not be included in decisions about grant allocations. 1. Title of the Project 2. Lead School 3. Name/position of lead applicant 4. Work address 5. Work email 6. Phone number 7. Headteacher of lead school 8. Names/positions/ of co-applicants (if applicable) 9. Name/approval of research lead in associated Research School 10. Research experience of the applicants 11. Year level(s) involved in the evaluation 12. Subject(s) addressed by the innovation 13. Time needed to complete the evaluation (in months) 14. Total amount requested for the evaluation Proposed Evaluation (See Proposed Evaluation tab in the Application for Innovation Evaluation) (maximum number of words = 1,500) Complete these sections with no identifying information as applications will be rated blindly. Challenge : What is the problem or issue that your innovation is designed to address? Innovation : Describe the innovation you will evaluate. Outcomes : What outcomes will you use to assess the effectiveness of your innovation? How will you measure these? Rationale : Why do you think this innovation will improve these outcomes? Evidence : What existing research evidence supports your view that this innovation will be effective? Research design / description of the evaluation : A brief description of the participants, allocation to treatment (if appropriate), implementation of the innovation, data collection (pre and post), analysis procedures, process evaluation (e.g. attitudes of staff and pupils). Significance : How will this project contribute to the knowledge base of what works in teaching and learning? How does it benefit teachers, learners, other stakeholders? Consent : What, if any, kind of consent will you require? How will you obtain it? Confidentiality : How will you maintain confidentiality of your participants?
Communication: How will you share your findings and make them accessible across the system? Timeline: Include a timeline for your project plan, including milestones. Budget (Not included in the 1,500 word max. Please use the blank sheet in the Budget tab of the Application for Innovation Evaluation ) Applicants must include a budget breakdown of costs. Indirect costs are not allowed.
Important information: If you have questions or would like advice about your proposal, please contact Alicia Shaw (01904 328108, alicia.shaw@york.ac.uk). Applications longer than 1,500 words for the project description will not be read. Your project must be signed off by the Research Lead in your associated Research School. Your budget should not exceed 5,000 per school participating in your project. The lead applicant s school will be responsible for reporting against spend throughout the project. Grant funding will be released upon receipt of a signed agreement. Payments will depend upon satisfactory progress against agreed milestones. Unsuccessful applications can be revised and re-submitted to a future round. Projects already underway are NOT eligible for funding. The deadline is 17:00 on 31 January 2017 for Round 1 or 1 May 2017 for Round 2. Late proposals will not be considered for that round. Submit your proposal by email to: Cheryl O Neil at cheryl.oneil@york.ac.uk. She will send you an acknowledgement of receipt. If you don t get a response within two working days, please call her on 01904 328155.