CFDA / Assistance Listing · Reference

CFDA 84.305: Education Research, Development, and Dissemination (IES)

IES's primary CFDA for education research grants. Covers basic-to-applied education research across pre-K through postsecondary, focused on rigorous evidence generation that meets ESEA Tier 1-4 evidence standards.

Agency

U.S. Department of Education — Institute of Education Sciences (IES)

Typical award

Exploration: $1.4M over 4 years. Development & Innovation: $2M over 4 years. Initial Efficacy & Follow-Up: $4M over 5 years. Replication: $4M over 5 years. Systematic Replication: up to $7M.

Eligible applicants

Research universities and IHEs
501(c)(3) education research orgs (MDRC, AIR, RAND, AERA)
Local Educational Agencies and state Educational Agencies (in research-practice partnerships)
Private research firms (subject to IES restrictions)

What this CFDA funds

Five research goals: Exploration (correlational), Development & Innovation, Initial Efficacy, Replication, and Measurement. Cross-cutting topic areas: cognition, early childhood, English learners, education leadership, education technology, social-behavioral context, postsecondary, special education, statistics + methods. Strict adherence to IES Standards for Excellence in Education Research.

What winning applicants look like

R1 universities with dedicated education-research centers, freestanding 501(c)(3) education research orgs, and IES-funded R&D centers. Multi-PI proposals with deep methodological expertise (especially in causal inference) score well. Research-practice partnerships with LEAs are a competitive-preference signal.

Common pitfalls + things to know

IES Standards for Excellence are exacting — every proposal must satisfy specific design rigor for its goal type. Initial Efficacy and Replication grants require RCT or strong quasi-experimental designs. Measurement grants must follow IES psychometric standards. The topic area you target matters: panel composition and review culture vary substantially.

Related CFDAs to also explore

CFDA 84.215 — Education Innovation and Research (EIR)
CFDA 84.367 — Title II Improving Teacher Quality
CFDA 84.116 — FIPSE — Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education

Reference guides

Evergreen explainers for nonprofit grant offices and federal grant seekers.

Federal Grants for Nonprofits: A 2026 Guide for 501(c)(3) Organizations — CFDA prefixes, applicant-type code 12, forecasts, the deadline trap.
The Grants.gov Search Guide: How to Actually Find Federal Grants in 2026 — practical filter walkthrough, native-vs-paid tool comparison.
→ All Grant Wire articles

Audiences who use this CFDA

If you fall into one of these audience groups, the audience guide gives you the broader picture of all federal funding streams you qualify for — not just CFDA 84.305.

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Always verify in the official source. CFDA program details, eligibility, and award ranges change with each annual NOFO cycle. Confirm at sam.gov/content/assistance-listings or the agency's program office before you build an application strategy. This page is editorial reference, not an official agency notice.