Research Grants
For over three decades, research has shown that young people transitioning to adulthood from foster care in the United States have fared very poorly compared to their peers who have not been in care. This is the case across measures of well-being including educational attainment, employment and earnings, material hardship, and criminal justice system involvement. […]
Improving the use of research evidence in policy and practice is a challenge that implicates researchers across social science disciplines and methodological backgrounds. Here, Vivian Tseng outlines the Foundation’s call for proposals on research to illuminate strategies for improving research use in ways that can improve outcomes for young people. Underscoring how pursuing questions related […]
We are proud to announce three new grants to support research on reducing inequality in youth outcomes and two new grants to support research on improving the use of research evidence in policy and practice. Approved at the Foundation’s spring board meeting, these grants will build theory and empirical evidence in our two focus areas. […]
Photovoice provides a platform for members of communities to share their narratives and articulate the assets and needs of their neighborhoods. This method can enable youth to promote critical conversations and move their neighbors toward collective identification of problems and solutions.
With funding from the William T. Grant Foundation, I have been engaged in a multi-year evaluation with the Boston Mayor’s Office of Workforce Development to assess the impact of the city’s summer jobs program on criminal justice, academic and employment outcomes.
Letters of Inquiry to Propose Research on Reducing Inequality: Identifying the Lever for Change
As you prepare your LOI, ask yourself: what strategy might reduce unequal outcomes among youth ages 5-25 in the United States? Simply, put, what can be changed to make things better?
We are proud to announce five new grants to support research on reducing inequality in youth outcomes. The online application for research grants in both of our focus areas, reducing inequality and improving the use of research evidence, is now open, and updated application guidelines are now available. The next deadline for letters of inquiry […]
The Foundation pursues its mission by supporting research within two focus areas: reducing inequality and improving the use of research evidence. Researchers interested in applying for a research grant must select one focus area. This year, to give potential applicants a more centralized view of the research priorities, application processes, and selection criteria for research […]
We are proud to announce ten new grants to support research on reducing inequality in youth outcomes and improving the use of research evidence in decisions that affect young people. Approved at the Foundation’s spring and summer board meetings, these grants will build theory and empirical evidence in our focus areas. The online application for […]
Two research grantees and four William T. Grant Scholars have been awarded grants to support their development as mentors to junior colleagues. The awardees will mentor promising doctoral students and post-doctoral fellows in enhancing their methodological skills, publication records, and career networks. The mentoring grants program is designed to help Scholars and research grantees hone […]
Youth organizing efforts are opportunities for adults in key positions of leadership to hear, reflect on, and partner with youth to reduce inequity in schools for marginalized youth of color.
Research grantee David Yeager is studying whether an exercise that instills in students the idea that intelligence can be developed over time can reduce disparities in math achievement. While numerous studies have focused on such “growth mindset” interventions, which encourage students to think in ways that support learning, Yeager’s project contributes to the literature by […]
The frameworks and tools of behavioral science have significant potential to overcome persistent challenges regarding the measurement, tracking, and analysis of research evidence use.
Big-data can provide a means of measuring research use that provides significant insights with a favorable balance of costs and benefits.
By expanding and equalizing youth civic engagement, we can begin improve youth outcomes. Research helps by making diagnoses and solutions more rigorous and precise, but youth must be part of the conversation.