Competition:
Braille Training Program Grants
CFDA: 84.235E
The U.S. Department of Education is committed to attracting as many qualified applicants as possible for its discretionary grant competitions. The Department is also committed to an equitable and transparent application process. OSERS is, therefore, providing to interested applicants technical assistance on the application process and application requirements for this competition.
Informational Webinar:
OSERS has posted a pre-recorded webinar providing application instructions and assistance for this competition.
Application Q & A:
This blog provides applicants with an additional opportunity to ask questions about the application process and the application requirements for this competition. Please submit your questions in the comment box below no later than 5:00 pm ET, on June 18, 2019. OSERS intends to post answers here within two business days of receipt. When submitting your questions, please keep the purpose of this blog in mind. OSERS will only post answers to questions related to the application process and the application requirements for this competition. OSERS will not respond to questions on other topics or to any comments.
For More Information Contact:
During and after the Q & A period, applicants may also call or send questions about the application process and application requirements for this competition to the competition managers:
Theresa DeVaughn
Email: theresa.devaughn@ed.gov
Phone: 202-245-7321
If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) or a text telephone (TTY), call the Federal Relay Service (FRS), toll-free, at 1-800-877-8339.
If answers to questions received by telephone or email may be useful to other applicants, OSERS will update the blog.
Is an independent contractor allowed on the grant such as a web designer, coding competition director, or instructional designer? Or would this be considered a subaward? I understand that subawards are not permitted in this competition and am positioned to hire these personnel as adjunct faculty if needed.
This will be considered a subaward. A grantee under this competition may not award subgrants to entities to entities to directly carry out project activities described in its application. Under 34 CFR 75.708, a grantee may contract for supplies, equipment, and other services in accordance with 2 CFR part 200.
What is the anticipated project start date I should use? (when would the funds be available?)
Project start date is October 1, 2019. Funds will be available October 1, 2019.
Regarding the GPRA measures, what is the scope of the data? Will I report measures for all enrolled personnel within the funding period, only for those personnel who enter the program within the funding period, or only for those who enter and graduate within the funding period?
The GPRA measures for the Braille Training Program are in the Notice Inviting Applications (NIA) on page 25036 of the Federal Register (Vol. 84, No. 104, published on Thursday, May 30, 2019) under Section VI. Award Administration Information, item Performance Measures. In sum, for the Braille Training program, a grantee must collect information on the number of personnel who attend the program, the number of personnel who complete the program, and whether these personnel obtain positions where they provide braille instruction to blind youth and adults following completion of the program. The data would be reporting on individuals who attend and complete the program during the project period of this grant.
What does this grant entail? Who can apply for this? I am currently taking the UEB brailling course to become certified but am also going to college to become a special education teacher. I currently am an educator in the school system teaching a special education student braille. I am looking for funds to help me finish out my education and to help my braille student. Is this type of grant something that would work for my situation? If there are grant available which ones should I apply for?
The goal of the Braille Training program is to provide financial assistance to projects that provide training in the use of braille for personnel providing vocational rehabilitation services or educational services to youth and adults who are blind. Eligible applicants are States and public or nonprofit agencies and organizations, including institutions of higher education. Individuals may not apply for this grant.
1) May the abstract be single-spaced?
2) Are CV/resumes required for key personnel and/or consultants? Is there a format or page length requirement for these?
3) I would like to confirm that there is no page limit for the narrative. Can you provide a recommendation on page length and whether it should be single or double-spaced?
Response to 1)
Yes. There are no formatting requirements related to the number of pages, font styling, size limitations, or spacing.
Response to 2)
There are no formatting requirements related to the number of pages, font styling, size limitations, or spacing. However, it is strongly recommended that you provide information that adequately responds to the selection criterion related to “Quality of project personnel, adequacy of resources, and quality of management plan,” which states, “(1) The Secretary considers the quality of the personnel who will carry out the proposed project, the adequacy of resources, and the quality of the management plan. (2) In determining the quality of project personnel, the Secretary considers the extent to which the applicant encourages applications for employment from persons who are members of groups that have traditionally been underrepresented based on race, color, national origin, gender, age, or disability. (3) In addition, the Secretary considers the following factors: (i) The qualifications, including relevant training and experience, of the project director or principal investigator. (ii) The qualifications, including relevant training and experience, of key project personnel. (iii) The adequacy of support, including facilities, equipment, supplies, and other resources, from the applicant organization or the lead applicant organization. (iv) The extent to which the costs are reasonable in relation to the number of persons to be served and to the anticipated results and benefits. (v) The extent to which time commitments of the project director and principal investigator and other key project personnel are appropriate and adequate to meet the objectives of the proposed project.”
Response to 3)
There are no formatting limits or requirements related to the number of pages, font styling, size or spacing. With respect to page length and spacing, we recommend you consider that a panel of peer reviewers will be reading the applications, so they should be structured for ease of reading and in such a way as to clearly address the selection criteria outlined in the Notice Inviting Applications.
Where can I locate the GPRA measures for reporting purpose and alignment to the evaluation plan?
You can find the GPRA measures in the notice inviting applications (NIA) for this competition, which we published in the Federal Register on May 30, 2019. See 84 FR 25034 at p. 25036, under Section VI. Award Administration Information, item 5. Performance Measures.
In sum, for the Braille Training program, a grantee must collect information on the number of personnel who attend the program, the number of personnel who complete the program, and whether these personnel obtain positions where they provide braille instruction to blind youth and adults following completion of the program.
What are the narrative formatting requirements-number of pages, font styling, size limitations and line spacing requirements?
There are no narrative formatting requirements related to the number of pages, font styling, size limitations, or spacing requirements.
We only track the number of professionals taking the course, not the positions they receive. Are we eligible to apply?
For the Braille Training program, a grantee must collect information on the number of personnel who attend the program, the number of personnel who complete the program, and whether these personnel obtain positions where they provide braille instruction to blind youth and adults following completion of the program. Grantees are required to report annually to the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) on these data.
Is the grant available to the U.S. Territories such as Guam, American Samoa and U.S. Virgin Islands?
Yes. “State” means any of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern Marana Islands, and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands.