Federal Efforts towards Investing in Innovation through the i3 Fund: A Summary of Grantmaking and Evidence-Building. Evaluation Report. NCEE 2024-002r

Finding innovative educational strategies that work is important to help improve student learning and close equity gaps nationwide. The goal of the U.S. Department of Education's Investing in Innovation Fund (i3) was to build high-quality evidence about effective educational strategies and to expand implementation of these strategies. Between 2010 and 2016, i3 awarded 172 grants totaling $1.4 billion to universities, school districts, and private non-profit organizations. The i3 Fund intentionally awarded different types of grants either to develop and test new, innovative but as-yet-unproven strategies or to learn more about the circumstances under which previously tested strategies are effective. Grantees were required to fund independent evaluations that would meet high standards for quality. This report examines the quality and findings of the 148 i3 grants with completed evaluations and provides information about the focus of the strategies those grantees tested.