SPENCER FOUNDATION Research Grants on Education: Small
Research Grants on Education: Small
The Small Research Grants Program supports education research projects that will
contribute to the improvement of education, broadly conceived, with budgets up to
$50,000 for projects ranging from one to five years. We accept applications three
times per year.
This program is “field-initiated” in that proposal submissions are not in response to a
specific request for a particular research topic, discipline, design, method, or location.
Our goal for this program is to support rigorous, intellectually ambitious and
technically sound research that is relevant to the most pressing questions and
compelling opportunities in education.
Program Statement
The Small Research Grants on Education Program supports education research
projects that will contribute to the improvement of education, broadly conceived, with
budgets up to $50,000 for projects ranging from one to five years. Eligible
investigators may also request additional supplemental funds for a course release.
We accept applications three times per year.
This program is “field-initiated” in that proposal submissions are not in response to a
specific request for a particular research topic, discipline, design, or method. Our goal
for this program is to support rigorous, intellectually ambitious and technically sound
research that is relevant to the most pressing questions and compelling opportunities
in education. We seek to support scholarship that develops new foundational
knowledge that may have a lasting impact on educational discourse.
We 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. We value work
that fosters creative and open-minded scholarship, engages in deep inquiry, and
examines robust questions related to education. To this end, this program supports
proposals from multiple disciplinary and methodological perspectives, both
domestically and internationally, from scholars at various stages in their career. We
anticipate that proposals will span a wide range of topics and disciplines that
innovatively investigate questions central to education, including for example
education, anthropology, philosophy, psychology, sociology, law, economics, history,
or neuroscience, amongst others.
Moreover, we expect and welcome methodological diversity in answering pressing
questions; thus, we are open to projects that utilize a wide array of research methods
including quantitative, qualitative, mixed-methods, ethnographies, design-based
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research, participatory methods, and historical research, to name a few. We are open
to projects that might incorporate data from multiple and varied sources, span a
sufficient length of time as to achieve a depth of understanding, or work closely with
practitioners or community members over the life of the project.
Deadlines
Applications Open
Application open
Full Proposal Deadline
August 9, 2022, 12:00PM (Noon) CENTRAL
Eligibility and Restrictions
Eligibility
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 Small 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.
Restrictions
Proposed budgets for this program are limited to $50,000 total and may not include
indirect cost charges per Spencer’s policy. Eligible investigators may also request
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additional supplemental funds for a course release. See the Optional Supplemental
Course Release section for details.
Projects proposed may not be longer than 5 years in duration.
PIs and Co-PIs may only hold one active research grant from the Spencer Foundation
at a time. (This restriction does not apply to the administering organization;
organizations may submit as many proposals as they like as long as they are for
different projects and have different research teams.)
PIs and Co-PIs may not submit more than one research proposal to the Spencer
Foundation at a time. This restriction applies to the Small Grants Program, Large
Grants Program, Racial Equity Research Grants Program, and Research-Practice
Partnership Program. If the PI or any of the Co-PIs currently have a research
proposal under consideration in any of these programs, they are required to wait
until a final decision has been made on the pending proposal before they can submit
a new proposal.
How to Apply
The application process begins with a full proposal; there is no requirement to submit
a letter of intent or intent to apply form. Full proposals for a Small Research Grant on
Education are due by 12:00pm Noon central time on the deadline date.
Full Proposal Guidelines
Small Grant proposals must be submitted through an online application form following
the guidelines below.
Step 1 – Registration
Note: This application is configured for the Principal Investigator (PI) on the project to
register and submit the form. If someone other than the PI will be completing the
online application (e.g., an administrative assistant), the PI should register as
described in Step 1 below, then provide their username and password to the person
assisting them with the application.
If you (the PI) have never accessed the Spencer Foundation online portal, you must
register and create a profile by going to https://spencer.smartsimple.us and clicking
the “Register Here” button. Follow the guidelines on the registration page to create
your profile.
If you already have an account, log on to update your profile and access the
application.
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Step 2 - My Profile
After logging in, follow the directions to complete the information requested on the My
Profile page and upload your current CV (10 page limit). The My Profile page is your
online account with the Spencer Foundation whether you are applying for a grant,
reviewing a proposal, or submitting a grantee report.
Note: If you will have Co-PIs on your project, they must also register and complete
their profile information if they wish to be included on the application.
Step 3 – Start a Proposal
To fill out the application, go to your Workbench and click the Apply button for the
Small Research Grants on Education. Your draft application can be saved so that you
can return to it at a later time and continue working on it. Once you save a draft
application, you can find it again on your Draft Proposals list on your Workbench.
Small Grant Proposal Elements
Within the online application, there are detailed guidelines for each section. Below is
an overview of the elements you’ll be expected to complete.
Project Personnel- As the person creating the draft application, you will automatically
be assigned to the proposal as the Principal Investigator. If there are Co-PIs on the
proposal, they can be added to the application in this section. They must first follow
Steps 1 and 2 above before being added to the application.
In this section you are also asked to confirm that neither the PI nor the Co-PIs
currently have another research proposal under review at Spencer (see Restrictions).
Proposal Summary– Information about the project is requested, such as the
project title, start and end dates, the central research question(s), and a 200-word
project summary.
Budget and Budget Justification - The budget form is divided into the following
categories and each category has a pulldown menu of the line item choices listed in
parentheses below:
Salaries (PI, Co-PI, Postdoctoral Research Assistant, Graduate Student,
Researcher, Undergraduate Researcher, Other Research Staff, Other
Staff, Supplemental PI Course Release, Supplemental Co-PI Course Release)
Benefits (PI Benefits, Co-PI Benefits, Researcher Benefits, Other Staff Benefits,
Tuition/Fees, Supplemental Course Release Benefits)
Other Collaborator (Independent Consultant, Advisor)
Travel (Project Travel, Conference or Dissemination Travel)
Equipment and Software (Equipment, Software)
Project Expenses (Supplies, Participant Stipends/Costs, Communication,
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Transcription)
Other (This should only be used for expenses not covered in the choices above)
Subcontracts (Information is pulled from the subcontract budget forms – see
below)
Each expense for your project should be added and the budget narrative field should
be completed, providing a description of that specific expense. Detailed guidelines
are available within the application form.
Subcontracts: If your project will have subcontracts, a separate subcontract budget
form will need to be completed for each. The subcontract form has the same
categories and line item choices listed above.
Proposal Narrative - You are expected to upload a proposal narrative pdf that
includes the following:
A description of the project, the central research question(s), and the project’s
significance.
A rationale for the project. This includes (a) summary of the relevant literature,
the relationship of the proposed research to that literature, and the new
knowledge or contribution to the improvement of education expected to result
from the proposed research; and (b) a summary of the conceptual framework or
theory guiding the project and how the project utilizes or builds on this
framework of theory.
A description of the proposed research methods, description of participants,
data collection instruments, and modes of analysis the project will employ. If
applicable to the proposed methods, please include (a) information about the
proposed sample/case definition and selection procedures; (b) research design,
including when appropriate a description of the context of the study; (c)
description of key constructs, measures and data sources; (d) procedures for
data collection; and (e) procedures for data analysis.
This narrative may not exceed 1800 words and at the conclusion should include the
word count in parentheses. Your reference list should follow your narrative in the
same pdf file and will not count toward the 1800-word limit.
The text should be double–spaced and in 12-point font. APA style is preferred.
Note: Tables and other figures can be included in the text of your proposal, where
appropriate, provided they are used sparingly. The text contained in any tables and
figures will not count towards the word limit. However, it is important that you describe
or explain any tables or figures in the narrative portion of your proposal, which will
contribute to your word count. Do not assume that tables and other figures are self-
explanatory.
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Project Timeline- A project timeline should be uploaded as a PDF file and should
indicate the proposed start and end dates of the project as well as key project events
and milestones. The major activities listed in the project timeline should be reflected in
the proposal narrative. The project timeline may not exceed 1 page and the text
should be in 12-point font. The proposed project duration can be up to 5 years.
Project Team– A document describing the project team should be uploaded in pdf
format and should identify the roles, responsibility and knowledge base of the PI, Co-
PI(s), and any supporting researcher(s). In the case where your project includes Co-
PIs and other supporting researchers, this document should articulate how the team
will work together to complete the research project, highlighting what each team
member will contribute to the project. Further, a short description of the relationship
between the project team and the research site may be included, if appropriate. This
document should not exceed 250 words and should be double–spaced in 12-point
font. Note: this document will be reviewed along with the CV of the PI and any Co-PIs
included on the application.
Optional Supplemental Course Release –The Spencer Foundation recognizes that
scholars' course loads vary significantly across the field creating differential contexts
and capacities for research projects. To help mitigate these uneven demands on time,
the PI or Co-PI may request supplemental course release funds of up to $10,000 over
and above the $50,000 Small Grant budget limit, for a total of up to $60,000.
To be eligible, the scholar (PI or Co-PI) must have a course load of 6 or above per
academic year. The supplemental funds cannot be used for anything besides a
course release for the scholar and should be the standard rate for a course release at
their institution. You may only request 1 additional course release per grant. Two
things of note: 1) requesting the Supplemental Course Release funds does not
guarantee they will be awarded, and 2) if you have a course load that is less than 6,
you may still include a course release in your proposal budget, but your budget may
not exceed the $50,000 Small Grants limit and you are not required to supply the
documents requested below.
To apply for these the Optional Supplemental Course Release Funds, there are 3
additional application pieces needed:
The amount requested and a brief budget narrative for the Supplemental Course
Release should be included in the Proposal Budget section (detailed above). It
should be clearly indicated in the Salary section of the budget form by choosing
the appropriate Supplemental Course Release line item from the drop down
menu, as well as in the Benefits section as needed.
A 250-word Course Release Rationale Statement describing how the additional
course release will impact the proposed project should be uploaded as a PDF
file.
A Supporting Letter from the scholar's Dean or Chair should be uploaded below
as a PDF file. The supporting letter must include the following: (a) confirmation
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that the scholar's course load is 6 courses or more per academic year, (b)
confirmation that the scholar will be released from teaching a course, if awarded
the supplemental funds, and (c) confirmation the budgeted amount for the
course release is appropriate for their institution.
Optional Appendices A – If you have additional documents focused on scientific
instrumentation relevant to the study, for example interview protocols or survey
instruments, they can be uploaded in this section of the application as supplemental
information.
Optional Appendices B– If you have other supporting documents, such as letters of
agreement or collaboration, they can be uploaded in this section of the application.
Please see the guidelines in the online application for more information about these
types of appendices.
A note about IRB Approval: Proof of Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval is not
required at the time of proposal submission. In the event that IRB approval is needed
for this project and it is chosen for funding, the Administering Organization will be
responsible for obtaining IRB review and approval in accordance with its institutional
policies and applicable law.
Resubmission – If this is a resubmission of a proposal previously submitted to the
Spencer Foundation, you are asked to indicate this within the application and upload
a 1-page explanation of how the proposal was revised.
Project Data– Within the online application, we ask you to choose the appropriate
options with regard to your research project in the following categories: disciplinary
perspective, methodologies, topics, geographical scope, contexts, and participants.
This information is helpful in determining the appropriate reviewers for your proposal
and for internal evaluations of our grant programs.
Signature from Authorized Representative of the Administering Organization
–This section of the application details the steps necessary to obtain the authorized
signature for your proposal through the Adobe E-sign process. You are required to
provide the Signatory’s name, title, and email address; this is normally an
administrative or financial person that has the authority to sign the proposal on behalf
of your organization. Note: The signature process must be completed by noon on the
deadline date. You, as the applicant, are responsible for making sure your proposal is
signed by the deadline. Please account for the time it takes your organization’s
authorized signer to review and sign proposal submissions. We recommend filling in
the online application at least a week ahead of the deadline date. The Spencer
Foundation is unable to accept late submissions.
Submit
Once you’ve completed all of the elements listed above, click the Submit button at the
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bottom of the application page and it will be routed to your Signatory for signature and
final submission.
Review Process
The Small Research Grants Program in Education uses a peer review process for all
eligible submissions. Each proposal will be reviewed by both external panel reviewers
and internal staff. The review process for this program takes approximately 6-
7 months from the deadline date.
The review panel for this program is made up of scholars in the field of education
research with expertise across many disciplines and methodological areas. 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
and timeline.
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Does this program support research in settings other than K-12 and higher
education institutions?
A: Yes, Spencer funds research projects that span the life course (i.e., from early
childhood to adult learning) as well as those that focus on contexts outside of school.
Q: Do you have a preference for certain research methodologies?
A: No, we are open to whatever methods make sense for answering the questions at
hand. Historically, Spencer has supported research across a range of methods and
academic disciplines, and we expect this to continue in this program.
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Q: Do you have a preference for research teams vs. individual researchers?
A: No, we do not have a preference. The important thing is to plan the staffing
around the aims of the project.
Q: Can a graduate student serve as a Co-PI on a proposal submission?
A: No, the PI and any Co-PIs named on the proposal are expected to have earned
doctorate degrees prior to proposal submission. While graduate students may be
included in the budget as research assistants, this program is not meant to support
student research projects.
Q: Do you accept proposals from outside the United States?
A: Yes, we accept proposals from outside the U.S. Application materials must be
submitted in English and project budgets must be in U.S. dollars.
Q: Do you have a preference for regional, national, or international projects?
A: No, we do not have a preference.
Q: What is the expected duration of projects in this program?
A: We leave the duration of the project up to the PI/research team to
determine, but limit it to no more than 5 years.
Q: Can my organization submit more than one proposal at a time?
A: Yes, as long as the proposals are for different projects and the research teams are
different, it is fine for an organization to submit multiple applications at one time.
Q: If I (the PI or Co-PI) have a current grant through Spencer, can I apply for a new
grant?
A: You may not hold more than one active research grant at a time from the Spencer
Foundation. You may apply for a new grant while you have an active grant at Spencer
if the active grant will end before the anticipated start date of the new project.
Q: If I am turned down, is it possible to revise my proposal and reapply in a later
cycle?
A: Spencer does not have a policy against accepting uninvited revised proposals.
However, many factors go into the final decision on each proposal, including our
limited budget. Even if you receive feedback on your proposal and are able to
address all of the reviewer concerns in the submission, we can offer no guarantees as
to the likelihood of funding due to the fact that we currently fund less than 10% of the
submissions we receive. Please note, resubmissions are considered among all of the
other newly submitted proposals and are not given special status or consideration in
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the review process.
Q: I have an idea for a project and would like feedback. Is it possible to contact
someone?
A: If you have reviewed our program statement and application guidelines and still
have questions about whether your idea for a research project falls within this
program, feel free to email us at [email protected] for guidance. While we are
not able to provide feedback on proposal drafts, we are happy to answer questions by
email.
Q: How do I determine my start date and when should I expect payment if my
proposal is selected for funding?
A: We recommend proposing a start date that is at least 8 months after the proposal
deadline. The review process for this program takes approximately 6-7 months and
once notified of the funding decision, it can take an additional 2 months for the official
approval process, which entails reviewing the budget, processing award letters, and
issuing the grant payment. NOTE: Grant payments are issued on the third week of
each month. If Spencer has not received your signed award letters by your start date,
your payment will not be issued.
Q: Are budgets expected to include in-kind giving or cost sharing? If not expected, is it
allowed?
A: In-kind giving or cost sharing is not expected or required as part of your proposal
budget. However, if you plan to include in-kind giving or cost sharing as part of your
project budget, you should indicate this in the online budget form in the narrative
section. If your proposal is chosen for funding, the grant award may be contingent
upon receiving documentation confirming the additional support.
Recent Awardees - September 2021 Cycle
Ideologies, Perceptions, and Practices of Language Learning, Shift, and Identity
in Bilingual Juchitán, Oaxaca: A Longitudinal Study
Deborah Augsburger
University of Wisconsin-Superior
Quality or compliance: Principal perceptions of a PSEL-based evaluation
system
Lauren P. Bailes
University of Delaware
Resistance or Racism? Unpacking Critical Race Theory Bans in a Sociopolitical
Era of Anti-Racism
Veronica Jones Baldwin, Kaleb Lauren Briscoe
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University of North Texas
CRIT-TEP Challenging Raciolinguistic Ideologies in Transatlantic Teacher
Education and Policy
Clara Vaz Bauler
Adelphi University
A Difference of Degree: Considering the Capacity of an Afro-Latinidad
framework in Preserving the Institutional Identity of Hispanic-serving HBCUs
Dwuana Ann Renee Bradley, Gina English Tillis
University of Southern California
Pueblo High School: Youth Participatory Action Research in STEM
Julio Cammarota, Cindy Cruz
University of Arizona
Race Pedagogies in Criminal Justice/Criminology: Influence of Faculty Habitus
and Education on Racial Pedagogies in Criminal Justice Programs
Deirdre D Caputo-Levine, Vanessa Lynn
Idaho State University
Estimating classroom peer effects in Ecuadorian elementary schools
Pedro Carneiro, Yyannu Cruz Aguayo
Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS)
Building Social Capital and Social Networks for Marginalized Youth
Wendy Cavendish, Kele Stewart
University of Miami
A Laborious Space: Experiences and Working Conditions of Campus Staff of
Color amidst COVID-19
Katherine S. Cho
Miami University
Avoiding Blind-Spots and Bias Due toIncomplete Data with Machine Learning
Zachary Kendall Collier
University of Delaware
Racialized Experiences of Black Applicants in the Virginia Teacher Labor
Market
Diana D'Amico Pawlewicz, Toya Jones Frank
University of North Dakota
Providing Más [More] with MAS [Mexican American Studies]
Erin Doran
Iowa State University Foundation
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Fostering a mutual support network among aspiring and early career Teachers
of Color
Amanda Frye, Tina Cheuk
Cal Poly Corporation
FRAME: Faculty Readiness for Antiracist Mathematics Education
Melissa Sommerfeld Gresalfi, Luis Leyva
Vanderbilt University
Signs of Power and Dominance: The Role of Mathematics Curricula in U.S.
Assimilationist Policies and Practices in Indian Boarding Schools, 1879-1932
José F. Gutiérrez, Charles Sepulveda, Kēhaulani Vaughn, Cynthia Benally
University of Utah
Understanding the dynamic motivation of primary school language teachers: a
qualitative network analysis
Mairin Hennebry-Leung
University of Tasmania Foundation USA
A Participatory, Human Centered Design Approach to Reimagining Racial
Justice in Schools
Tiffany M. Jones
Colorado State University
Decolonizing the Hospital: The Possibilities and Limits of Anti-Racism
Education and Praxis in Academic Health Sciences Centres
Csilla Kalocsai, Mireille A Norris, Ayelet Kuper
Sunnybrook Research Institute
Reflecting learners’ voices to enhance teachers’ language assessment literacy
at a community college
Jiyoon Lee, Yuko Butler
University of Maryland at Baltimore County
Disrupting understandings of school disruption: What did we learn from COVID-
19?
Gale Macleod
University of Edinburgh
International Students’ Communicative Practice in U.S. University Classrooms:
Multimodal Analyses of Multilinguals’ Communicative Repertoires
Yumi Matsumoto
University of Pennsylvania
Parenting of transgender and gender variant children in Israel: navigating
children’s atypical gender performance and gender transition in the family and
school arenas
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Galia Plotkin Amrami, Amalia Ziv
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
The Impact of Federal COVID-19 Relief Policy on Low-Income Student-Mothers’
Educational Choices and Experience
Margaret Sallee
The Research Foundation for The State University of New York
Documenting Teachers’ Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge for
Reading Instruction: A Collaborative Content Analysis of Digital Text Programs
Laura S. Tortorelli
Michigan State University
The journey of empathy development through on-campus intercultural
engagement: A mixed-methods phenomenological case study
Art Tsang
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Minoritized Adolescents’ Perspectives on Harm, Justice, and Discipline in their
Schools: Building a Youth-Focused Understanding of the Developmental
Influence of Restorative Justice
Gabriel Velez
Marquette University
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