Spencer Foundation Invites Proposals for Education Research Grants – June 18

Posted by Spencer Foundation on May 26, 2020

Founded in 1971, the Spencer Foundation is the only national foundation focused exclusively on supporting education research.

To that end, the foundation is accepting applications for its Research Grants on Education program, which provides support to education research projects with the potential to contribute to the improvement of education, broadly conceived. Through the program, the foundation supports work that fosters creative and open-minded scholarship, engages in deep inquiry, and examines robust questions related to education. Proposals with multiple disciplinary and methodological perspectives, both domestically and internationally, and from scholars at various stages in their career will be supported.

Proposals may address a wide range of topics and disciplines that creatively investigate questions central to education, including education, anthropology, philosophy, psychology, sociology, law, economics, history, and neuroscience. Researchers may incorporate data from multiple and varied sources, span a sufficient length of time as to achieve a depth of understanding, and/or work closely with practitioners or community members over the life of the project. Projects that thoughtfully consider the trajectories, implications, and potential impacts of their findings, including how the knowledge may be shared and utilized across the field, in practice, in policy making, or with the broader public, are encouraged. (The program is “field-initiated,” in that proposals are not requested in response to a particular research topic, discipline, design, or method.) Research may utilize a wide array of research methods, including quantitative, qualitative, mixed-methods, ethnographies, design-based research, participatory methods, and historical research.

Through the program, projects with budgets ranging from $125,000 to $500,000 over one to five years will be supported.

Intent to Apply is due June 18, Upon review, selected applicants will be invited to submit a full proposal by July 14, 2020.

To be eligible, principal investigators and co-PIs must have an earned doctorate in an academic discipline or professional field or have obtained appropriate experience in an education research-related profession. Applicants must be affiliated with a college, university, school district, nonprofit research facility, or nonprofit cultural institution.

Link to complete RFP: https://www.spencer.org/grant_types/large-research-grant

See the Spencer Foundation website for complete program guidelines and application instructions: https://www.spencer.org/