ACSL School Leadership Research Grants 2026 – Funded Opportunities for African Researchers

The African Centre for School Leadership (ACSL), in partnership with Education Sub-Saharan Africa (ESSA), the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA), and VVOB – Education for Development, with funding from the Mastercard Foundation, invites researchers throughout Africa to apply for the ACSL School Leadership Research Grants 2026. These grants goal to assist high-quality, context-specific, and policy-relevant analysis on faculty management, to strengthen instructional high quality, fairness, and system resilience throughout the continent.

Applications are open to Tanzanian researchers in addition to researchers from different eligible African international locations, providing each Descriptive Action Research Grants (as much as USD 15,000) and Comparative Action Research Grants (as much as USD 35,000).

Background and Purpose of the Grants

School management has been acknowledged as a essential driver of instructional high quality, fairness, and systemic resilience. However, analysis in Africa stays restricted, fragmented, and underfunded, making it troublesome to generate actionable insights that inform coverage and apply.

The ACSL School Leadership Research Grants goal to:

Strengthen native analysis capability by immediately supporting African training researchers.
Produce new, context-specific proof to information faculty management insurance policies and practices.
Encourage collaboration between early-career researchers, girls researchers, practitioners, and establishments.

Promote the era of policy-relevant insights to strengthen training techniques throughout Africa.

This initiative builds on earlier ACSL initiatives, together with the Leaders in Teaching (LIT) mannequin and the Foundation Phase Project (2023–2024), which spanned Rwanda, Kenya, and Ghana, specializing in gender and inclusive management practices.

Who Can Apply?

Eligibility Criteria

For Tanzanian Researchers

Citizenship/Residency: Tanzanian residents primarily based in Tanzania (Mainland or Zanzibar).

Institutional Affiliation: Ideally, a PhD holder affiliated with a Tanzanian college, analysis establishment, authorities ministry, or different acknowledged analysis group.
Exceptional Cases: Experienced researchers and not using a PhD (e.g., postdoctoral researchers, senior analysis fellows, or consultants with intensive expertise) may apply.
Collaboration & Inclusion: Proposals that embrace early-career researchers, girls researchers, practitioners (head academics or middle-tier educators), and/or geographic range are strongly inspired.

Research Alignment: Must align with ACSL precedence faculty management themes (educational management, ICT integration, inclusion and fairness, efficient management fashions, and partnerships/collaboration).

For Other African Countries

Citizenship/Residency: African residents primarily based in Africa. Priority given to researchers from Kenya, Ghana, Rwanda, Uganda, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Malawi.
Institutional Affiliation: PhD holders affiliated with African universities, analysis establishments, ministries of training, or different acknowledged analysis organizations.

Exceptional Cases: Experienced researchers and not using a PhD might apply in the event that they exhibit a robust analysis monitor report.
Collaboration & Inclusion: Proposals ought to exhibit collaboration with early-career researchers, girls, and practitioners. Geographic range is inspired.
Research Alignment: Must align with ACSL precedence themes together with management preparation, Afrocentric management fashions, fairness and inclusion, EdTech, trainer outcomes, systemic enablers, distributed management, and management in emergencies.

Grant Details

Funding Modalities

Descriptive Action Research Grants
- Up to USD 15,000 per grant
- Duration: 12 months
- For small-scale or particular person analysis initiatives
- Focus: Observing and describing faculty management practices with out evaluating interventions
Comparative Action Research Grants
- Up to USD 35,000 per grant
- Duration: 24 months
- For larger-scale analysis, utilized research, or institutional collaborations
- Focus: Comparing approaches or interventions to find out efficient faculty management practices

Grant Coverage

Researcher time (with specified stage of effort and charges)
Research supplies and provides
Data assortment and evaluation
Travel and collaboration-related prices
Dissemination and stakeholder engagement actions

Note: Co-funding from different sources is allowed however ACSL funds mustn’t duplicate pre-existing funding. Overhead prices are usually not supported.

Research Priorities

Tanzania

Instructional Leadership: Balancing pedagogy and administration; management for Competency-Based Curriculum implementation; enhancing trainer efficiency.
ICT Integration in School Leadership: Digital instruments for administration, communication, and educational oversight.
Inclusion & Equity: Women, rural leaders, individuals with disabilities; geographic and cultural disparities.
Best Practices & Models of Effective Leadership: Documenting profitable instances, trainer satisfaction, skilled improvement, and autonomy.
Partnerships & Collaborations: Distributed management fashions and government-CSO-university collaboration.

Other African Countries

Leadership preparation and improvement pathways (gendered dynamics included)
Afrocentric management fashions and information techniques
Equity, inclusion, and social justice in management apply
Leadership in digital transformation and EdTech
Influence on trainer apply and studying outcomes
System enablers (coverage, accountability, autonomy, financing, networks)
Distributed management, together with center management, scholar management, and district-level educational management
School management in emergencies/crises

Application Requirements

Applicants should submit:

Cover Letter (max 500 phrases)
- Introduce the lead researcher and staff
- Motivation and potential affect of the analysis
Research Proposal (max 2000 phrases, excluding references, timelines, appendices)
- Title of venture
- Problem definition and context
- Purpose, analysis questions, and aims
- Methodology (strategy, design, information assortment, sampling, evaluation)
- Ethics and approvals
- Significance of analysis
- Timeline (duties, reporting, dissemination)
Budget Proposal
- Detailed utilizing ACSL Budget Template
- Specify researcher time, information assortment, journey, dissemination
Collaborations
- List collaborators utilizing ACSL template with consent
Curriculum Vitae
- Lead researcher: max 3 pages
- Other candidates: max 2 pages every
References
- Two references confirming lead applicant’s analysis functionality

Application Process

Complete the ACSL Research Grants Application Form
Upload all required paperwork
Submit earlier than January eleventh, 2026 at 11:59 pm GMT

Attend info webinar: December 2nd, 2025, 3:00–4:30 pm EAT / 12:00–1:30 pm GMT
Review, scoring, and choice: Rolling, with award notifications in March 2026
Orientation for grantees: April 2026

Evaluation Criteria

Applications are assessed on:

Alignment with precedence analysis themes
Eligibility compliance
Clarity, rigor, and feasibility of methodology
Policy and apply affect potential
Research staff {qualifications} and expertise
Budget justification and feasibility
Realism of analysis timeline

Key Dates

Activity	Timeline
Call Announcement	November 2025
Information Webinar	December 2nd, 2025
Application Deadline	January eleventh, 2026
Preliminary Review	January 2026
Proposal Review & Scoring	February 2026
Final Selection	March 2026
Grantee Orientation	April 2026
Research Implementation (Descriptive Action Research)	Apr 2026 – Mar 2027
Research Implementation (Comparative Action Research)	Apr 2026 – Mar 2029
Reporting & Dissemination	From April 2027 onwards

The ACSL School Leadership Research Grants 2026 present a singular alternative for African researchers to generate policy-relevant, regionally grounded proof that strengthens faculty management, informs reforms, and improves training outcomes continent-wide. Researchers in Tanzania and different eligible African international locations are inspired to submit sturdy proposals aligned with ACSL precedence themes, fostering equitable, inclusive, and efficient instructional techniques throughout Africa.

Apply at the moment and contribute to shaping the way forward for African training management!

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