We are very pleased to announce the finalists for the 2022 Institutional Challenge Grant competition. The Institutional Challenge Grant encourages research institutions to build long-term research-practice partnerships with public agencies or nonprofit organizations in order 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.
“The caliber of the proposals was extraordinary this year. In response, the Institutional Challenge Grant Selection Committee has invited six finalists for the first time since the program began,” said Senior Program Officer Lauren Supplee, who oversees the program. “It seems that the competition is gaining traction at research institutions around the nation as research-practice partnerships are being recognized as a powerful mechanism in addressing inequalities. The projects this year take on a broad range of issues that includes studying multiple strategies to: reduce racial inequalities in educational outcomes, support youth mental health outcomes in workforce development programs, reduce gun and knife violence, and reduce inequalities in postsecondary debt.”
The winning partnership will be announced at the end of March 2022. This announcement will include details about the partnership’s research agenda to reduce inequality, as well as the research institution’s proposed changes in policies and practices to ensure a robust and sustained partnership. The selected institution 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. The Spencer Foundation and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation have partnered with the William T. Grant Foundation to support the Institutional Challenge Grant program.
The 2022 Institutional Challenge Grant finalists are:
Lisa Hooper, University of Northern Iowa; Kingsley Botchway, Waterloo Community School District
Culturally Responsive and Ecologically Valid Practices and Policies: Increasing Equitable Educational Outcomes
Elizabeth Moje, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; Alycia Meriweather, Detroit Public Schools Community District
Changing our Ways to Reduce Youth Inequalities
Enrique Neblett, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; Jasahn M. Larsosa, Focus: HOPE
Focus: Mental Health: A Stress and Workforce Development Intervention Promoting Racial and Economic Justice Among Youth
Nicole Patton-Terry, Florida State University; Gillian Stewart Gregory, Leon County Schools
University Research Partnerships to Reduce Educational Disparity in College Towns: Building a Model in Tallahassee, FL
Laurie Ross, Clark University; Edward Augustus, Worcester, MA
Racial Equity Project (REP)
Sally Wallace, Georgia State University; Tina Villanueva Fernandez, Achieve Atlanta
Reducing Inequities in Postsecondary Debt and Repayment through a Multi-Sector Research-Practice Partnership
Learn more about the Institutional Challenge Grant program.
