Use a two-phase feasibility process — a pre-submission platform feasibility letter and a post-award six-month feasibility phase — before research funds are committed¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · no claims cited

Description¶

SEERNet standardized how researchers establish that a proposed platform study is feasible before funds are committed. Working with IES, the platforms and hub designed two phases: before proposal submission, "a feasibility letter was required from the platform for the research," which researchers and platforms could iterate on; after award, "it was required to have a six-month feasibility phase in which kinks could be worked out before all the funds were committed to the project." This scaffolds researcher-platform collaboration and improves project fit and success.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Platform teams willing to review and respond to feasibility requests, and a funder willing to structure the competition around feasibility milestones

Constraints¶

• Designed for externally funded platform-based research competitions (IES), where proposals are bounded by what a specific DLP can support

Target Learners¶

• educational researchers proposing studies on digital learning platforms

Target Learning Goals¶

• aligning research designs with platform capabilities before funds are committed

Related Strategies¶

• Plan an extended feasibility phase in which research and platform teams jointly refine design, implementation, and logistics

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Roschelle, J., Wortman, A., & Pautz Stephenson, S. (2025, January). Expected and Emerging Requirements for Digital Learning Platforms as Research Infrastructure. Digital Promise. https://doi.org/10.51388/20.500.12265/241