Solicitation of UM Idea Papers and Pre-Proposals for U.S. Dept. of Education’s
First in the World Program-Development Grants
Federal Register Volume 79, Number 95, CFDA Number: 84.116F
This program will award between 19 and 38 grants to higher education institutions or consortia to develop, implement, and evaluate for Moderate Evidence of Effectiveness innovative new strategies to increase college attendance, graduations, and affordability, especially for under-represented, under-prepared, or low income students. Proposals may request between $2M and $4M for 48-month projects. This is a limited submission opportunity where UM can submit only one proposal.
The UM Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (ORSP) seeks Ideas Papers (from those with ideas or capabilities to contribute but who are not necessarily interested in leading a proposal/project) as well as Pre-Proposals (from those interested in leading a proposal/project); these should be e-mailed to Jason Hale, (jghale@olemiss.edu) by 8:00 a.m., Monday, June 2. Idea Papers and Pre-proposals should only be considered submitted when receipt is acknowledged by e-mail by 5 p.m., 6/2; if in doubt, call Jason Hale at x3922 or Vice Chancellor Clark at x7583. All pre-proposals will be reviewed in accordance with ORSP’s procedure for limited submissions. The decision on which pre-proposal to develop into a full proposal will be made no later than Thursday, June 5. Idea papers will be made available to the designated lead PI for consideration and possible inclusion into the full proposal. The full proposal is due to ORSP Wednesday, June 25, and to the U.S. Dept. of Education, Monday, June 30, 2014.
For the complete solicitation, see https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2014/05/16/2014-11463/applications-for-new-awards-first-in-the-world-program-development-grants#h-3. Questions should be directed to Jason Hale, Mickey McLaurin, or to your ORSP Program Development Specialist.
Instructions for Pre-Proposals and Idea Papers
- Include a Title, beginning with: “First in the World Pre-Proposal: ” or “First in the World Idea Paper:”
- Be 6 pages or less (pre-proposals) or 3 pages or less (idea papers), double spaced, 12-point Arial font
- Include a Logic Model (within the page limit) (pre-proposals only)
- Include an abstract (within the page limit) (pre-proposals only)
- Describe your capabilities to contribute to a project
- List which Priority or Priorities you propose to address, with no more than 2 pages per priority/section, addressing what innovative strategy/strategies you propose; why you think it/they will be effective, scalable, and transformative; and the supporting Strong Theory.
1. Absolute Priority I: Increasing Access and Completion for Under-represented, Under-prepared, or Low-income Students
2. Absolute Priority II: Increasing Community College Transfer Rates to Four-Years Colleges for Underrepresented, Under-prepared, or Low-Income Students
3. Absolute Priority III: Increasing Enrollment and Completion of Underrepresented, Under-prepared, or Low-Income students in STEM Degree Programs
4. Absolute Priority IV: Reducing Time to Completion, Especially for Under-represented, Under-prepared, or Low-Income Students
5. Absolute Priority V: Improving College Affordability, Especially for Underrepresented, Underprepared, or Low-Income Students
6. Competitive Preference Priority: Using Evidence of Promise as the Application Evidence Standard