Institutional Challenge Grant, William T. Grant Foundation, New York, NY, USA. Deadline: 9 September 2026.
The Institutional Challenge Grant supports university-based research institutes, schools, and centers in building sustained research-practice partnerships with public agencies or nonprofit organizations in order to reduce inequality in youth outcomes. The grant requires that research institutions shift their policies and practices to value collaborative research. Institutions will also need to build the capacity of researchers to produce relevant work and the capacity of agency and nonprofit partners to use research.
They welcome applications from partnerships in youth-serving areas such as education, justice, child welfare, foster care, mental health, immigration, and workforce development. They especially encourage proposals from teams with African American, Latinx, Native American, and Asian American members in leadership roles. The partnership leadership team includes the principal investigator from the research institution and the lead from the public agency or nonprofit organization.
Research-practice partnerships—long-term, mutually beneficial collaborations that promote the production and use of rigorous and relevant research evidence—are a promising strategy for better aligning researchers, policymakers, and practitioners in their efforts to reduce inequality. Researchers who partner with practitioners or policymakers are better equipped to understand local contexts, address pressing questions, and produce informative and actionable findings. They also gain access to programmatic and/or policy insights and data that can facilitate rigorous and groundbreaking research to make headway on issues relevant to youth. Policymakers and practitioners, meanwhile, can more easily access, interpret, and use research evidence when they collaborate with researchers. They can also help define and shape research agendas. Partnerships, then, equip public agencies and nonprofit organizations with new knowledge and tools to better serve youth.
NOTE: An informational webinar is scheduled for May 6, hosted by Senior Program Officer Jenny Irons and President Adam Gamoran. They will discuss the background and goals of the program, as well as provide an overview of eligibility details, required materials, and review criteria; as well as field questions from attendees and share practical advice on how to prepare a competitive application.
