ALN 84.327T - National Center on Technology Systems in Local Education Agencies FY 2023
hello welcome to the information session for interested applicants for the 2023 National Center on technology systems in local educational agencies this is assigned assistance living assistance listing number 84.327t this grant competition is funded by the office of special education programs at the U.S Department of Education I am Anita Vermeer a project officer at OSEP and the contact for interested applicants I would like to go over some caveats before diving into this webinar first the intent of this presentation is to provide guidance only and the information contained in this webinar provides a general summary of the information contained in the notice inviting applications and the application package therefore it is imperative that all prospective applicants read the entire notice application package and any additional relevant information such as the newly updated common instructions for applicants published on December 7th 2022. applicants are encouraged to listen to a more General webinar entitled applying for office of special education programs discretionary grants for an orientation to the overall process that webinar can be found at osepideasthatwork.org today I will cover the following areas purpose of the OSEP technology program key terms absolute priority and purpose application requirements additional pertinent information General requirements and selection criteria the education technology media and materials program is known as E-Tech M2 the purpose of the OSEP technology program is to improve results for children with disabilities by promoting the development demonstration and use of Technology supporting educational activities designed to be of educational value in the classroom providing support for captioning and video description that is appropriate for use in the classroom and providing accessible educational materials to children with disabilities in a timely manner there are a few terms for this priority that I would like to highlight the first in this priority evidence-based means at a minimum evidence that demonstrates a rationale where a key project component included in the Project's logic model is informed by research or evaluation findings that suggests the project component is likely to improve relevant outcomes framework refers to the theories knowledge base policies and practices that form the basic conceptual structure of effective systems a framework is a guide to increase the capacity of LEAs to understand improve and Implement effective systems. Another term, systems, in this
priority refers to interrelated components such as funding professional development data collection accountability and quality improvement that need to be in place to support the identification procurement deployment and effective use of assistive and instructional technology assistive technology device is defined by section 602 of IDEA as any item piece of equipment or product system whether require commercially off the shelf modified or customized that is used to increase maintain or improve functional capabilities of a child with a disability instructional technology is defined as technology processes and resources that facilitate learning and improve student performance for all students Please be aware of application timelines this notice was published in the Federal Register on December 19 2022. all applications are due on or by March 6 2024 before 11 59 and 59 seconds in the evening Eastern Time we highly advise not to wait to the last minute or the last date to submit your application to avoid any possible technical difficulties on either end for the fiscal year of 2023 we plan to support one absolute priority which is to establish and operate a national Center on technology systems in local educational agencies this award will be a Cooperative agreement a Cooperative agreement is similar to a grant and that its principal purpose is to accomplish a public purpose of support or stimulation as authorized by his federal statute it differs from a grant in the sense that a Cooperative agreement is substantial involvement that is anticipated between the department of Ed and the recipient for this priority applicants must demonstrate how they will establish and operate projects that achieve at minimum the following expected outcomes increase knowledge on providers and decision makers in LEAs about evidence-based assisted assistive and instructional technology tools and practices for students with disabilities and their families increased effective use of assistive and instructional technology in LEAs within comprehensive and sustainable SEA Alliance systems as applicable other outcomes increased Partnerships between LEAs and Community stakeholders to support sustainable and comprehensive systems and increased capacity of providers and decision makers to sustain comprehensive LEA and state Alliance systems for the effective use of assistive and instructional technology by students with disabilities and their families the application requirements are broken down into these five sections significance, quality of project services, quality of the project evaluation, adequacy of resources and quality of project personnel and the quality of management plan the first section is significance the applicant must describe how they will address the need for LEAs to build capacity to develop and sustain systems for the Equitable and effective use of assistive and instructional technology by students with disabilities and their families improve outcomes in Equitable and effective use of assistive and instructional technology by students with disabilities and their families and indicate the likely magnitude or importance of the improvements and the quality of project Services the proposed project must describe how it will ensure equal access and treatment for members of groups that have been traditionally underrepresented based on race color national origin gender age or disability must also demonstrate how it will achieve its goals objectives and intended outcomes which are measurable and attach a logic model in the appendix A other project service requirements to include is how the proposed project will use a conceptual framework to develop project plans and activities describing any underlying Concepts assumptions expectations beliefs or theories as well as the presumed relationships or linkages among these variables and any empirical support for this framework must also be based on current research and make use of evidence-based assistive and instructional technology tools and practices the fifth requirement in the project Services section is a description on how the proposed project will develop products and provide services that are of high quality and sufficient intensity and duration to achieve the intended outcomes of the proposed project increase the capacity of providers and decision makers to use the framework in LEAs provide Universal technical assistance that includes dissemination of the framework provide targeted specialized technical assistance to a minimum of eight LEAs and provide intensive sustained technical assistance to a minimum of two LEAs and please note the different levels of universal targeted and intensive technical assistance are defined in the notice. The last two elements of project Services require the applicant to develop products and Implement services that maximize efficiency such as technology collaboration and non-project resources or initiatives to reach projects outcomes and develop a dissemination plan that describes how the applicant will systematically distribute information products and services to varied intended audiences using a variety of dissemination strategies to promote awareness and use of the center's products and services the proposed project must also include an evaluation plan that articulates both the formative and summative evaluation questions including important processes and outcome evaluation questions to refine the framework and continuously improve the Project's products and services It must describe how progress in fidelity of implementation as well as project outcomes will be measured to answer the evaluation questions in addition the evaluation plan must also describe strategies for analyzing data and how data collected as part of this plan will be used to inform and improve Service delivery over the course of the project and to refine the proposed logic model and evaluation plan including subsequent data collection provide a timeline for conducting the evaluation and include staff assignments for completing the plan dedicate sufficient funds in each budget year to cover the cost of developing or refining the evaluation plan in consultation with a third party evaluator.
In the section for the adequacy of resources the applicant must demonstrate how it will encourage applicants from for employment from persons who are members of groups that have traditionally been underrepresented based on race color national origin gender age or disability as appropriate key project Personnel consultants and subcontractors have the qualifications and experience to carry out the proposed activities to achieve the Project's intended outcomes the proposed project must also demonstrate how the applicant and any key Partners have adequate resources to carry out the proposed activities and the proposed costs are reasonable in relation to the anticipated results and benefits here are the requirements for the management plan the proposed management plan will ensure that the Project's intended outcomes will be achieved on time and within budget to address this requirement the applicant must describe the clearly defined responsibilities for key project Personnel consultants and subcontractors as applicable and timelines and milestones for accomplishing the project tasks the plan is to also address how key project personnel and any consultants and subcontractors will be allocated and how these allocations are appropriate and adequate to achieve the Project's intended outcomes two additional requirements are that the proposed management plan will ensure that the products and services provided are of high quality relevant and useful to recipients and the proposed project will benefit from A diversity of perspectives including those of families Educators TA providers researchers and policy makers among others in its development and operation furthermore the management plan must also include documentation of the following Personnel loading charts and timelines as applicable to illustrate the management plan described in the narrative and in the budget attendance at the following a one and one half day kickoff meeting in Washington DC or virtually after receipt of the award a two and one half day project directors conference in Washington DC or a virtual conference during each year of the project period one annual two-day trip to attend Department briefings Department sponsored conferences and other meetings as requested by OSEP now one day intensive OSEP review meeting during the last half of the second year of the grant project period and also set aside a budget of five percent per year to support emerging needs that are identified with OSEP after the award is received there are two general requirements that applicants must make positive effort to employ advance in the employment of qualified individuals with disabilities in the project activities and they must involve individuals with disabilities or parents of individuals with disabilities ages birth through 26 in the planning implementing and evaluating of the projects those that are eligible for this competition are SEAs, LEAs, including public charter schools that operate as LEAs under state law, IHEs other public agencies private non-profit organizations freely Associated States and outlying areas Indian tribes or tribal organizations and for-profit organizations the maximum award for this notice is seven hundred thousand dollars for a single budget period of 12 months we estimate making one award for up to 60 months and applicants must provide a budget for all five years please note the formatting and Page limit recommendations a page is eight and a half by Eleven on one side only with one inch margins double space all of the text in the application narrative including titles headings footnotes quotations reference citations and captions as well as all text in charts tables figures crafts and screenshots use a font that is 12 point or larger either in Times New Roman Courier Courier new or Arial as they are recommended we also recommend that you limit the application narrative to no more than 70 Pages this limit does not apply to some of the additional attachments so you can refer to the notice of inviting applications in the package for more information as part of the process of making funding funding recommendations external reviewers will judge the quality of the application using these five selection criteria for each section of the narrative each application can receive up to a total of 100 points with significance and quality of management plan can receive 15 points each quality of project Services up to 30 points quality of project evaluation and adequacy of resources and quality of project Personnel can get up to 20 points each and then the application package contains the information on the sub criteria within each selection and applicants are strongly encouraged to read those when carefully preparing the application narrative I'm going to briefly go over them as well so the secretary considers significance when it is a problem or issue is addressed the likelihood that the proposed project will result in system change or Improvement the extent to which the proposed project is likely to build local capacity to provide improve or expand services that address the needs of the target population and the potential replicability of the proposed project or strategies including as appropriate the potential for implementation in a variety of settings the secretary considers the quality of project Services of the proposed project being quality and sufficiency of strategies for ensuring equal access and treatment for eligible project participants who are members of groups that have traditionally been underrepresented based on race color national origin gender age or disability the extent to which the services to be provided or appropriate to the needs of the intended recipients or beneficiaries of those services the extent to which the services will be provided reflect up-to-date Knowledge from research and effective practice the impact of services to be provided on the intended recipients and the intended recipients of those services. The secretary considers quality of project services for the proposed project by the extent to which the training or professional development services be provided by the proposed project are also sufficient quality intensity and duration to lead to improvements in practice among the recipients of those services the extent to which the services to be provided by the proposed project involve the collaboration of appropriate partners for maximizing the effectiveness of project services and extent to which the TA services to be provided by the proposed project involved the use of effective strategies including the use of Technology as appropriate and the leveraging of non-project resources the quality of project evaluation is considered by the extent to which the methods of evaluation are thorough feasible and appropriate to the goals objectives and outcomes of the proposed project the extent to which the methods of evaluation include the use of performance measures that are clearly related to the intended outcomes of the project and will produce qualitative and quantitative data to the extent possible the extent to which the methods of evaluation provide for examining the effectiveness of project implementation strategies the extent to which the methods of evaluation will provide performance feedback and permit periodic assessment of progress toward achieving intended outcomes and extent to which the proposed project plan includes sufficient resources to conduct the project evaluation effectively the secretary considers the adequacy of resources and quality of project Personnel of the proposed project to the extent which the applicant encourages applications for employment from persons who are members of groups that have been traditionally underrepresented based on race color national origin gender age or disability the qualifications including relevant training and experience of key project Personnel project Consultants or subcontractors adequacy of support including facilities equipment supplies and other resources from the applicant organization or the lead applicant organization relevance and demonstrated commitment of each partner in the proposed project to the implementation and success of the project and the extent to which the costs are reasonable in relation to the objectives design and potential significance of the proposed project and the secretary considers the quality of management plan of the proposed project with these four bullets adequacy of the management plan to achieve the objectives of the proposed project on time and within budget including clearly defined responsibilities timelines and milestones for accomplishing project tasks extent to which the time commitments of the Project Director and principal investigator and other key project Personnel are appropriate and adequate to meet the objectives of the proposed project how the applicant will ensure that a diversity of perspectives are brought to bear in the operation of the proposed project including those of parents teachers the business Community a variety of disciplinary and professional Fields recipients or beneficiaries of services or others as appropriate and adequacy of procedures for ensuring feedback and continuous Improvement in the operation of the proposed project for more information you can reach me at anita.vermeer ed.gov so that is spelled a-n-i-t-a dot v e r m e e r ed.gov or my phone number is
202-987-0155 if you need help with the online system grants.gov has a support desk and their email is support at grants.gov spell it s-u-p-p-o-r-t at grants.gov and their phone number is 1-800-518-4726 and they do have a grants.gov a training available so if you were to
um the website for that is listed in the webinar and on the PowerPoint https and it's grants hyphenportal Dot psc.gov welcome and there are also some other links and information such as the ed.gov oser Slash osep and um we have a Twitter Youtube and blog channels for more information thank you everyone
2023-01-25 15:59
