The Office Foundation Relations is pleased to share this open call for funding from the Spencer Foundation.
UCSC Contact: Caroline Rodriguez | caroline@ucsc.edu
Funder: Spencer Foundation
Opportunity: Vision Grants
“Intent to Apply” Online Form Deadline: August 15, 2023, 12 pm CT
Full Proposal Deadline: September 14, 2023, 12 pm CT
Overview
The Vision Grants program is designed to support the field in producing research that disrupts long-standing inequities toward more just and equitable systems. While we are in a time of major challenges in education, we are also in a moment of possibility. We believe that visionary and cross-disciplinary/multi-method scholarship, conducted in generative collaboration with stakeholders in the field, including policy-makers, practitioners, and communities, can contribute to reimagining and transforming educational systems toward equity.
Vision Grants will provide planning funds for teams to develop proposals for research projects that:
- Are focused on key challenges and opportunities that have the potential for increasing equity in education
- Engage across disciplines and/or research methods
- Collaborate with practitioners, policymakers, and communities (and other stakeholders)
- Have clear sightlines to transformational change through research at a systemic level
Funding Level
- Proposed budgets for this program are limited to $75,000 total and may not include indirect cost charges per Spencer’s policy.
- The Vision Grant may not be longer than 12 months in duration.
Eligibility
- Principal Investigators (PIs) and Co-PIs applying for a Vision Grant must have appropriate experience or an earned doctorate in an academic discipline or terminal degree in a professional field. While graduate students may be part of the research team, they may not be named the PI or Co-PI on the proposal.
- PIs and Co-PIs may apply for a Vision Grant if they have another active research grant from the Spencer Foundation or if they have another Spencer grant proposal in review.
- Being awarded a Vision Grant is also a prerequisite for applying to Spencer’s Transformative Research Grant program, designed for large-scale research projects that transform education systems for equity.
Timeline
- Mid-June, 2023 Applications Open
- August 15, 2023 12pm CT Intent to Apply Form Deadline
- September 14, 2023 12pm CT Full Proposal Deadline
For more information, see the full program guidelines and FAQs.
Special Requirements
Please notify the Office of Foundation Relations if you are interested in applying to this opportunity (cfr@ucsc.edu). For support developing your LOI, please contact the Research Development Specialist (RDS) assigned to your unit or send a request to resdev@ucsc.edu. If invited to submit a full proposal, please submit a proposal intake form prior to UCSC’s internal Institutional Deadlines. Your RDS can also help you develop your proposal. Within the Division of Social Sciences, please contact Ashlee Tews (ashleeac@ucsc.edu), and within the Arts, please contact Hannah Jasper (hannahjasper@ucsc.edu) to initiate notification and proposal support.
The Office of Foundation Relations is a unit of University Relations. The FR team creates and maintains mutually beneficial, long-term relationships with private organizations, matching grant initiatives with educational and research programs and centers. FR supports faculty and staff to identify and approach these and other private foundations for funding, to assist in strategic positioning of the grant application, and to facilitate funder campus visits.
For a list of recent funding opportunities, please visit the FR website. FR Calls for Funding