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Research Funding Resources

  • Seed Grant Funding Opportunities - Seed grant funding opportunities for faculty and graduate students.
  • Penn State Opportunities - Find announcements and applications for limited submissions and other opportunities such as Foundation Relations, Undergraduate Research, the Graduate School, as well as other internal funding programs.
  • Social Science Research Institute - SSRI - Bringing together researchers from different disciplines around emerging areas of study.
  • Research Initiation Grants Program - RIG - Assisting College of Education faculty in the developmental stages of major research projects.
  • College Endowment Research Opportunities  - seed grants to advance K-12 social issue research.
    • Power of Story: One-year projects for research and practice focused on the power of story to advance leadership, pedagogy, and social justice. Funding support by the David H. and Pamela A. Monk Endowment   Funding announcement made early Spring semester, proposal deadline March 1.
    • Social Issues:  One-year projects for capacity building and research and intervention programs. Funded in two categories: 1) Capacity Building Programs developing strategies to lead to a Research intervention Program, and 2) Research and Intervention Programs which is to advance research and intervention programs. Funding support by the King Family Impact Endowment  Funding announcement made mid-Spring semester, proposal deadline April 11.

Funding Institutional - Search thousands of funding opportunities. To register for this PSU service, please use these instructions.

Below is a link to a a timeline of foundations supporting education that have a cyclical funding cycle. Some deadlines are fixed, while others are our estimates based on previous experience. This list will be updated by the College Grants Office and the Office of Foundation Relations.
 

Please note: You must be logged in/authenticated with the Penn State VPN to view the file.  


Cyclical Foundation Funding Timeline

Active Funding Opportunities

INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION SCIENCES

Education Research and Development Center Program (84.305C)

Under this competition, IES will consider only applications that address one of the following topics:

  • Improving Rural Education
  • Using Generative Artificial Intelligence to Augment Teaching and Learning in Classrooms
  • K–12 Teacher Recruitment and Retention Policy
  • Improving Outcomes in Elementary Science Education

IES intends to fund four centers, each focused on one of the topics, subject to receiving applications of sufficient quality. The Education Research and Development Center for Improving Outcomes in Elementary Science Education will be supported in part with funding from the National Science Foundation.

 

IES will provide virtual office hours for this new competition.  Please see the Digital Technical Assistance web page for additional details.

 

NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES 

no relevant opportunities

 

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION

NSF's INTERN program:  A supplemental funding program available to PIs and CO-Pis of active NSF awards that provides "for one or more graduate students to gain knowledge, skills and experiences that will augment their preparation for a successful long-term career through an internship in a non-academic setting”.

Improving Undergraduate STEM Education (IUSE)

https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2023/nsf23510/nsf23510.htm

  • Deadline: January 17, 2024 5:00p Eastern for Level 1 proposals only
  • Institutional and Community Transformation (Capacity-Building and Level 1) proposals
  • Engaged Student Learning (Level 1) proposals


 

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

 

 

 

 

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES - ADMINISTRATION FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES

no relevant opportunities

 

 

No relevant announcements at this time.

Arnold Ventures

Rigorous Impact Evaluations of Student Success Programs and Practices in Higher Education

Arnold Ventures (AV) is a nonpartisan philanthropy whose core mission is to invest in evidence-based solutions that maximize opportunity and minimize injustice. The Higher Education initiative seeks to identify and scale effective practices that improve student success and address equity gaps in higher education. Our ultimate goal in this effort is to build credible evidence about “what works” to improve student success outcomes and, in particular, to increase the number of interventions rigorously shown to produce important improvements in outcomes including but not limited to student learning, persistence, degree or certificate completion, job placement, post-college earnings, and debt burden.

For the purposes of this RFP, such interventions may be broadly defined and, for example, may include programs that target high school students or others not currently enrolled in college, so long as the proposed study will measure the outcomes of interest listed above.

 

INTERNAL DEADLINE:  Revolving Submission
ORGANIZATION DEADLINE:
Submissions are accepted on a rolling basis; there is no deadline

 

Advanced Education Research & Development Fund

No current announcements

Association of Public Land Grant Universities (APLU)

No current announcements

 

Brady Education Foundation

No current announcements

 

Caplan Foundation for Early Childhood Education

No current announcements

 

Foundation for Child Development

No current announcements

 

The Grable Foundation

No current announcements

 

Health Resources & Services Administration

No current announcements

 

Mellon Foundation

No current announcements.

 

Richard King Mellon Foundation

The Richard King Mellon Foundation's mission is to improve the competitive position of the region; strengthen the vitality of southwestern Pennsylvania, particularly the City of Pittsburgh and its neighborhoods; and protect important habitats and amenities in western Pennsylvania and other key landscapes. Founded in 1947, the Foundation is the largest foundation in southwestern Pennsylvania, and one of the 50 largest in the world.
 

Addressing K-12 Learning Loss

Request for Proposals that aims to reduce or eliminate disparities in math, reading, and science literacy among young people ages zero to 24 years who reside in low-income households in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties. Proposals submitted for this Request for Proposals fit within the Economic Mobility program’s Educational Attainment investment area. The Foundation will consider all submitted proposals that urgently seek to increase student success in math, reading, and science literacy by providing learning opportunities in in-school, afterschool, or other wraparound learning settings that accelerate and deepen students’ mastery. The Foundation also strongly encourages collaborative proposals that engage multiple partners in the proposed activities, including sharing missions and goals, co-creating and sharing programs and services, and partnering in systems change.

Interested faculty should contact Jara Dorsey-Lash,  [email protected], in Foundation Relations.

 

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

Indigenous-led Solutions to Advance Health Equity and Wellbeing

If you plan on submitting an LOI, please contact: Sophie Penny Leach, Ph.D., Director of Foundation Relations at [email protected] (814-867-0547), to discuss your submission information.*


Introduction & Purpose

The purpose of this call for proposals (CFP) is to support Indigenous-led systematic inquiry to enhance the health and wellbeing of Indigenous Peoples and generate approaches to improve health equity. This will be achieved by funding community-prioritized investigation, elevating and integrating Indigenous cultures and knowledge-building practices. To support a diverse range of projects tailored to different phases of development and scope, awards will be made through two tracks, as described later in this solicitation.

Learn more about this Evidence for Action funding opportunity.

Total Awards

 Number of Awards: The number of grants to be awarded (both by track and in total) will be determined based on the number, size, and scope of the studies proposed, and we expect to award grants in a range of sizes and durations.

• Amount of Award: A total of up to $4 million will be awarded through this CFP.

Track 1: Initiating and Developing Research Capacity and Infrastructure

  • There is not an explicit budget cap for awards funded under this track, but we expect that grants will be in the approximate range of $100,000–$400,000 total. We anticipate much of the grant duration to involve relationship-building, trust development, and community feedback processes. Proposals must demonstrate a clear plan for ongoing and sustained collaboration and continued work with newly engaged partners.

Track 2: Supporting Later-Stage, Sustained Research Efforts

  • There is not an explicit budget cap for awards funded under this track, but we expect grants will be in the range of approximately $500,000–$750,000 total. We expect project teams to demonstrate established, equitable partnerships with Indigenous communities who can begin testing a solution or strategy as part of their project.
    • Duration of Awards: Preference is for award durations between two and three years (24–36 months), but durations of up to five years (60 months) will be considered with reasonable justification. 

Eligibility & Selection Criteria

  • Awards will be made to organizations, not to individuals.
  • Preference will be given to applicant organizations that are Tribal entities (including those that are state recognized, federally recognized, or have no formal recognition status) or Indigenous-Serving Organizations, including Urban Indian Organizations. Applicant organizations must be based in the United States or its territories.
  • We strive to support research teams with diverse lived experiences, including diversity of lived experiences related to race, ethnicity, gender, ability, sexual orientation, and seniority. We particularly encourage the following individuals to apply:
  • Project directors who are American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, or otherwise Indigenous to the United States or its territories;
  • Researchers from organizations that are underrepresented among RWJF grantee institutions, including Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), Alaska Native-Serving Institutions, Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions, Asian American/Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions, and other Indigenous-Serving Organizations; and
  • First-time applicants for an RWJF grant.
  • Applicants who have been or are currently RWJF grantees are eligible to apply.
  • Only one organization may serve as the lead applicant.

For Track 1, this must be a Tribal entity or Indigenous-Serving Organization (A Penn State or Penn State Academic Medicine or Penn State Health researcher interested in Track 1 would need to work with an external partner that would apply for the funding and grant PSU a sub-award).

For Track 2, this is not required to be a Tribal entity or Indigenous-Serving Organization.

Key Dates & Deadlines

  • December 7, 2023 (2:00–3:30 p.m. Eastern Time): Optional applicant webinar. Registration is required through this link.
  • February 16, 2024 * Internal deadline to connect Sophie Penney Leach or Jess Kiely*
  • March 1, 2024 (3:00 p.m. Eastern Time): Funder deadline for receipt of brief proposals.
  • April 1, 2024: Applicants are notified whether they are invited to submit full proposals.
  • April 5, 2024 *Deadline for informing Sophie Penney Leach or Jess Kiely if invited to full proposal*
  • June 28, 2024 (3:00 p.m. Eastern Time): Deadline for receipt of full proposals (by invitation only).
  • July 31, 2024: Applicants are notified of review committee decisions.
  • October 1, 2024: Grant start date.

*Interested applicants should plan on meeting briefly with Dr. Leach, [email protected], and their research administrator before registering on the portal or submitting a proposal to discuss process and helpful background information.*


Russell Sage Foundation

No current announcements

 

Simons Foundation


Spencer Foundation

Research Grants on Education - Large

Program Description

The Spencer Foundation's Large Research Grants on Education Program supports education research projects that will contribute to the improvement of education, broadly conceived. We accept Intent to Apply forms twice a year.

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. Our 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.

Funding Range

Projects range from one to five years. We anticipate awarding grants with budgets across each of the following funding tiers -- $125,000 to 250,000; $250,001 to $375,000; and $375,001 to $500,000 (including up to 15% indirect cost charges). Within each of our funding tiers, we evaluate projects within tier and strongly encourage applicants to submit for funding that best fits their project rather than applying for the highest amount.

  • Internal Submission Deadline: January 17, 2024
  • Funding Organization's Deadline: January 24, 2024

 

Vision Grants

Purpose

The Spencer Foundation invests in research to improve education, broadly conceived. We have identified a critical need for innovative, methodologically and disciplinarily diverse, large-scale research projects to transform education systems for equity. Importantly, we believe that ambitious visions must begin with the challenges, problems, and opportunities in education systems. To stimulate research that addresses this need, the Spencer Foundation is investing in a new program designed to provide scholars with the time, space, resources, and scaffolding to plan a large-scale study or program of research.

The Vision Grants program is designed to support the field in generating new ways of approaching educational challenges collaboratively and in creative and innovative ways to disrupt long-standing inequities toward more just and equitable systems. While we are in a time of major challenges in education, we are also in a moment of possibility. We believe that visionary scholarship, conducted in generative collaboration with stakeholders in the field, including policy-makers, practitioners, and communities, can contribute to reimagining and transforming educational systems toward equity. Vision Grants will provide planning funds for teams to develop proposals for projects that:

  • Focus on key challenges and opportunities that have the potential for increasing equity in education
  • Engage across disciplines and/or research methods
  • Collaborate with practitioners, policymakers, and communities (and other stakeholders)
  • Have clear sightlines to transformational change through research at a systemic level

Award Details

Vision Grants are $75,000 for a duration of between 6 and 12 months and may not include indirect costs. Vision Grants are intended to provide planning grant support to teams of researchers, policy-makers, practitioners, and/or community members to develop thoughtful and rigorous studies and programs of research.

The Intent to Apply is not more than 200 words and has no impact on proposal review. It is simply a mechanism to assist Spencer’s internal planning and program management. The Intent to Apply is required to submit a proposal to the Vision Grants program.

Eligibility

Proposals to the Vision Grant program must be for developing academic research projects that aim to study education and/or learning, broadly conceived, though they can include other sectors in addition to education. Principal Investigators (PIs) and Co-PIs applying for a Vision Grant must have appropriate experience or an earned doctorate in an academic discipline or terminal degree in a professional field. 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 or public/governmental institution that is willing to serve as the administering organization if the grant is awarded. PIs and Co-PIs may apply for a Vision Grant if they have another active research grant from the Spencer Foundation or if they have another Spencer grant proposal in review.

Note: If you are awarded a Vision Grant, you have the option to apply for a Transformative Research Grant, with awards to carry out the planned research project with budgets up to $3.5M. In addition to considering the development of a proposal for the Transformative Research Grant program, Vision Grant Awardees are also eligible to submit a proposal to other Spencer Foundation grant programs or may choose to submit a proposal to another funding agency.

  • Internal Submission Deadline:  January 31, 2024
  • Funding Organization's Deadline:  March 7, 2024


Stranahan Foundation
 

 

* If you plan on applying, please contact: Jara Dorsey-Lash, Associate Director of Foundation Relations, at [email protected] if you are at University Park or commonwealth campuses before preparing a submission or registering on the portal *

 

Program Description

The Stranahan Foundation’s Early Childhood Education Strategy focuses on increasing access to high-quality early care and education for low-income children (birth to five) by investing in developing and retaining a high-quality, thriving early educator workforce.

The spring 2024 funding cycle will support organizations and projects that advance our Innovation and Proven Professional Development strategies. This cycle has up to $1.1 million in funding available and is focused on soliciting proposals for the following types of projects

  • Development, piloting, and refinement of new approaches for improving knowledge, skills, or practices or growing and sustaining a thriving workforce of early childhood professionals. Innovation requests must have the following:
  • A clearly defined logic model and plan for evaluating implementation and outcomes related to classroom environments, teacher practices, and, ideally, child learning.
  • Provide preliminary evidence to advance the applicant’s and Foundation’s understanding of “what works,” for whom, and under what conditions” by the end of the grant period.
  • Have an intention to repeat or scale the innovative approach, if proven successful, to multiple early childhood settings or various geographies.
  • Expansion or modifications to a clearly defined, proven professional development model enabling future expansion or implementation in a new childhood setting. Proven Professional Development requests must have the following:
  • Substantial evidence of positive outcomes for early childhood professionals, classroom environments, and, ideally, child learning. The Foundation defines “substantial” as consistent with the definitions of What Works Clearinghouse or ESSA Tier 1 or 2 evidence.
    • Clear evidence of repeated, successful implementation in multiple early childhood settings or various geographies.

This cycle, we are particularly interested in approaches and models designed to 1) build early childhood professionals’ knowledge, skills, and classroom practices to support children’s behavioral and social-emotional health and/or 2) grow the pipeline of high-quality educators in early childhood settings. These were the most requested needs by more than 50+ early childhood providers in our summer 2023 Provider cycle.

Additional consideration will be given to proposals that demonstrate any of the following:

  • A strong track record of working with early childhood education professionals to produce positive learning outcomes for young children, especially children from low-income families.
  • A deep understanding of how race, ethnicity, language, socio-economic status, and other factors impact access to high-quality early childhood education and career opportunities for early childhood professionals.
  • Organization leadership (board and staff) represent the communities most affected by disparities in early childhood outcomes.
  • Provide an opportunity to expand, pilot, or develop promising early-stage ideas with a clear rationale for how time-limited funding will enable the proposal to reach its long-term goals.
  • Potential to expand and deepen impact on early childhood professionals and young children after the proposed grant ends.

Eligibility

This call is open to local, state, and national U.S.-based nonprofit organizations, fiscally sponsored organizations, public school districts, and higher education institutions.

Additional organization-eligibility criteria include having a demonstrated:

  • Commitment to serving early childhood providers and professionals whose student populations comprise at least 60% of children from low-income families.
  • Understanding and track record of directly collaborating with families, communities, and the early childhood professionals they seek to impact.
  • Organization capacity and leadership to execute the proposed work, ensure quality, and use data to inform continuous improvement.

Award Information

  • Project Period: up to 3 years beginning September 2024
  • Total budget: $300,000 ($100,000 per year)
  • Indirect costs are limited to 10%

How to Apply

*Notify your unit's research office/ research administrator of your intent to apply and contact Jara Dorsey-Lash at [email protected]. The internal deadline of January 8th, 2024 is for sending a proposal draft for review before submission.*

The submission deadline is Tuesday, January 16, 2024 at 11:59 a.m. Eastern Time

*Do not sign up on the portal before contacting your unit's research administrator as they will need to conduct an internal review first. Applications must be submitted via the foundation's online portal. Applications should be started and submitted under the applicant’s own account.


Van Ameringen Foundation

No current announcements.

 

W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research

 

William Penn Foundation

No current announcements.

 

William T. Grant Foundation

 

* If you plan on applying, please contact: Jara Dorsey-Lash, Associate Director of Foundation Relations, at [email protected] to discuss your submission information.*

 

Program Description

This program funds research studies that aim to build, test, or increase understanding of programs, policies, or practices to reduce inequality in the academic, social, behavioral, or economic outcomes of young people ages 5-25 in the United States, along dimensions of race, ethnicity, economic standing, language minority status, or immigrant origins.

Our focus on reducing inequality grew out of our view that research can do more than help us understand the problem of inequality—it can generate effective responses. We believe that it is time to build stronger bodies of knowledge on how to reduce inequality in the United States and to move beyond the mounting research evidence about the scope, causes, and consequences of inequality.

Our research interests center on studies that examine ways to reduce inequality in youth outcomes. We fund:

  • Descriptive studies that describe, explore, or explain how programs, practices, or policies reduce inequality.
  • Intervention studies that provide causal evidence on the effectiveness of programs or policies for reducing inequality.
  • Measurement development studies that can enhance the work of researchers, practitioners, or policymakers to reduce inequality.

We invite studies from a range of disciplines, fields, and methods, and we encourage investigations into various youth-serving systems, including justice, housing, child welfare, mental health, and education.

Recognizing that findings about programs and practices that reduce inequality will have limited societal impact until the structures that create inequality in the first place have been transformed, the Foundation is particularly interested in research to uproot systemic racism and the structural foundations of inequality that limit the life chances of young people.

Award Details

  • Major Research Grants are $100,000-$600,000 over 2-3 years, including up to 15% in indirect costs. Total timeline for Major Research Grants to funding decision is generally 10-15 months.
  • Officers' research grants are $25,000-$50,000 over 1-2 years, including up to 15% in indirect costs. Total timeline for Officers' research grants to funding decision is generally 8 weeks.
  • Review decisions are emailed to investigators within eight weeks of the LOI submission.

Eligibility Criteria

  • Grants are made only to tax-exempt organizations, not individuals.
  • Please refer to RA03 to determine eligibility to serve as a PI.
  • Non-research activities such as program implementation and operational costs are not supported.

Key Dates

  • Internal Deadline to connect with Foundation Relations and RA: January 3, 2024.
  • Letter of Inquiry Due: January 10, 2024, 3pm ET
  • Notification regarding LOI status: March 2024
  • Full Proposal Due: September or November 2024
  • Award Start Date: March 2025 - July 2025

How to Apply

*Notify your unit's research office/ research administrator of your intent to apply and contact Jara Dorsey-Lash at [email protected]. The internal deadline of January 8th, 2024 is for sending a proposal draft for review before submission.*

The submission deadline is Wednesday, January 10, 2024 at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time

*Do not sign up on the portal before contacting your unit's research administrator as they will need to conduct an internal review first. Applications must be submitted via the foundation's online portal. Applications should be started and submitted under the applicant’s own account.


For proposal submission details, please use Penn State's InfoReady website:  https://psu.infoready4.com/

 

No relevant announcements at this time.

LIMITED SUBMISSIONS

Please visit the Limited Submissions website to complete the Internal Submission Requirements.  See Section titled “Currently Accepting Notices of Intent/Proposals”, select the opportunity “Apply Here.”

 

ANDREW W. MELLON FOUNDATION

No relevant announcements at this time.

 

CORPORATE ENGAGEMENT CENTER

No relevant announcements at this time.


INSTITUTE FOR COMPUTATIONAL and DATA SCIENCES (ICDS)

 

SOCIAL SCIENCES INSTITUTE

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