Applications Invited for the Spencer Foundation Vision Grants

About the Organization

The Spencer Foundation invests in schooling analysis that cultivates studying and transforms lives.

The Spencer Foundation has been a number one funder of schooling analysis since 1971 and is the solely nationwide basis targeted completely on supporting schooling analysis. We consider schooling analysis is integral to bettering schooling, making schooling methods extra equitable, and growing alternatives to be taught throughout the lifespan.

Our Goals:

• Invest in schooling analysis that’s transformative, methodologically rigorous, and helps create a greater society.
• Support high-quality schooling analysis coaching.
• Broaden the variety of students and scholarship in schooling analysis.
• Strengthen the affect of schooling analysis for bettering academic follow.
• Make schooling analysis extra accessible to public audiences.

About the Grant

The Spencer Foundation invests in analysis to enhance schooling, broadly conceived. There is a vital want for modern, methodologically and disciplinarily numerous, large-scale analysis initiatives to remodel schooling methods for fairness. Importantly, we consider that bold analysis should start with the challenges, issues, and alternatives in schooling methods. To stimulate analysis that addresses this want, the Spencer Foundation seeks to offer students and collaborators with the time, house, sources, and help to plan a large-scale examine or program of analysis: geared towards real-world affect on fairness; drawing on analysis throughout disciplines and strategies; reliant on significant and equitable collaboration with practitioners, policymakers, communities, and different companions; and targeted on reworking academic methods. 

The Vision Grants program funds the collaborative planning of modern, methodologically numerous, interdisciplinary analysis on schooling that contributes to remodeling schooling methods for fairness. Vision Grants are analysis planning grants to carry collectively a crew, for 6 to 12 months, to collaboratively develop bold, large-scale analysis initiatives targeted on reworking academic methods towards higher fairness. This program takes as core that visionary, interdisciplinary, and collaborative analysis initiatives require time, house, and thoughtfulness to incubate and plan. Vision Grants are $75,000 complete and two cycles of this grant program might be held yearly. Different from a lot of Spencer’s different packages, the proposal shouldn’t be a totally fleshed out analysis plan. Instead, that is an invite to assume ahead about what analysis we have to remodel schooling methods towards fairness after which to ascertain how that systems-change will occur, using analysis proof. Teams are inspired to mirror on the individuals who should be concerned from the starting of the analysis design course of, and the way proof from the eventual analysis examine/research may very well be used to really remodel methods. Vision Grant proposals ought to determine the system(s) focused for transformation and the particular levers the crew thinks should be engaged as a way to work towards methods transformation.

Proposals must also explicitly determine:

• a analysis subject and preliminary ideas about scope and methodological appreach of the examine;
• the plan for affect, figuring out the levers for methods change that can seemingly be engaged;
• the collaboration course of; and
• a crew that can result in a totally fleshed out analysis plan by the finish of the grant interval.

While the Vision Grant program stands by itself to spark analysis concepts and collaborations, being awarded a Vision Grant can be a prerequisite for making use of to our Transformative Research Grant program (TRG, $3.5 million), which is designed for large-scale analysis initiatives that remodel schooling methods for fairness.

Eligibility

Proposals to the Vision Grant program should be for planning analysis initiatives that examine schooling and/or studying, broadly conceived, although they’ll greater than seemingly embody students and companions in different sectors and fields. Principal Investigators (PIs) and Co-PIs making use of for a Vision Grant will need to have applicable expertise or an earned doctorate in an educational self-discipline or terminal diploma in knowledgeable subject. While graduate college students could also be a part of the analysis crew, they might not be named the PI or Co-PI on the proposal.

The PI should be affiliated with a non-profit group or public/governmental establishment that’s keen to function the administering group if the grant is awarded. The Spencer Foundation doesn’t award grants on to people. Examples embody non-profit personal or public faculties, universities, college districts, and analysis amenities, in addition to different non-profit organizations with a 501(c)(3) dedication from the IRS (or equal non-profit standing if the group is outdoors of the United States).

PIs and Co-PIs might apply for a Vision Grant if they’ve one other energetic analysis grant from the Spencer Foundation or if they’ve one other Spencer grant proposal in overview.

Proposals are accepted from the U.S. and internationally. All proposals should be submitted in English and budgets should be proposed in U.S. Dollars.

How to Apply

Intent to Apply Form Deadline:

February 11, 2025, 12:00 pm (midday), Central time

Apply now

For extra info please verify the Link