Research Grants on Improving the Use of Research Evidence
Forecasted
Research Grants on Improving the Use of Research Evidence support researchers studying strategies to strengthen research use in decisions affecting U.S. youth ages 5–25 and improve youth outcomes.
Funder: William T. Grant Foundation
Due Dates (Anticipated): January 2027 (Letter of inquiry) | July 2027 (Letter of inquiry)
Funding Amounts: Major grants: $100,000–$1,000,000 over 2–4 years; Officers’ grants: $25,000–$50,000 over 1–2 years
Summary: Supports studies of strategies that improve research evidence use in decisions affecting U.S. youth ages 5–25.
Key Information: Each Principal Investigator may submit only one application per cycle, across major and Officers’ research grants.
Description
The William T. Grant Foundation supports research on strategies to improve the use, usefulness, and impact of research evidence in youth-serving systems in the United States. The program seeks to advance theory and empirical knowledge about evidence use by policymakers, public agency leaders, organizational managers, intermediaries, and community leaders—not frontline practitioners at the point of service.
Supported work builds or tests ways to improve the use of existing research in policy or practice, or examines whether improved research use strengthens decision-making and youth outcomes. Impact, descriptive, and measurement studies are welcome across justice, housing, child welfare, mental health, K–12 education, and higher education. The 2026 priorities emphasized politically contested youth issues in polarized settings and experimental tests of strategies to improve research use.
