Strategic Initiatives

Initiative on Civic Learning and Civic Action
Budgets less than $40,000

Please follow the guidelines below when submitting a proposal to the Initiative on Civic Learning and Civic Action with a budget of $40,000 or less.

The proposal application should include the following elements:

Proposal Cover Sheet

Click to download Proposal Cover Sheet.

Proposal Narrative

The proposal narrative should be no longer than 1800 words, not including the reference list. It should encompass:

• a description of the project and the central research question(s);  
• a brief summary of the relevant literature and the relationship of the proposed research to that literature;  
• a detailed, yet concise summary of the conceptual framework, research methods, data collection instruments, and modes of analysis that the project will employ;  
• the new knowledge expected to result from the proposed research, and the significance of the project both for contributing to the existing literature and for improving educational or other kinds of outcomes;   
• a brief explanation of the relevance of the project to the research priorities detailed in the Initiative on Civic Learning and Civic Action description; and
• an indentification of the principal investigator(s) and a clear definition of the role(s) and time committments of the PI(s) and any supporting researchers. 

Proposal Budget

The suggested budget format should be downloaded, saved to your computer and then submitted with your proposal. Click to download.

Curriculum Vitae of the Principal Investigator(s)

Each Curriculum Vitae should be no longer than 6 pages.

Deadlines

Deadlines for 2009 will be February 13, 2009; May 1, 2009; July 10, 2009; October 2, 2009; and December 4, 2009.

The review of complete proposal applications received in hardcopy at the Spencer Foundation offices by the deadline will take approximately 3 1/2 months. We recommend that your proposed start date be no sooner than 4 months following the deadline.

Submission Instructions

Interested applicants should send four copies of the complete  proposal application (including all attachments) to the mailing address below.

Criteria for Review

The criteria we will use in evaluating proposals include:

• Likelihood that answers to the research questions will advance understanding about the civic action and learning-experience connections;
• Implications for educational improvement, including but not limited to curricula, classrooms, and schools;
• Methodological rigor and the appropriateness of the research design to the research questions;
• Generalizability of the study beyond the project’s specific populations and research sites.

Although individual projects are not required to address or include each of the priorities below, we will strive to include in the Initiative portfolio studies that attend to the following:

• Outcomes aligned with institutional or systemic change;
• Populations of interest, including non-college-bound youth, less economically privileged youth, members of diverse racial and ethnic groups, and immigrant youth;
• Attention to developmental patterns (age ranges that extend from childhood through age 30).

Questions

Please direct any questions regarding the proposal submission process to Annie Brinkman, Program Administrator, at abrinkman@spencer.org or 312-274-6511.