Annual Research & Officer Research Grants

Overview

<p>Eligibility Requirements -- Research project advances the Foundation’s interests in understanding programs, policies, and practices that reduce inequality or improving the use of research evidence. Research project has compelling relevance for programs, policies, and practices affecting youth ages 5-25 in the U.S. Funds primarily support research activities, not intervention or service costs. <br>Focus Areas -- We fund research that increases understanding in one of our two focus areas: (a) programs, policies, and practices that reduce inequality in youth outcomes, and (b) strategies to improve the use of research evidence in ways that benefit youth. We seek research that builds stronger theory and empirical evidence in these two areas. We intend for the research we support to inform change. While we do not expect that any one study will create that change, the research should contribute to a body of useful knowledge to improve the lives of young people. Considerations -- The Foundation does not have a preference for a particular research design or method. We begin application reviews by looking at the research questions or hypotheses. Then we evaluate whether the proposed research designs and methods will provide strong data and empirical evidence on those questions. The strongest proposals incorporate data from multiple sources and often involve multi-disciplinary teams. The Foundation also strives to support a diverse group of researchers in terms of race, ethnicity, gender, and seniority. We especially encourage high-quality research projects led by African American, Latino, Native American, and Asian American researchers. For smaller projects, we have a separate funding mechanism, Officers’ Research grants. These awards cover budgets up to $50,000. Some are stand-alone projects that fit our research focus areas; others build off of larger projects. Junior scholars of color are encouraged to apply for these grants as a way to build their research programs.</p>