The William T. Grant Foundation invests in high-quality research focused on reducing inequality in youth outcomes and improving the use of research evidence in decisions that affect young people in the United States.

Featured Funding Opportunities

William T. Grant Scholars Program

The online application is now open. The next deadline for applications is July 5, 2023.

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Research Grants on Reducing Inequality

The online application is now open. The next deadline for applications is May 3, 2023.

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Research Grants on Improving the Use of Research Evidence

The online application is now open. The next deadline for applications is May 3, 2023.

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The Digest: Issue 8, Winter 2022/23

Featured Updates

Featured Work

New Resources for Meaningfully Engaging Lived Expertise in Child Welfare Research

For the past several years, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Casey Family Programs, and the William T. Grant Foundation have funded and worked in close partnership with more than 50 individuals representing a broad array of experts, stakeholders, and people with lived experience to develop a 21st Century Research Agenda for a Child and Family Well-Being System. Drawn from this work, a new brief describes the partnership process and outlines guidance for funders in supporting meaningful partnerships between researchers and lived experience stakeholders. The brief and checklist share recommendations from lived experience experts on how they experience research, and recommendations for researchers and funders about who to proceed with respect and rigor.

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STAFF WRITING

Proposing Research on Reducing Inequality: Studying Mechanisms and Investigating the “How and Why” Behind Intervention Outcomes

In this new post, Program Officer Melissa Wooten offers guidance for proposing research on reducing inequality, writing: “Understanding why an intervention produces statistically significant outcomes requires moving away from studies that treat participation as the main variable of interest and toward those that analyze the materials and activities within an intervention as malleable factors that influence youth outcomes.”

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Foundation News

Eleven Finalists Selected for the William T. Grant Scholars Class of 2028

This extraordinary group of early career researchers are committed to stretching their expertise in new directions to tackle a broad array of issues that will certainly make an impact on the lives of many young people.

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Insights

Toward lasting change: Supporting school district central offices’ use of research to address systemic educational inequities

Despite the right intentions, many reforms that aim to tackle systemic inequities in school districts come up against limitations. Why are school districts sometimes seeing disappointing results, and what can district leaders and their research partners do about them? New research points to the promise of an institutional approach that surfaces and recasts premises that drive individual practices, policies, and organizational arrangements.

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GRANTEE WRITING

Partnering through Disruption: Responsive Research with Communities in Crisis

In a new post, grantee Rebecca Lowenhaupt describes how partnering with educators and district leaders during the pandemic yielded new insights about the day-to-day realities of decision-making in rapidly changing environments: “In adapting our work to the new challenges facing our district partners, we learned as much about engaging in productive research-practice partnerships through disruption as we did about the research questions we initially set out to explore.”

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Webinar

Research Grants on Reducing Inequality: An Overview of the Program and How to Apply

In this webinar, Senior Program Officer Jenny Irons and President Adam Gamoran discuss the background and goals of our program of research grants on reducing inequality, provide an overview of eligibility details, required materials, and review criteria, and share practical advice on how to prepare a competitive letter of inquiry.

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Reducing Inequality

Proposing Research on Reducing Inequality: Is Your Study a Fit?

By Jenny Irons

Since 2015, the William T. Grant Foundation has funded exciting and important research that examines programs, polices, and practices to reduce inequality among youth ages 5-25 in the United States. If you are considering applying for a major grant or Officers’ research award in our reducing inequality focus area, we encourage you to closely evaluate whether your proposed study is a fit with our funding interests.

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President's Comment

President’s Comment: Advancing Research on Racial Equity in a Time of Polarization

With their project Public Learning in a Multiracial Democracy, Amy Stuart Wells of Teachers College, Columbia University, and Janelle Scott of the University of California, Berkeley, will synthesize four research literatures that offer evidence about the centrality of race and culture to students’ learning and social development. In supporting the project, we hope to help change the environment for antiracist education in ways that foster greater understanding of the societal benefits of teaching young people about diverse perspectives.

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