Federal education officials will face a variety of obstacles in running a $650 million innovation fund, from an expected flood of applications and concern about favoritism in picking winners, to skepticism about the government's ability to drive innovative change in education. Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Education--which last month offered an early glimpse of its intentions for the competitive grant program under the economic-stimulus package--is already looking for ways to expand and sustain the short-term innovation fund's reach. For one, the Obama administration is seeking another $100 million in fiscal 2010 for the program, formally called the Investing in Innovation (i3) Fund, despite what appears to be congressional reluctance to provide more money. Also, Education Department officials apparently have been reaching out to private philanthropies in hopes of increasing the size and scope of the agency's innovation agenda. One idea believed to be on the table is to get private philanthropies to pool money in a separate fund that would complement the $650 million pot. While the fund pales in comparison with the overall $100 billion in federal education aid under the stimulus program, officials view it as a potentially powerful lever for sparking change.