Innovation Fund Archived
The Innovation Fund Foundation dissolved January 1, 2022. Jaclyn Colona, former Executive Director of the IFF, is now with the Georgia Foundation for Public Education (hosted at Georgia Department of Education). If you have questions, please contact Joy Hawkins, Executive Director, GOSA, at [email protected].
This page contains more information regarding the past outcomes and evaluations of Innovation Fund grant programs.
Annual Reports
Fiscal Year 2015 Planning Grant Report
In Fiscal Year (FY) 2015, the Innovation Fund awarded its first round of ten planning grants to nine organizations. In alignment with the planning grant mission, recipients spent one year developing various aspects of an innovative program. This report provides an overview of the planning grant program and summarizes the outcomes for the following FY15 planning grantees: (1) Clarke County School District, (2) Georgia State University, (3) Jackson County Schools, (4) Mercer University, (5) Morehouse University, (6) Oconee River Georgia Youth Science and Technology Center, (7) Paulding County Schools, and (8) Tift County Schools. Each profile includes the program overview, program goals, actions steps taken over the grant period, and next steps following the grant period.
Profiles of Innovation Fund Grantees
During Race to the Top, the Innovation Fund provided 23 grants—across three rounds—to programs focused on providing K-12 applied learning opportunities, creating teacher and leader induction programs, growing the teacher and leader pipeline, or developing or expanding STEM-focused charter schools. This publication highlights promising practices that emerged from five round one and round two grantees: (1) KIPP Teachers Fellow Program, (2) UGA/GAEL Early Career Principal Residency Program, (3) Morehouse College Student Applied Learning, New Teacher Induction and Staff Leadership Program, (4) Gwinnett STEM Targeted Educational Program (STEP) Academy, and (5) Tift County Mechatronics Partnership.
Georgia's
Innovation Fund: Profiles of Innovation Fund Grantees
Race to the Top Innovation Fund Report
The Governor's Office of Student Achievement released the Race to the Top Innovation Fund Report, providing a comprehensive look at the groundbreaking education programs that were implemented in Georgia through the Race to the Top federal grant. The report utilizes a vignette style that, for each program, provides first-hand perspectives of daily activities, describes its origin and design, and analyzes quantitative and qualitative outcomes. In addition, each vignette concludes with lessons learned and best practices that can be applied in education programs throughout the state.
Race
to the Top Innovation Fund Report
Social Return on Investment Study
The Governor's Office of Student Achievement released a Social Return on Investment Report of the four Race to the Top Innovation Fund grantees that focused on high school transitions to college and career. Each program yielded positive outcomes for participating students and positive returns for the community.
The SROI approach focuses on understanding what has changed as the result of a program, what matters to stakeholders about those changes, and the social value (value to stakeholders and society) of those changes. SROI studies involve stakeholders in a transparent process in which verifiable claims about value are founded on qualitative data (such as stakeholder interviews) and quantitative data (such as graduation rates), including financial information (such as program costs). When determining an SROI, money is simply one widely-accepted way of conveying value.
Social Return on Investment Study
Applied Learning Student Questionnaire (ALSQ)
In fall 2012, the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement (GOSA) contracted with The Findings Group to develop the Applied Learning Student Questionnaire (ALSQ) for the Innovation Fund applied learning grantees. The ALSQ measures changes in student intrinsic motivation, self-management, and intent to persist in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) studies. The survey also asks students about problem solving and implementation activities in each program.
Fiscal Year 2015 and 2016 Innovation Fund Grantee Outcomes
Race to the Top Innovation Fund Grantee Outcomes
GOSA E-Bulletin: Innovation Fund Applied Learning Grants Showing Early Success (Summary of December 2012 results)
ALSQ
Results: 2013-2014 School Year
ALSQ Race to the Top Longitudinal Summative Report
The contents of the Social Return on Investment Study, Race to the Top Innovation Fund Report, Profiles of Innovation Fund Grantees, and the Race to the Top Innovation Fund ALSQ Reports were developed under a grant from the U.S. Department of Education. However, those contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.
For questions regarding the D3 Grants and Accelerator Grants, contact Kimberly Turner.
For questions regarding the Implementation & Scaling grants, contact Jaclyn Colona.