Research Project and Existing Program Evaluation Proposals

Overview

The Brady Education Foundation seeks to close the opportunity gap between children living in under-resourced and/or under-represented communities and other children. The Foundation pursues its mission by promoting collaboration between researchers and educators via the funding of program evaluations in education that have the potential of informing public policy and private funding. The Foundation is particularly focused on the evaluation of programs that are consistent with a strength-based approach and show promise of being feasible, accessible, effective and sustainable.

The Foundation is currently accepting Research Project (RP) proposals and Existing Program Evaluation (EPE) proposals that have the potential to provide data that will inform how to address disparities in educational opportunities associated with race, ethnicity, and family income.

1. EXISTING PROGRAM EVALUATION (EPE) proposals:
Primary aim: 
What works: The primary aim must concern evaluating the effectiveness of programs designed to promote positive cognitive and/or achievement outcomes for children (birth through 18 years) with the goal of informing ways to close the educational opportunity gaps associated with race, ethnicity, and income.

Secondary aims may also focus on one or more of the following: 
What works for whom, under what conditions: Investigate variations in program effects; that is, test for moderation effects that inform whether effects are stronger for certain groups and/or under certain conditions than other groups or conditions.

Reasons for effects: Investigate mechanisms through which effects occur; that is, test for mediation effects that inform why the program is effective.

Cost-benefit analyses: Compare the total costs of the program (start-up and ongoing operational costs) with its estimated monetary benefits to determine the net cost or benefit associated with the program.

2. RESEARCH PROJECT (RP) proposals:
Primary and secondary aims:
The Primary and any secondary aims must concern obtaining information that will inform how to address disparities in educational opportunities associated with race, ethnicity, and/or family income.

The Foundation favors projects that:
•    Represent strong collaborative relationships between researchers and practitioners and other community stakeholders (as appropriate).
•    Projects that include a member of the team (not necessarily the PI) who has experience leading projects of similar or greater scope. Applicants at all career stages may apply; teams are evaluated in terms of their abilities to successfully carry out the proposed work.
•    Projects that investigate ecocultural strengths (the set of sociocultural practices sustained by community values and beliefs and embedded in children’s daily life which enable the development of foundational skills in racially minoritized and linguistically diverse children).
•    For Existing Program Evaluations, specifically:
o    Projects that evaluate programs consistent with strength-based approaches rather than deficit models and consider the specific and unique assets and needs of children from diverse racial and ethnic groups and/or from low-income communities. Concerning race and ethnicity, the Foundation seeks to increase understanding of what works best for children from diverse racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds (e.g., Black / African Heritage, Latine*, Indigenous Peoples).
o    Projects for which operational funding for the program is already secured so that funding from the Foundation is used only for evaluation activities.
o    Projects that employ randomized control designs (including wait-list control designs when assignment to wait-list condition is randomized) to assess the impact of the program. Comparison group designs may also be employed when strong efforts are made to control for potential confounding variables (e.g., due to selection effects). The Foundation very rarely funds evaluation projects that employ neither randomized control nor comparison group designs.
o    Projects that evaluate programs that show promise of being feasible, accessible, and sustainable
o    Projects that evaluate effects on measurable child outcomes.

The leadership team of the proposed work (at the PI / co-PI level) must include researchers who are representative of the populations included in the study sample in terms of gender, race, and ethnicity. The leadership team can also include researchers who are not representative of the populations included in the sample; co-PI leadership structures are permitted.

There is a two-stage application process:
Stage 1: Applications must be submitted using a Brady Education Foundation application form (either a Stage 1 Program Evaluation Application (EPE) or a Stage 1 Research Project Application (RP), depending on the study aims). Email [email protected] to request a Stage 1 Program Evaluation Application (EPE) or Research Project (RP) Application, as applicable. Applications that do not use either form will be disqualified and not reviewed by the Board.
Stage 2: Full Board review determines if applicant is approved to submit a Stage 2 application. If approved by the Full Board, the applicant will be invited to submit a Stage 2 application; Stage 2 applications are accepted by invitation only. Stage 2 application guidelines are provided when invited to submit.

Awards: [Past awards in 2024 ranged from $100,000 to over $350,00.] Grants are awarded to nonprofit organizations only.
Duration: The proposed project may span up to three years.
Submission Timetable: Stage 1 Applications are accepted throughout the year. [See Sponsor website for complete list of deadlines.]