The Investing in Innovation (i3) Fund provides funding to support local education agencies (LEAs) and nonprofit organizations in partnership with one or more LEAs or a consortium of schools. This program provides competitive grants to applicants with a record of improving student achievement to expand innovative practices that are demonstrated to have an impact on improving student growth, closing achievement gaps, decreasing dropout rates, increasing high school graduation rates, or increasing college enrollment and completion rates.

Investing in Innovation (i3) Information
On August 5 the U.S. Department of Education (ED) announced the highest-rated applicants for the Investing in Innovation (i3) competition. In all, 1,700 applications were submitted. Read what peer reviewers had to say about the proposals submitted, as well as additional guidance on the required 20 percent private-sector match needed to receive the grants. Evidence of this match must be submitted to ED by September 8, 2010.

Investing in Innovation Fund (i3) FAQs Addendum 5 (June 18, 2010)
The Department plans to announce the list of highest-rated applicants—for all three types of grants—by the end of July 2010. Applicants determined to be highest rated will also be notified by email. Information regarding required matches is also available here.

Mining the Investing in Innovation Grant Data
In late June, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) released some detailed data on the Investing in Innovation (i3) grant applications they received last month. Applications were due on May 12, but more than 2,400 organizations and LEAs submitted intent-to-apply notices on April 1st. These data allow us to get a better sense of the applications that were submitted to ED and compare this information to expectations based on the previous intent-to-apply notices.

What’s To Come for the i3 Fund
Lauren Gibbs, Senior Federal Policy Analyst at the Center for Research and Reform in Education at Johns Hopkins University, gives her take on the i3 Fund and makes the case for its continuation. Her comments appeared on the Best Evidence Encyclopedia.

Foundation Registry i3
The Foundation Registry i3 simplifies the process for organizations seeking matching foundation funds for their Department of Education‘s Investing in Innovation (i3) proposal.

Webinar: Meeting i3 Evaluation Requirements
On Tuesday, April 13, Education Northwest hosted a free Webinar on meeting i3 evaluation requirements for i3 grant applications. We have archived this Webinar for your use.

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Considerations for High-Quality Evaluations - A Tips from Education Northwest for i3 Plans.pdf