Deadline: 14-Oct-2025
The U.S. Department of Education has opened applications for the Fiscal Year 2025 Education Innovation and Research (EIR) Program Mid-phase Grants.
These grants are designed to support the creation, development, implementation, replication, or scaling of entrepreneurial, evidence-based, field-initiated innovations aimed at improving student achievement and attainment, especially for high-need students. The program also emphasizes rigorous evaluation of these innovations to ensure their effectiveness and impact.
Mid-phase grants focus on expanding proven strategies to reach more students while measuring their outcomes in diverse educational settings. This funding round includes a strong emphasis on empowering state- and Tribal-led education efforts and supporting innovative approaches such as high-impact tutoring. These priorities reflect the Department’s goal of promoting state-driven solutions, investing in evidence-based practices, and ensuring access to high-quality instruction for all students.
The competition includes one absolute priority and two competitive preference priorities. The absolute priority centers on field-initiated innovations that promote evidence-based literacy instruction. Projects must propose innovative and scalable strategies to improve literacy outcomes for high-need students, ensuring they receive effective, research-backed instruction that drives academic progress. Proposals should demonstrate a clear plan to enhance or expand evidence-based literacy practices.
The Department expects to allocate an estimated $253 million across both Mid-phase and Expansion competitions, with individual Mid-phase grants of up to $10 million for project periods of up to 60 months. Applications that exceed this amount will not be considered. This funding represents a major opportunity for educators and organizations to take successful, evidence-based ideas to scale and create meaningful change in student learning outcomes.
Eligible applicants include local educational agencies (LEAs), state educational agencies (SEAs), the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE), consortia of SEAs or LEAs, nonprofit organizations, and partnerships involving these entities with businesses, educational service agencies, or institutions of higher education. Rural applicants must meet specific eligibility criteria based on locale codes to qualify. This funding opportunity offers a powerful pathway for innovative educators and organizations to transform learning through scalable, data-driven approaches.
For more information, visit Grants.gov.