Deadline: 14-Sep-21
The William T Grant Foundation is seeking applications for its Institutional Challenge Grant Program to encourage university-based research institutes, schools, and centers to build sustained research-practice partnerships with public agencies or nonprofit organizations in order to reduce inequality in youth outcomes.
Applications are welcome from partnerships in youth-serving areas such as education, justice, child welfare, mental health, immigration, and workforce development. They especially encourage proposals from teams with African American, Latinx, Native American, and Asian American members in leadership roles. The partnership leadership team includes the principal investigator from the research institution and the lead from the public agency or nonprofit organization.
Goals
- The award supports research institutions to build sustained research-practice partnerships with public agencies or nonprofit organizations in order to reduce inequality in youth outcomes.
- Research institutions will need to address four important goals:
- Build a sustained institutional partnership with a public agency or nonprofit organization.
- Pursue a joint research agenda to reduce inequality in youth outcomes.
- Create institutional change to value research-practice partnerships within research institutions.
- Develop the capacity of both partners to collaborate on producing and using research evidence.
Funding Information
The award will provide $650,000 over three years. This includes:
- Up to $50,000 for up to 9 months of joint planning activities (e.g., refining protocols for partnering, selecting fellows, finalizing partnership and data sharing agreements, etc.).
- Fellowship support for the equivalent of one full-time or two half-time mid-career fellows per year for two years. In addition, universities are required to commit to a 1-for-2 match on the mid-career fellows. The grant pays for two full-time equivalent fellows, and universities are required to fund one additional full-time equivalent fellow.
- Up to three years of support for the partnership to conduct and use research to reduce inequality in youth outcomes.
- Resources to advance the proposed institutional shifts and capacities of both partners.
- Indirect cost allowance of up to 15 percent of total direct costs.
Results
Current grantees have the opportunity to apply for a funded two-year continuation grant in order to solidify the partnership and institutional changes. At the end of the five years, they expect the following results:
- The research institution has established a set of strategies that facilitate sustained research collaborations with public agencies or private nonprofit organizations.
- The public agency or private nonprofit organization has increased its capacity to use research evidence.
- Participating researchers have improved partnership skills.
- The research generated has been used in decision making and is likely to lead to improved outcomes for youth.
Eligibility Criteria
- Eligible research institutions
- The award will be made to an organization, not to an individual. Organizations can include university-based research institutes, schools, or centers. Grants are limited without exception to tax-exempt organizations. Institutions that sit outside of the academy, such as research organizations and think tanks, are not eligible.
- Eligible principal investigators
- Eligible principal investigators are leaders at eligible research institutions. They have visibility, influence on institutional policies and practices, and access to the resources needed to optimize and implement the award. They also possess the skills needed to cultivate trusting relationships with leaders from the partner public agency or nonprofit organization and to ensure the conduct of high-quality research.
- Eligible public agencies or nonprofit organizations
- Eligible public agencies include state or local agencies and their departments and divisions. Nonprofit, tax-exempt organizations are eligible if they are open to the general public and provide or coordinate services for youth ages 5 to 25 in the United States. Eligible agencies and organizations engage in work relevant to youth in the areas of education, justice, child welfare, mental health, immigration, or workforce development and have the resources needed to implement and optimize the award.
- Eligible leaders from the public agency or nonprofit organization
- Eligible leaders from the public agency or nonprofit organization have the authority and influence required to successfully institutionalize the partnership and the use of research evidence in the agency or organization’s work.
- Eligible partnerships
- They are most interested in supporting existing research-practice partnerships that will use the grant to continue learning and growing. While the competition is open to partnerships at different stages of maturity, the grant is intended to add significant value to what already exists.
- Eligible fellows
- All fellows must be mid-career. For researchers, they define mid-career as having received the terminal degree within 8 to 20 years of the date that the application is submitted. (This should be calculated by adding 8 and 20 years to the date the doctoral degree was conferred. For medicine, an institution should use the date from the completion of the first residency.) The research fellow does not need to be an employee of the research institution and can be recruited from another institution. Applicants may appoint one mid-career fellow from the public agency or nonprofit organization. (All other fellows must be researchers). This should be a mid-career professional at the agency or organization who will be called on to facilitate the use of research. A mid-career professional has 8 to 20 years of cumulative experience in his/her current role.
For more information, visit http://wtgrantfoundation.org/grants/institutional-challenge-grant