Spencer Foundation: Small Research Grants

The Small Research Grants on Education Program supports education research projects that will contribute to the improvement of education, broadly conceived. This program is "field-initiated" in that proposal submissions are not in response to a specific request for a particular research topic, discipline, design, method, or location. The goal for this program is to support rigorous, intellectually ambitious, and technically sound research that is relevant to the most pressing questions and compelling opportunities in education. The Foundation seeks to support scholarship that develops new foundational knowledge that may have a lasting impact on educational discourse. The Foundation recognizes that learning occurs across the life course as well as across settings--from the classroom to the workplace, to family and community contexts and even onto the playing field--any of which may, in the right circumstance, provide the basis for rewarding study that makes significant contributions to the field. The Foundation values work that fosters creative and open-minded scholarship, engages in deep inquiry, and examines robust questions related to education. To this end, this program supports proposals from multiple disciplinary and methodological perspectives, both domestically and internationally, from scholars at various stages in their career. The Foundation anticipates that proposals will span a wide range of topics and disciplines that innovatively investigate questions central to education, including for example education, anthropology, philosophy, psychology, sociology, economics, history, or neuroscience, amongst others. Proposals to the Research Grants on Education program must be for academic research projects that aim to study education. Proposals for activities other than research, or proposals for research studies focused on areas other than education, are not eligible. Principal Investigators (PIs) and Co-PIs applying for a Small Research Grant on Education must have an earned doctorate in an academic discipline or professional field, or appropriate experience in an education research-related profession. While graduate students may be part of the research team, they may not be named the PI or Co-PI on the proposal. The PI must be affiliated with a non-profit organization that is willing to serve as the administering organization if the grant is awarded. The Spencer Foundation does not award grants directly to individuals. Examples include non-profit colleges, universities, school districts, and research facilities, as well as other non-profit organizations with a 501(c)(3) determination from the IRS. Small Research Grants on Education budgets are limited to $50,000 and may not include indirect cost charges per Spencer’s policy. Projects proposed may not be longer than 5 years in duration.