FUNDING OPP: Spencer Foundation New Civics Small Grant Program

Background

The Spencer Foundation invests in education research for the purpose of making education better. Ultimately, the Foundation sees civic education not simply as a grounding in historical and procedural knowledge of systems of government, but, more broadly, as education, whether in schools or elsewhere, that develops skills, knowledge, and dispositions that lead to informed and reasoned civic action.

With this expanded understanding, the Foundation aims to support research that deepens our understanding of educational and other influences on civic action, that attends to social inequalities in civic education and civic action, and that has the potential to shape future research and practice in these fields. And it aims to create occasions for scholars’ learning, inquiry, and exchange – to strengthen the research community and its connections to educational policy and practice.

Opportunity

The New Civics initiative invites research proposals from scholars in education, the social sciences, and the humanities that ask critical questions about how education can more effectively contribute to the civic development of young people.

Three sets of influences on civic learning and action are of particular interest to the foundation:

• Powerful motivations and psychological influences

How and why do civic motivations and other cognitive and psychological influences – such as a sense of social responsibility, civic agency, and civic identity – develop and change? What role do they play in influencing civic action?

• Enabling learning experiences and environments

What kinds of environments, pedagogies, curricula, and relationships are especially conducive to civic learning and to developing civic motivations and commitments?

• Societal or group norms, political processes or events, historical and cultural trends, and other contextual influences

How are individuals, groups, and institutions influenced by the times, cultures, and contexts in which they live? How do political processes like elections, unique unifying events (like 9/11 or the Columbine shootings), national or local policies, and other potential historical or contextual factors influence civic learning and civic action?

The foundation is interested in populations ranging in age from young children to early adulthood, in formal and informal educational settings and contexts (including ‘new media’ and the like), and in work that explores the implications for civic action of differing national political systems and cultures and of the globalization of citizenship, national identity, and agency.

Eligibility

Principal Investigators (PIs) and Co-PIs applying for a research grant must have an earned doctorate in an academic discipline or professional field, or appropriate experience in an education research-related profession.

Funding Available

• Maximum amount: $50,000 US max

• Indirect costs: Not allowable

Full Details

The New Civics Request for Proposals

How to apply

Detailed guidelines

• Applications must be submitted via the Spencer Foundation online system. The online system is configured for the PI on the project to register and submit the proposal themselves.
• Institutional signature required; please coordinate with your Research Facilitator
• CURO checklist mandatory; CURO Checklist and Instructions for faculty submissions
• Subsequent deadlines: April 9, 2015, June 2, 2015, and August 20, 2015. Additional deadlines will be posted as they are scheduled; this program typically has a deadline every 2-3 months.

Deadlines

Internal Contacts

If you are interested in this opportunity, please contact your Research Facilitator or Carleton International for help with proposal development and substantive review:

Thursday, April 2, 2015  |  Categories: Funding Opportunities
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