Research and Evaluation Resources

Grants, Funding Research and Evaluation

• The van der Smissen Research Endowment Fund
  
  • Application
  • Background and information on donating  - Betty van der Smissen in Memorium  
  • Betty van der Smissen Eulogy
  • A list of foundations and funding sources that hold potential for Experiential Programming and Evaluation
• ACCT research grant offered for research projects "of relevance to the challenge course industry"
• Some good advice as to how to get rigorous and expensive evaluation funded. Read more ...
• National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) Funding Opportunities:
  
  • Specific Opportunities for Research on Experiential Approaches to Health
  • Current NIDA Funding Opportunities (Current Programs, RFAs, RFPs, and how to...)
• Child Survival Health Grants - USAID
  SUMMARY: The Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 Request for Applications (RFA) for the Child Survival and Health Grants Program (CSHGP) focuses on innovation and operations research (OR) in delivery strategies for high impact maternal, newborn, and child health (MNCH) interventions. In addition, the RFA is seeking to attract new partners to contribute to innovation and expand and improve the capacity of partners to contribute to the Stop Tuberculosis (TB) strategy interventions in targeted countries to meet global TB targets. The CSHGP’s focus on innovation continues to strengthen a major shift in the program and in the criteria for selecting grantees and is closely aligned with the GH Bureau’s mandate for innovation and technical leadership. ELIGIBILITY: County and local governments, nonprofits organizations, for profit organizations, and others. AWARD: 8 for a total of $13,500,000 DEADLINE: March 22, 2010
• The Eldercare Locator - Administration on Aging
  SUMMARY: The Locator assists older adults, their families and caregivers find their way through the maze of services for seniors by identifying trustworthy local support resources. The goal is to provide users with the information and resources they need that will help older persons live independently and safely in their homes and communities for as long as possible. ELIGIBILITY: public or private and nonprofit entities including state and local governments,faith-based organizations, community-based organizations, hospitals, and institutions of higher education. AWARD: 1 for $1,450,000 DEADLINE: March 29, 2010 
• National Service Agency Requests Applications for Social Innovation Fund Competition
  The Agency Announces $50 Million Available for Organizations to Invest in Effective Nonprofits Working in Low-Income Communities.
  Washington, DC—The Corporation for National and Community Service today released a Notice of Federal Funds Availability (NOFA) for the newly-created Social Innovation Fund (SIF). Applications are due by April 8, 2010, 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
  Applicants must apply using the Corporation’s eGrants system. The eGrants Web site is:
  https://egrants.cns.gov/espan/main/login.jsp
  Click here to listen to the conference call held by the Corporation on February 16 on the SIF NOFA.

Research in Experiential Education

• Evidenced-Based Kernels Bibliography Evidence by Dennis D. Embry & Anthony Biglan. The following are direct links to Dennis Embry’s writing, some of it is on program outcomes utilizing Kernels, some is on the development and itemization of Kernels and some is on brain function and understanding the brain and how to train it to do good work.
  
  • The Good Behavior Game: A Best Practice Candidate as a Universal Behavioral Vaccine
  • Nurturing the Genius of Genes: The New Frontier of Education
  • Therapy and Understanding the Brain
  • Initial Behavioral OUtcomes for the PeaceBuilders School-Based Violence Prevention Program
  • Community-Based Prevention Using Simple, Low-Cost, Evidenced-Based Kernels and Behavioral Vaccines
  • Evidenced Based Kernels: Fundamental Units of Behavioral Influence
• What does research say about Experiential Education (pdf)
  Sponsored by Union Pacific Foundation
  Summary of Findings: Learning through experience is the process of acquiring knowledge directly; the learner applies theories and concepts in a real world situation and learns from the outcome. Experiential education is essentially an educational philosophy first developed in the late nineteenth century.
• Why Experiential Education is so Effective
  from Sabre Corporate Development
• In defense of adventure based education and active learning opportunities
  by Jim Cain, Ph.D., Teamwork & Teamplay
• Annotated Bibliographies covering Therapeutic Adventure, EE in schools K-12; Wilderness programming, and Experiential/Outdoor programming
• Experience-based Training & Development Research Studies (Dr. Simon Priest & colleagues, 1989-1997)
• Outdoor Education Research A - Z
• Outdoor Education Research and Evaluation Center
• Indiana University Adventure Research Cache  
• Coalition for Education in the Outdoors Research Symposia Proceedings
• Adventure Therapy Research Literature Reviews
• Gillis & Speelman (2008) Challenge Course Research Bibliography: Studies with Control or Comparison Groups

• AEE’s Journal of Experiential Education
• Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning
• Australian Journal of Outdoor Education
• The Journal of Outdoor Recreation, Education, and Leadership
• Schole: A Journal of Leisure Studies and Recreation Education
• Environmental Education Research
• Refereed Journals that publish Outdoor Education Philosophy, Theory, and Research

• Directory of People in Outdoor Education Research, Evaluation, & Theory-Building 
• Listservs:

1. The AEE Listserv is the listserv sponsored by AEE for its members and offers broad access to researchers and practitioners across many of the sub-disciplines of Experiential Education. To subscribe, send an email to aeelist-join@aeelist.org
2. The Outdoor and Adventure Education Research Listserv based out of the U.K. is an international listserv focused exclusively on research oriented topics
3. The Evidence Based Experiential Education Research Discussion List or “E-BEERS” is a U.S. based listserv focused primarily on the quantitative evaluation of experiential programming
4. The Environmental Education Listserv is based out of the U.K. and is "For those interested in environmental education and education for sustainable living through research and scholarship"
5. The Adventure Therapy Discussion List is based out of the U.S. and is not exclusively Research focused but is utilized by many researchers with an adventure therapy/therapeutic adventure focus
6. The AEE Experience-Based Training and Development listserv ebtd@aeelist.org, ebtd-join@aeelist.org
7. Other Outdoor & Experiential Education Discussion Lists

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