Spencer Foundation: Vision Grant Proposal

Over my career as an educator and particularly over the last two years, I have heard how we need to “think outside the box” when it comes to education, especially to re-engage our disconnected and disengaged youth. 

Are you interested in engaging in discussions to design research for transforming education systems to meet the needs of disengaged and disconnected youth?

I am reaching out to see if there are people or agencies interested in being part of the Vision Grant Team to submit a Vision Grant with the Spencer Foundation. The Vision Grant is designed to fund “the collaborative planning of innovative, methodologically diverse, interdisciplinary research on education that contributes to transforming education systems for equity.” I am looking for people from all sectors that interact with and provide support for our disengaged or disconnected youth. It is an incubation grant, which means it is “an invitation to think forward about what research we need to transform education systems toward equity and then to envision how that systems-change will happen, utilizing research evidence.” We do not need to have a flushed out research proposal for this grant, but we do need to provide:

1. a research topic/initial thoughts about scope and methodological approach of the study;

2. the plan for impact, identifying the levers for systems change that will likely be engaged;

3. the collaboration process; and

4. a team that will lead to a fully fleshed out research plan by the end of the grant period.

​​

I have already submitted an Intent to Apply. The grant proposal is due on March 11, 2025, so it is a quick turnaround. If you are interested, please complete this Education Vision Grant Interest form below. I will be holding virtual meetings for anyone who is interested on Tuesday, Feb. 25th at 9:00am and Wednesday, Feb. 26th at 5:30pm. If you cannot make these dates, please indicate that on the form so we can set up a different time to meet. When you fill out the form, you will receive a meeting invitation with the meeting link.

Your involvement prior to March 11, 2025 would include at least two meetings to discuss ideas for the proposal, and beyond that, you can be involved more if you have an interest in writing parts of the proposal. If we receive that grant, your time commitment will depend upon how the Vision Grant Team plans out the discussion and planning sessions.

Note: Receiving a Vision Grant allows the team access for applying to the Spencer Foundation’s Transformative Research Grant program (TRG, $3.5 million) with the goal of supporting large-scale research projects to transform education systems for equity.

If you have any questions or comments, please contact me. I look forward to working with you!

​

Sincerely, 

Dr. Monica Brase

​