Research Grants on Improving the Use of Research Evidence
Funds research to develop and test strategies that improve how research evidence is used by decision-makers to benefit U.S. youth ages 5–25.
Funder: William T. Grant Foundation
Due Dates: January 8, 2025 | May 7, 2025 | August 6, 2025 | January 7, 2026 | July 29, 2026
Funding Amounts: Major Research Grants: $100,000–$1,000,000 over 2–4 years; Officers’ Research Grants: $25,000–$50,000 over 1–2 years (up to 15% indirect costs included)
Summary: Supports research on strategies to improve how research evidence is used by decision-makers to benefit U.S. youth ages 5–25, focusing on both the use and impact of research in youth-serving systems.
Key Information: Applicants may submit only one application per cycle as Principal Investigator.
Description
This program funds research that advances understanding and tests strategies to improve the use, usefulness, and impact of research evidence in decision-making affecting young people ages 5–25 in the United States. The Foundation seeks projects that either build or test strategies to enhance the use of research evidence by policymakers, public agency leaders, organizational managers, intermediaries, community organizers, and other key decision-makers in youth-serving systems. Studies should go beyond simply describing research use, instead focusing on interventions or mechanisms to improve it, and/or examining whether such improvements lead to better decision-making and youth outcomes.
The Foundation is particularly interested in research that addresses politically charged or contested youth issues, explores mechanisms and conditions for effective research use, and investigates the impact of research use on youth outcomes. A wide range of methods are welcomed, including experimental, quasi-experimental, observational, mixed-methods, and measurement studies.
