Institute of Education Sciences (IES): Improving Pandemic Recovery Efforts in Education Agencies, Assistance Listing Number (ALN) 84.305X | ED GRANTS 121021 003

Opportunity Information: Apply for ED GRANTS 121021 003

The Institute of Education Sciences (IES), through its National Center for Education Research (NCER), offered a discretionary funding opportunity titled "Improving Pandemic Recovery Efforts in Education Agencies" under Assistance Listing Number (ALN) 84.305X. The overall aim is to fund scientifically rigorous education research that helps the field understand which recovery practices and policies are working after the pandemic, why they work, for whom they work, and under what conditions. In practical terms, the program is meant to generate reliable, valid evidence that education leaders and the public can use to improve learning outcomes, academic achievement, and equitable access to educational opportunities as systems work to recover from pandemic-related disruptions.

This opportunity sits within NCER's broader "Research Networks Focused on Critical Problems of Education Policy and Practice" initiative. That larger program is designed to concentrate national research attention on urgent, high-priority issues and to create a structured network environment where researchers and partners can share ideas, coordinate studies, build knowledge faster, and strengthen both research quality and dissemination. For pandemic recovery specifically, NCER indicated it intended to establish multiple networks: a broader Leveraging Evidence to Accelerate Recovery Nationwide Network and, through this particular "Improving Pandemic Recovery Efforts in Education Agencies" grant program, two research networks focused on recovery activities in different parts of the education system. One network is intended to study recovery efforts in prekindergarten through grade 12 (PK-12), and the other is intended to study recovery efforts in community colleges.

The Federal Register notice described two related competitions announced by NCER: one competition centered on leveraging evidence to accelerate recovery nationwide, and a second competition centered on improving pandemic recovery activities in education agencies (the focus of ALN 84.305X as presented here). Both competitions are structured as cooperative agreements, which typically means the Department of Education/IES expects to have substantial involvement in the project during the award period, often through collaboration on milestones, coordination across the network, and expectations around sharing findings and products.

A key eligibility feature of this opportunity is that applicants must have the ability and capacity to conduct scientifically valid research. The eligible applicant types are broad and include public and private institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations (including those with or without 501(c)(3) status), for-profit organizations (other than small businesses), and public agencies at various levels of government (including state, county, city/township, and special district governments). However, for the "Improving Pandemic Recovery Activities in Education Agencies" competition, proposals must be submitted by research teams that include an eligible education agency or a community college system as a formal partner. The notice defines eligible education agencies to include state and local agencies, including U.S. Territory and Tribal agencies, that oversee education spanning prekindergarten, elementary, secondary, postsecondary, and/or adult education. It also includes state and city community college systems that are implementing recovery programs or policies, reflecting an emphasis on studying real-world recovery strategies already being used by education systems.

In terms of scale and logistics, the grant was listed with an award ceiling of $3,000,000. The opportunity number is ED GRANTS 121021 003, and the sponsoring agency is the U.S. Department of Education. The original closing date shown is March 10, 2022, with a creation date of December 13, 2021. Because the public synopsis is explicitly described as only a summary of the official Federal Register application notice, applicants were directed to the Federal Register for the controlling details on requirements such as priorities, performance measures, submission procedures, and any pre-application steps. The synopsis also points applicants to the Department of Education's Common Instructions for discretionary grant programs (published February 13, 2019) for standard guidance on how to obtain and submit applications and how to follow federal formatting and administrative rules.

Taken together, the opportunity is best understood as a research-network investment designed to connect researchers with education agencies and community college systems actively carrying out recovery work, so that the country can learn faster and more credibly from pandemic recovery efforts. The emphasis is not just on producing research in isolation, but on building coordinated networks that can generate actionable evidence, improve dissemination, and support education leaders in making better-informed recovery decisions across PK-12 and community college contexts.

• The Department of Education in the education sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Institute of Education Sciences (IES): Improving Pandemic Recovery Efforts in Education Agencies, Assistance Listing Number (ALN) 84.305X" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 84.305.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2021-12-13.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2022-03-10. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $3,000,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For-profit organizations other than small businesses, Others.

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