From the IES Director: The Value of Cost Analysis

Institute of Education Sciences (IES) Director Mark Schneider recently commented that among the IES Standards for Excellence in Education Research, SEER Principals, cost analysis arguably presents the greatest challenge to a field in which economists are few and far between and cost analysis training is rare.

IES had been increasing its emphasis on cost analysis for several years before making it a required component for most grants in 2020. The reason behind this requirement is simple: IES believes it is not sufficient to recommend an effective intervention to educators without also informing them about the resources required to implement the intervention.

IES recognizes its responsibility for providing technical assistance to support high-quality cost analysis. In his recent blog The Value of Cost Analysis, Dr. Schneider outlines some of the resources IES has funded to assist with this year’s competitions and requests feedback on these resources and how to plan for next year’s competitions.

• Cost Analysis: A Starter Kit is designed for grant applicants who are new to cost analysis. The kit provides a three-phased approach to the basics of cost analysis, setting the foundation for more complex economic analyses. This is accompanied by an Excel Spreadsheet to help structure the actual cost analysis work.

• The Cost Analysis in Practice (CAP) Project provides free, on-demand tools, guidance, and technical assistance. Researchers and practitioners can submit a Help Desk Request for more information about conducting cost analysis and will be connected with a member of the CAP Project Team. Several resources, including the CAP Cost Analysis Standards & Guidelines, an informative infographic, and an Introduction to Cost Analysis video (the first of many planned videos), are designed to ease entry into the world of cost analysis.

• The IES Methods Training in Cost-Effectiveness and Economic Evaluation is planning to provide in-person training sessions in the summer of 2021, 2022, and 2023. The program will serve two cohorts each summer. One cohort is designed for researchers and evaluators, enabling them to apply methods of economic evaluation to educational policy issues. The second cohort is designed for state and local education employees with a focus on the specific needs of education offices. The program also has developed online courses and training materials such as Methods Briefs, CostOut, Relevance & Credibility Indices, DecisionMaker, and Workshops and Training Events. If you would like to schedule a specialized training workshop for your institution or center, please contact cbcse@tc.columbia.edu to discuss pricing and options.

Please e-mail Dr. Schneider directly at Mark.Schneider@ed.gov with any comments on cost analysis or feedback on any of the resources noted above.