10/15/2005
Education Announces SBIR Topics
by Mildred Holley, Technology Programs Manager
The U.S. Department of Education (DoEd) issued a pre-solicitation notice on October 8 that identifies the research topics that will be included in its Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) solicitation for Phase I and Fast-Track proposals. DoEd funds Phase I projects at amounts up to $100,000 depending on the topic. November 4 is the expected date of release for this solicitation. Proposals will be due no later than January 6, 2006.
The DoEd solicitation will have two priorities.
Priority 1 – Services
The Institute of Education Sciences SBIR Program will invite proposals that seek to develop a plan or a business model for the provision of effective business consulting services that can better serve the education community at both the local and state levels. Examples of relevant services include, but are not limited to:
1. Education Data Management - There is a need to provide schools, districts and States with more effective data management tools that support their efforts to meet the standards set forth in the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB). An example would be a proposal or service designed to provide a particular school, a group of schools, or a local district with test results that have been condensed into readable and easily interpretable language for teacher and principal use. This service might also include the development of classroom profiles depicting students' performance and providing recommendations on courses of action to be taken in order to enhance student achievement.
2. Evidence-Driven Consulting Services - Superintendents, principals and teachers could benefit from technical assistance in applying empirically based studies about a particular content area (e.g., reading, mathematics, science) to the local context. In addition, schools that are having trouble meeting the requirements of NCLB could benefit from consulting services designed to provide them with a menu of options and strategies they could implement in order to enhance student learning and achievement.
3. Financial Data Services at the School, District or State Level - These services might include the further development of existing financial software and/or the evaluation of existing commercial software to determine which product best meets the need of the school, district or state systems. Offerors are encouraged to consult the background section of the Education Finance, Leadership, and Management program solicitation for a more detailed description of the limitations the Institute sees in existing financial software. This program solicitation can be accessed at:
http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ies/programs.html?src=mr.
4. Technology Consulting Services - These services might focus on assisting schools with the selection and implementation of relevant educational technologies and most importantly, on training teachers and other relevant school personnel on how to make most effective use of these new technologies.
Priority 2 – Products
This priority supports the development of empirically derived educational products in the areas of reading or mathematics or science or character/pro-social development at the pre-kindergarten through post-secondary levels, including products that support teachers and administrators as well as products that are used directly by students. Offerors are encouraged to consult the background section of the individual solicitations for other Institute grant competitions in the topic areas listed above to better understand the thinking behind this priority. All relevant solicitations can be accessed at: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ies/programs.html?src=mr.
Products may include, but are not limited to:
1. Software Proposals
2. Supplemental Educational Materials (i.e., workbooks, readers and professional development materials)
3. Assessment instruments.
More information about the DoEd SBIR program can be found at www.ed.gov/programs/sbir.
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