The William T. Grant Foundation is very pleased to announce six finalists for the 2024 Institutional Challenge Grant competition. The Institutional Challenge Grant encourages research institutions to build long-term research-practice partnerships with public agencies or nonprofit organizations to reduce inequality in youth outcomes. To do so, research institutions will need to shift their policies and practices to value collaborative research. The program aims to bring research, policy, and practice communities together in ways that advance the use of research evidence and reduce inequality in youth outcomes.
“This year we received an outstanding group of proposals addressing issues so very critical to reducing inequality and expanding opportunity for many young people,” said Senior Program Officer Jenny Irons. “This year’s finalists include partnerships that seek to scale up a youth firearm violence prevention strategy, reduce health disparities for low-income and minoritized populations, improve literacy skills for early elementary students, advance the social and economic mobility of young Black men, identify practices and policies to reduce exposure to violence and disciplinary referrals for Black youth, and strengthen pre-collegiate and collegiate support programs in Latinx neighborhoods.”
…we received an outstanding group of proposals addressing issues so very critical to reducing inequality and expanding opportunity for many young people
The winning partnerships will be announced at the end of March 2024. This announcement will include details about the partnerships’ research agendas to reduce inequality, as well as the research institutions’ proposed changes in policies and practices to ensure a robust and sustained partnership. The selected institutions will receive $650,000 over three years, with the opportunity to apply for a two-year continuation grant to solidify the partnership and institutional changes. The Institutional Challenge Grant is aligned with the Foundation’s long-standing commitment to connect research, policy, and practice. This year, representatives from the Bezos Family Foundation, the Doris Duke Foundation, and the Spencer Foundation also joined the Selection Committee to choose the finalists.
2024 Institutional Challenge Grant finalists
New Orleans Youth Equity Collaborative: A Research Practice Partnership to Reduce Youth Firearm Violence
Julia Fleckman, Tulane University
Troi Bechet, Center for Restorative Approaches
Olin Grant Parker, Orleans Parish School Board
Using Implementation Science to Reduce Health Disparities in Youth & Families: A University-Federally Qualified Health Center Partnership
Kristina Gordon, University of Tennessee-Knoxville
Parinda Khatri, Cherokee Health Systems
The Delaware Early Literacy Research-Practice Partnership: Catalyzing Educational Equality
Gary Henry, University of Delaware
Monica Gant, Delaware Department of Education
Advancing the Social and Economic Mobility of Black Male Youth and Young Men
Mary McKay, Washington University in St. Louis
Flint Fowler, Boys & Girls Club of St. Louis
Valerie Patton, Greater St. Louis Foundation
Cheri D. Lilly-Tillis, Fathers and Families Support Center
Youth Action Research to Promote Youth Thriving and Racial Equity
Elizabeth Miller, University of Pittsburgh
Kathi Elliott, Black Girls Equity Alliance
Strengthening a Holistic, Community-Based Pre-Collegiate and Collegiate Support System to Enhance College Matriculation, Persistence, and Success among Latinx Students in East San José, California: Preparing Racially Minoritized Students for College During Uncertain Times
Pedro Nava, Santa Clara University
Sherry Segura, The Foundation for Hispanic Education
Brittany Alvarez, Latino Education Advancement Foundation
