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This webinar, recorded on June 30, 2020, provides real-life examples of what studies on robust strategies for improving evidence use look like in different stages of development and at different levels of public policy.

At our recent William T. Grant Scholars retreat, I had the opportunity to share my reflections with early- and mid-career academics about ways they might meet this social and political moment. In this post I expand on three recommendations: 1) act now but plan for the long game, 2) build your relationships with change partners and your understanding of change processes, and 3) know yourself and care for yourself.

Digital educational tools are touted for their promise in increasing equitable access to enhanced learning opportunities and improving educational outcomes for K-12 students. Yet there is a growing consensus that the thorniest challenges schools and educators face in integrating educational technology are around how digital learning interacts with the systemic social, economic, racial, and historical […]

As we make our way through this terrible time, with the health and economic devastation of the pandemic disproportionately manifested in communities of color compounded by searing examples of racial injustice, we reflect on what more we, as a funder of social science research on youth, can do to combat racial and economic inequality in […]

Adam Gamoran will be joined by research grantees Max Crowley and Itzhak Yanovitzky, each of whom will share details of the specific issues their respective studies aim to address, the strategies they are examining, and ways they have approached the question of how to evaluate impact and assess change.

The swift, systematic review of existing research is jointly designed by both partners to ensure that the questions guiding the synthesis are responsive to real information needs of decision makers.

We are pleased to announce that the Foundation has awarded three Youth Service Capacity-Building Grants to New York City nonprofit organizations that provide services to young people in the five boroughs. Part of a new program, these grants provide up to $60,000 in unrestricted general operating support over three years, with the express purpose of […]

We are proud to announce six new research grants, including five to support studies on reducing inequality in youth outcomes and one to support a study on improving the use of research evidence. Approved at the Foundation’s March board meeting, these grants will build theory and empirical evidence in our two focus areas. The next […]

In light of the lessons learned over the past decade, as well as those we’re learning in real time as the crisis unfolds, I recently wrote a post for Transforming Evidence reflecting on ways the research community can be of service as decision makers seek to chart the proper course in an unsettled environment.

We are pleased to announce the recipients of the 2020 William T. Grant Scholars awards. Launched in 1982, the Scholars Program supports the professional development of promising researchers in the social, behavioral, and health sciences who have received their terminal degrees within the past seven years. To date, the program has sponsored more than 185 […]

The Institutional Challenge Grant encourages university-based research institutes, schools, and centers to build sustained research-practice partnerships with public agencies or nonprofit organizations in order to reduce inequality in youth outcomes. One of the goals of the program is to develop the capacity of partners on both sides to collaborate on producing and using research evidence. […]

The William T. Grant, Spencer, and Doris Duke Charitable Foundations are delighted to announce the winners of the 2020 Institutional Challenge Grant competition. The newest grants are jointly funded by the three Foundations, with a total of nearly $2,000,000 being awarded to Boston College, Northwestern University, and the University of California, Berkeley, all of which […]

Empirical understanding of the “how” of policymakers’ research use can inform our theoretical explanations of the “why”.

As the shock of the current health and economic crisis takes a heavy toll on millions of Americans employed in the service sector, we must remember that millions of children are also vulnerable to dire consequences.