Spencer Foundation Large Research Grants on Education Program 2025 (up to $500,000)

The Spencer Foundation’s Large Research Grants on Education Program supports education research projects that will contribute to the improvement of education.

They recognize that learning occurs across the life course as well as across settings from the classroom to the workplace, to family and community contexts and even onto the playing field any of which may, in the right circumstance, provide the basis for rewarding study that makes significant contributions to the field.

They encourage teams to thoughtfully consider and describe plans regarding the trajectories of their project’s findings, implications, and potential effects, especially how the knowledge may be shared and utilized across the field in practice, policy making, or with broader publics.

Funding of Large Research Grants

• Available budget ranging from $125,000 up through $500,000 for projects ranging from one to five years.

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Eligibility for Large Research Grants

• Proposals to the Research Grants on Education program must be for academic research projects that aim to study education. Proposals for activities other than research are not eligible (e.g., program evaluations, professional development, curriculum development, scholarships, capital projects). Additionally, proposals for research studies focused on areas other than education, are not eligible.
• Principal Investigators (PIs) and Co-PIs applying for a Large Research Grant on Education must have an earned doctorate in an academic discipline or professional field, or appropriate experience in an education research-related profession. While graduate students may be part of the research team, they may not be named the PI or Co-PI on the proposal.
• The PI must be affiliated with a non-profit organization or public/governmental institution that is willing to serve as the administering organization if the grant is awarded. The Spencer Foundation does not award grants directly to individuals. Examples include non-profit or public colleges, universities, school districts, and research facilities, as well as other non-profit organizations with a 501(c)(3) determination from the IRS (or equivalent non-profit status if the organization is outside of the United States).
• Proposals are accepted from the U.S. and internationally, however all proposals must be submitted in English and budgets must be proposed in U.S. Dollars.

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Review Criteria

Panelist are asked to rate and comment on the following aspects of your proposal:

• Significance of the Project: Reviewers will evaluate the centrality of education in the research, the importance of the topic to its field, and the quality of the research question(s) and/or direction of inquiry.
• Connection to Research and Theory: Reviewers will evaluate the adequacy of the description of how other researchers have treated the same topic and how well the proposal responds to prior work and theory.
• Research Design: Reviewers will evaluate the overall quality, sophistication, and appropriateness of the research design as well as its alignment with the research question(s) and/or conceptual framing.
• Budget and Timeline: Reviewers will evaluate the adequacy of the budget, timeline, and strength of proposal within their funding tier.
• Project Team: Reviewers will comment on the potential of the investigator(s) to complete the study as described and share the results or other findings.
• Dissemination Plans: Reviewers will evaluate the proposed plans for sharing the results or other findings of the research project, which may include traditional submissions to conferences or publications as well as other efforts aimed at influencing research, policy, practice, or public discourse.

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