Froebel Trust Open Call Research Grant 2019

Deadline: 19 September 2019

The Froebel Trust has announced an Open Call Research Grants 2019 to fund high quality research, which builds upon and contributes to knowledge and understanding of Froebelian philosophy, principles and approaches.

The Trust aims to use its funded research to inform discussions with policy makers and to provide resources for parents and professionals who work with young children and their families.

While the Trust does not set a minimum or maximum budget, applicants should note that the average research grant awarded in 2018 was £30,000. Please note that the Trust is interested in projects which demonstrate strong value for money and therefore applicants should factor this into proposals if they wish to apply for a large or multi-year grant.

Froebelian Principles

• The integrity of childhood in its own right
• The relationship of every child to family, community, nature, culture and society
• The uniqueness of every child’s capacity and potential
• The holistic nature of the development of every child
• The role of play and creativity as central integrating elements in development and learning
• The right of children to protection from harm or abuse and to the promotion of their overall well-being

Research Priorities

1. Access to high quality early years provision for families in disadvantaged areas
2. Transition to primary school
3. Nurturing high quality, stable and sensitive interactions between adults / staff and children / families
4. Developing pedagogies of play and resourcing for play
5. Finding pedagogies that are inclusive of and celebrate diversity

Strategic Objectives

• To contribute to deepening understanding of:
  • The theoretical underpinning of Froebelian principles
  • How Froebelian principles may contribute to high quality early childhood development, care and education
• To provide evidence of how effective practice that follows those principles can be developed and supported for children in care and education settings.

Eligibility Criteria

1. The scheme is open to research and educational institutions and individuals who share their goal of increasing and advancing knowledge and debate about Froebelian principles and their application in the teaching, learning and development of children from birth to 8 years. They actively encourage new applicants who have not previously received funding from the Trust.
2. Applicants do not need to be based in the UK but applications should be written in English and budgets should be in GB £ sterling.
3. Partnership projects are welcome. In such cases, a lead institution should be identified. In all cases, one named person should act as Lead Applicant. This is the individual with whom the Trust will correspond about the application and (if successful) the project. The Lead Applicant is normally considered by the Trust to be contractual partner; the grant holder (i.e. the recipient of the grant funding); and with responsibility for meeting the terms and conditions of the award.

Funding Criteria

• Research grants can cover the costs of:
  • Personnel costs directly incurred exclusively in relation to the project, including salary/visiting lecturer replacement or cover
  • Direct activity and production costs including venue hire, equipment and materials, project travel costs, costs of attendance at relevant conferences
  • Project administration costs where these are not already covered by other funding
  • Project publicity costs, including launch event costs
  • Disclosure and Barring Service checks for applications in the UK and NI
  • VAT on fees where the VAT cannot be reclaimed
• Grants cannot cover the costs of:
  • Full economic costs
  • Salary costs of staff who are already funded by their organization
  • Core overheads of the applying organisation not related to the project, i.e. heating, rent, etc.
  • Expenses incurred in submitting an application (including attending interviews)
  • Bursaries or other costs for Masters degrees or PhDs
  • Costs arising prior to the start date of the project

Application Process

• Interested applicants can apply online via given website.
• The online application will ask to provide:
  • General information about the lead applicant(s) and project team
  • Details about the applicant proposed research and its fit with the Froebel Trust’s aims
  • Budget details in an Excel spreadsheet
  • Data protection and (optional) equalities information

For more information, please visit https://www.froebel.org.uk/apply/open-call-research-grants/