Inequality Research

Overview

<p>We fund research that increases understanding in one of our two focus areas:<br>(1) Programs, policies, and practices that reduce inequality in youth outcomes -- to propose research on reducing inequality, applicants should:<br>a. Clearly identify the dimension(s) of inequality to be studied (e.g., race, ethnicity, economic standing, and/or immigrant origins).<br>b. Make a case for the importance of the dimension(s) of inequality.<br>c. Specify the youth outcome(s) to be studied (e.g., academic, social, behavioral, and/or economic).<br>d. Show that the outcomes are currently unequal.<br>Strong proposals will establish a clear link between a particular dimension of inequality and specific youth outcomes. <br>(2) Strategies to improve the use of research evidence in ways that benefit youth process -- as the Foundation commits to renewed interest in this area, we shift our focus from understanding how and under what conditions research is used to understanding how to create those conditions. Our renewed focus includes:<br>a. Investigations to identify, create, and test the structural and social conditions that foster more routine and constructive uses of existing research evidence.<br>b. Studies to identify, create, and test the incentives, structures, and relationships that facilitate the production of new research evidence that responds to decision makers’ needs.<br>c. Studies that investigate whether and under what conditions using high quality research evidence improves decision making and youth outcomes.<br>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.The Foundation does not have a preference for a particular research design or method.</p>