IES invites funded researchers to propose a breakout session to be included as part of the FY 2023 Principal Investigators meeting. Breakout sessions will provide an opportunity for PI Meeting attendees to discuss challenges, share findings, and learn about new methods and approaches for conducting or disseminating research.

What types of breakout sessions can be proposed?

Participants are invited to state their preference for one of two types of sessions; however, the final decision on the session format will be determined by IES.

• Panel session ‒ Informative session that typically includes multiple presenters/presentations sharing ideas, results, and/or methods.
o NOTE: Given the virtual meeting format, presenters will pre-record their panel session presentations. The pre-recorded presentations will be live streamed during the PI Meeting and will be followed by a live question and answer period through Zoom. We recommend including a moderator/discussant to tie the presentations together and facilitate the live question and answer period. The tentative timeframe for breakout session pre-recording is March 20-24, 2023
• Interactive discussion session ‒ Interactive session that does not include formal presentations and is designed to facilitate discussion among attendees around a specific topic. Each interactive discussion session will have a designated chair to facilitate interaction and participation.
o NOTE: These will be live virtual sessions where participants will be able to see and interact with each other through a Zoom meeting format. Past interactive discussion sessions have been formatted as a roundtables and structured networking sessions.

How much time is allotted for the breakout sessions?

Breakout sessions will either be 60 or 75 minutes in length. Participants are invited to state their session length preference; however, the final decision will be determined by IES.

Who can submit?

• The session organizer/chair submitting the proposal must be a researcher on a current IES grant or SBIR contract.
• Fellows funded through a current IES Training grant may also submit proposals as the session organizer/chair.

Who can be included as presenters?

• Any researcher or project staff on a current IES funded grant or contract can be included as presenters. Although IES will consider proposals that include presenters who are not on a current IES grant or contract, please prioritize current IES-funded researchers (including fellows funded through IES Training grants) as presenters. No honoraria will be provided to any non-IES grantees included in a session proposal.
• Presenters in a single session should not all be from the same grant or contract. There should be multiple grants/projects represented in a session. To encourage collaboration and bring in multiple perspectives, the following links can be used to find other IES projects that address similar topics. IES program officers are also available to assist you in identifying projects on related topics. Points will be awarded during the review process to those who incorporate multiple projects.
o List of active IES grants/contracts
o IES funded grant/contract search webpage

When is the deadline?

Proposals must be received by 11:59 pm ET on November 16, 2022.

How do I submit a proposal?

Complete and submit the Breakout Session Submission proposal at https://forms.office.com/r/DnzwD0Atdb.

How will breakout sessions be selected?

The IES PI Meeting planning team will review each properly completed submission. Given the virtual meeting format and the limited number of session slots available on the agenda, priority will be given to sessions that address the conference theme: Building on 20 years of IES Research to Accelerate the Education Sciences, include diverse presenters from multiple disciplines, backgrounds and grants/projects, and address one or more of the four session strands:

• Making connections across disciplines and communities – Session expands and improves connections between research and practice communities, and/or between researchers and projects across different disciplines and methodologies.
• Diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility – Session addresses diversity, equity, inclusion, and/or accessibility (DEIA) in education research.
• Recovering and learning from the Covid-19 pandemic – Session includes a focus on accelerating pandemic recovery for students and educators and/or on lessons learned from the pandemic and opportunities to implement overdue changes to improve education.
• Innovative approaches to education research – Session includes innovative, forward-looking research ideas, approaches, and methods to improve education research in both the short-term and the long-term.

Additional background information regarding the conference theme is provided in the Commissioners’ Welcome on the IES PI Meeting website: https://ies.ed.gov/pimeeting/.

The following criteria will be used to score all proposals, and those scoring highest will be selected. The following areas will be scored on a scale of 0 to 5, with 0 = no evidence/information missing; 1 = substantial weaknesses, does not address the criterion; 3 = moderate weaknesses, somewhat addresses the criterion; and 5 = no weaknesses, fully addresses the criterion. A total score will be assigned based on summing the criterion scores.

• Significance (0-5 points) – The session topic addresses a significant issue related to education policy, research, or practice; or uses an innovative method or research design.
• Engagement Potential (0-5 points) – The topic is timely and thought-provoking. For panel sessions, the presentations are likely to encourage discussion and engagement among attendees. For interactive discussion sessions, the facilitator has the content knowledge and expertise to lead an interactive conversation and encourage interaction amongst attendees on the proposed topic
• Alignment with the Theme (0-5 points) - The session clearly aligns with the conference theme of Building on 20 years of IES Research to Accelerate the Education Sciences and addresses at least one of four session strands (see Commissioners’ Welcome and description of session strands above):

The criteria of “Multiple IES Grants Represented” and “NCSER / NCER Involvement” will be scored on a 0-1 points scale with 0 = no evidence/information missing; 1 = fully addresses the criterion.

• Multiple IES Grants Represented (0-1 point) – The session involves presenters affiliated with at least two different IES grants/contracts and are not just from one funded project.
• NCSER and NCER Involvement (0-1 point) – The session involves submissions from at least one NCSER-funded and at least one NCER-funded project.

What if I want to correct my submission?

The session organizer/chair is responsible for the accuracy of the breakout session submission. If modifications/corrections are needed on a submission, re-complete the submission form at https://forms.office.com/r/DnzwD0Atdb and mark the field indicating that it is a modified/corrected submission. The previously submitted breakout submission form will be discarded.

All modifications must be made by November 16, 2022, and session submissions will not be accepted after that date.

Who do I contact if I have a question?

• If you have logistical questions about the PI Meeting or the submission process, please email IEShelp@thebizzellgroup.com.
• If you have questions about the appropriateness of your submission or content-focused questions, please contact your IES program officer.