Office of Innovation and Improvement (OII) Investing in Innovation (I3) Fund Development Grants CFDA Number 84.411P | Apply Online

Opportunity Summary:

The Office of Innovation and Improvement (OII) Investing in Innovation (i3) Fund Development Grants opportunity (CFDA 84.411P) is a discretionary grant competition run by the U.S. Department of Education. It traces back to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), which created the i3 Fund under section 14007. In plain terms, this program was designed to help schools and their partners take promising education ideas and move them forward by funding the expansion and further development of innovative practices that can be shown to improve student outcomes.

The central purpose of the i3 Development Grants is to support applicants that already have a track record of improving student achievement and attainment and want to broaden the use of strategies that demonstrate an impact. The notice emphasizes outcomes like improving student achievement or student growth (as defined in the official notice), closing achievement gaps, reducing dropout rates, increasing high school graduation rates, and boosting college enrollment and completion. Development grants, by their nature, focus on building and testing or scaling up approaches that are backed by evidence but still need further validation, refinement, or expansion to reach more students or settings.

Eligibility is limited to two main types of applicants. The first is a local educational agency (LEA) applying on its own. The second is a partnership in which a nonprofit organization applies in collaboration with either one or more LEAs or a consortium of schools. This structure reflects the program's intent to connect education systems with organizations that can bring specialized models, services, or research-based interventions, while keeping implementation grounded in real school environments. The listing indicates that cost sharing or matching is required, meaning applicants must contribute non-federal resources as part of the overall project budget, consistent with the rules laid out in the official application notice.

From a process standpoint, the competition required electronic submission through Grants.gov, using a two-step approach that involved pre-applications and then full applications for those invited or advanced. The pre-application for this competition corresponds to CFDA 84.411P, while the full application for Development grants is associated with CFDA 84.411C. Applicants were instructed to search for the application package in Grants.gov using the core CFDA number (84.411) without the alpha suffix, which is a practical detail that matters because searching with the suffix can prevent the package from appearing. For technical submission issues, the Grants.gov Helpdesk contact information was provided, reinforcing that electronic submission was mandatory and that applicants were expected to use the federal portal rather than alternative delivery methods.

In terms of funding scale and timing, the opportunity was posted on February 24, 2012, with pre-applications becoming available February 27, 2012, and a pre-application submission deadline of April 9, 2012. The opportunity was later archived on May 9, 2012. The estimated total funding amount listed is $140,452,000, with an expected 27 awards, indicating a competitive national program with sizable awards but a limited number of grantees. As with many federal discretionary programs, the synopsis repeatedly notes that the authoritative requirements, definitions, selection criteria, and detailed eligibility rules are those published in the Federal Register, and it points applicants to official government sources for the full notice.

For applicant support and program questions, the announcement includes Department of Education contacts, including Joyce Mays (Management Analyst) and Carol Lyons (Program Manager), with phone numbers and email addresses, which is typical for federal grant competitions where applicants may need clarification on policy, application components, or administrative issues.

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