Blog
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?
Some of the most impactful contributions universities make to society stem from faculty members’ external engagement—i.e., researcher engagement with policymakers and practitioners. A faculty member’s meeting with a CDC official can lead to new public health guidelines. A faculty member’s op-ed on student debt forgiveness can catalyze executive action. A faculty member’s congressional testimony on […]
The William T. Grant Foundation is pleased to welcome Alex Doñé and Elizabeth Birr Moje to our our Board of Trustees. Alex Doñé is a Managing Director at Platinum Equity, where he is responsible for global functions related to strategic planning, investor capital development, and other firm leadership initiatives. Previously, he was the Deputy Comptroller […]
Four New Research Grants to Build Theory and Evidence on Ways to Reduce Inequality in Youth Outcomes
We are pleased to announce four new research grants for studies in our reducing inequality focus area. Approved at the Foundation’s June Board meeting, these awards will help build theory and empirical evidence on promising strategies for reducing inequality in the outcomes of young people ages 5-25 in the U.S. Sign up for the Foundation’s […]
The Foundation is pleased to announce that three research grantees have been awarded grants to support their development as mentors to junior researchers of color. 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 William T. […]
We are pleased to announce that Rosanna Aybar has been promoted to Senior Vice President, Finance and Administration. In this role, Rosanna will continue to lead finance, human resources, and IT, and will also provide expanded support and strategic planning for overall strategy, legal matters, and grants management operations. “This promotion recognizes Rosanna’s momentous contributions […]
Someone asked me recently what I will miss the most about my time at the Foundation. Beyond the shadow of a doubt, I will miss the relationships and communities we have built together.
In recent years, research interest in knowledge brokerage has expanded across disciplines as scholars and practitioners alike seek to better understand the mechanisms that impact use of research evidence in policymaking processes. With funding from the William T. Grant Foundation, we endeavored upon a multi-year process to bring together scholars from health, education, psychology and […]
One of the namesake challenges of the Institutional Challenge Grant is creating structural changes within research institutions in ways that value research-practice partnerships. In other words, we ask that applicants “propose a feasible strategy for institutional change that addresses observed structural, motivational, and financial barriers that inhibit research-practice partnerships at their institution.” While we do […]
The William T. Grant Foundation is delighted to announce the return of Kimberly A. DuMont in the role of Senior Vice President of Program, effective October 1, 2022. Kim was previously employed at the Foundation from 2011-2020 as program officer and senior program officer. She was instrumental in the 2015 reshaping of the Foundation’s initiative […]
Yesterday, The Foundation for Child Development announced that Vivian Tseng would become its new president and chief executive officer. Here at the William T. Grant Foundation, the announcement comes with a mix of great pride at seeing her career advancement, and sorrow at the departure of a long-time leader of inestimable value. Vivian has served […]
Funders shape what research is conducted on which questions. Funders can also support the infrastructure that is vital to engagement between policymakers and researchers. And while the grants funders make are public knowledge and have received attention in the literature, we know far less about how and why funders decide on what to support.
In this webinar, deans from two current Institutional Challenge Grant teams join us to discuss the changes they intend for their respective schools, the concrete steps they are taking to encourage faculty to participate in engaged research, and the challenges they are navigating along the way.
A new agenda for research on child welfare systems calls for bold new studies that meet the needs of the 21st Century child welfare system and improve the lives of our most vulnerable children, youth, and families. While there have been several research agendas for child welfare developed over the last decade, to our knowledge […]
The recent special collection of Socius: Sociological Research for a Dynamic World began with a question: “If research is to make a difference in reducing inequality… how?” Offering new perspectives on ways that the social sciences can drive action and address large-scale social change, a new set of commentaries on the special collection outlines potential […]