Research Project & Existing Program Evaluation Proposals

Overview

The Brady Education Foundation seeks to improve educational outcomes for children, including those living in low-income communities. The Foundation pursues its mission by promoting collaboration among researchers, educators, and other stakeholders via the funding of Research Projects and Program Evaluations.

Research Projects
The Foundation supports research projects that have the potential to inform how to improve educational outcomes for children from birth through age 18. The Foundation is particularly focused on supporting research that is consistent with a strength-based perspective and has the potential to inform future educational research, practice, major philanthropic giving, and/or public policy.

Existing Program Evaluations
The Foundation supports the evaluation of programs that are feasible and sustainable (i.e., can work and be maintained in the real world of educational settings and systems), accessible (i.e., are available to and attainable by the families that need them), and strength-based (i.e., recognize the strengths that children and families bring to the learning environment that can be capitalized upon to promote strong academic outcomes). The Foundation also supports cost-benefit analyses of existing programs whose goals are to promote improved educational outcomes.

The Foundation is currently accepting Research Project (RP) proposals and Existing Program Evaluation (EPE) proposals. The Foundation is particularly focused on supporting projects that are consistent with a strength-based perspective and have the potential to inform future educational research, practice, major philanthropic giving, and/or public policy.

The proposed project may span up to three years (this applies to both Existing Program Evaluations and to Research Project proposals). Projects that would only analyze existing data sets (i.e., secondary data analyses; no new data collected) are expected to be conducted within 1.5 years.

Aims for 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).
• 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.
• Primary and secondary aims:

  • The Primary and any secondary aims must focus on educational research that will inform future education research, practice, philanthropic funding, and/or public policy.
    
     

Aims for Research Project (RP) proposals:

• Primary and secondary aims:
  • The Primary and any secondary aims must focus on developmental or educational research that will inform future education research, practice, philanthropic funding, and/or public policy.
  • Examples of this type of grant include (but are not limited to): measurement development, studies investigating factors associated with achievement outcomes, studies investigating strength families bring to the learning environment and how those can be capitalized upon to promote children’s learning and achievement outcomes, and policy studies.

Funding must be through the Principal Investigator’s home institution (i.e., the home institution of the PI of the team conducting the evaluation). Grants are awarded to nonprofit organizations only.

We do not limit the number of research grant applications by organization. We will accept Letters of Inquiry from multiple principal investigators at the same organization.

The application process for all grants begins with the submission of an LOI. If the LOI is approved, the applicant will be invited to submit a Stage 1 application. Stage 1 applications are accepted by invitation only.

LOI Submission* deadlines (submission windows for LOIs):

• 6/1/25 – 7/31/25
• 9/15/25 – 10/30/25
• 1/15/26 – 2/28/26
• 5/15/26 – 6/30/26
• 9/15-26 – 10/30/26
• 1/15/27 – 2/28/27

*LOIs are accepted during these dates. If invited to submit a Stage 1 application, applicant can submit for this cycle or any future cycle (i.e., an applicant can submit for this cycle or wait to submit their Stage 1 application in a later cycle). If they choose to wait and submit for a later cycle, they are NOT required to resubmit their LOI.

Prior to submitting an LOI, all applicants are strongly encouraged to read through the criteria used to disqualify and review Stage 1 proposals. Download the complete guidelines concerning:

• Factors that cause applications to be disqualified
• Review criteria for EPE applications
• Review criteria for RP applications
• FAQs

Duration: The proposed project may span up to three years (this applies to both Existing Program Evaluations and to Research Project proposals).