Research-Practice Partnerships: Collaborative Research for Educational Change

The Research-Practice Partnership (RPP) Grants Program is intended to support education research projects that engage in collaborative and participatory partnerships with project budgets of up to $400,000 and durations of up to three years. We accept preproposals once a year in this program.

We view partnerships as an important approach to knowledge generation and the improvement of education, broadly construed. Rigorous partnership work is intentionally organized to engage diverse forms of expertise and perspectives, across practitioners, scholars, policymakers, and organizations, as well as disciplines and methods, in knowledge generation around pressing problems of practice and/or policy. Further, RPPs can facilitate the long-term accumulation of knowledge in new ways as researchers and practitioners work together to ask practitioner- and policy-relevant questions on key topics in specific settings over time. Many key problems of practice and policy are historically saturated and require multiple perspectives and long-term engagement if sustainable and systemic change is to occur. Over the long term, we anticipate that research conducted by RPPs will result in new insights into the processes, practices, routines, and policies that improve education for learners, educators, families, communities, and institutions where learning and teaching happen (e.g., schools, universities, community centers, parks, museums, other workplaces).

This grant program is open to existing partnerships between researchers and a broad array of practitioners and policymakers. For example, practice and/or policy partners might work in school districts, county offices of education, state educational organizations, universities, community-based organizations, and other social sectors that significantly impact learners’ lives. As such, we define practitioners broadly; they might be policymakers, out-of-school-time providers and other informal educators, K-12 teachers and leaders, or families and other community members. We are open to applications from design-based research teams, networked improvement communities, place-based research alliances, and a wealth of other partnership arrangements.

We expect the partners in the RPPs we fund to have engaged in fruitful long-term collaborations. How this history is evidenced can vary. For example, teams might have a record of accomplishment as demonstrated by in-process or completed research studies, solutions-in-progress, established trusting relationships, or data-sharing agreements, amongst other possibilities. This grant program is specifically intended to build the capacity of partnerships to make educational change. Effective governance is a key aspect of successful partnerships, and as such, all proposals should specify their governance structures and how the work is jointly developed, as well as how power is shared, across all partners. As noted, while this grant program is open to all partnership configurations across a range of learning contexts, in addition to PreK-12 school systems, we especially encourage applications from partnerships that include scholars and institutions of higher education, rural geographic locations, and in locations outside of the United States, as well as partnerships that deeply engage community-based organizations and families.

Importantly, we expect that partnerships will foreground issues connected to inequality in education and articulate how their project aims to disrupt the reproduction and deepening of inequities.

Activities that May be Funded
Research is fundamental to every research-practice partnership, and we expect research activities to be the central element of every proposal. In addition to detailing a plan for research, applicants should also prioritize plans for communicating and disseminating key findings and other important partnership activities that have the potential to foster positive educational changes. The following categories of activities are meant to be illustrative, but not exclusive, of activities in addition to the research that could be funded under this program. We expect proposed activities will be highly related to partnership type and context but will also, at their core, have the potential to make a contribution to improved educational practice and/or policy beyond the specific context in which scholars and practitioners are working.

Research Activities

Each proposal should describe new research that would be launched or existing research activities that would be expanded with the grant. Examples might include randomized trials of new curricula, participatory studies with learner and family coresearchers; design-based research focused on teacher classroom practice; policy advocacy or implementation; needs mapping with community partners; or deep descriptive work focused on a range of learner outcomes. We encourage a wide range of research methods and approaches.

Research Infrastructure

Funds may be used for building and sustaining infrastructure needs for the research activities of the partnership. These infrastructure needs may apply to the full range of methodological approaches. Examples may include the development of surveys, assessment tools, and other instruments; the development of co-designed protocols; and the upkeep of data archives and matching systems. Additionally, administrative activities concerning data may be supported by this grant. These may include developing IRB and review protocols, creating standard data definitions, co-designing consent forms, and developing data security and privacy protocols.

Outreach, Communications, and Relationship Building

Activities that strengthen the working relationship between partners and other stakeholders are also a possible component of the projects. Successful research-practice partnerships devote a great deal of time and attention to building and maintaining trust across stakeholder groups and within their partnership. Potential activities may include convening researchers, educators, learners, families, and other participants to co-design a research agenda; hiring a communication specialist and/or developing a strategy for communicating research findings to important constituents; supporting staff in the partner organizations to manage partnership relations; and preparing research reports and other publications to present the work of the partnership to the public.

Capacity Development

Many research-practice partnerships seek to assist the practice partner in developing capacity to use research evidence and data in their daily decision-making. Funds could be used to learn how to better engage others in research, conduct better practice or policy-driven research, or to be better equipped to communicate complex research findings to practitioners, families, communities, or policy makers that were not primary partners.

We also see the importance of developing the next generation of scholars and practitioners who are prepared to collaborate in partnerships to improve practice, policy, and research. We encourage proposals that include funds dedicated to the development of skills and expertise in conducting research in partnership for graduate students and early-career professionals and researchers. While we expect that most proposals will include funds to support graduate students as part of the partnership, proposals could include plans for training and education beyond that. Examples might include the development of a research methods course focused on research partnerships, the production of online training modules, the development of workshops to increase the capacity of researchers and other partners to engage in public scholarship, or the integration of research-practice partnerships in teacher or principal preparation courses.

Eligibility

Proposals to the Research-Practice Partnership program must be for research and other activities aimed to support collaborative partnerships between academic researcher(s) and a broad array of practitioner(s) of education.

Principal Investigators (PIs) and Co-PIs applying for a Research-Practice Partnership Grant are expected to have an earned doctorate in an academic discipline or professional field, or demonstrated professional experience appropriate for this program. Note: If the PI or Co-PI from the practice/policy side of the partnership does not have an earned doctorate, they are expected to have appropriate professional experience to serve in this role in the partnership. While graduate students may be part of the team, they may not be named the PI or Co-PI on the proposal.

The PI must be affiliated with a non-profit organization or public/governmental institution that is willing to serve as the administering organization if the grant is awarded. The Spencer Foundation does not award grants directly to individuals. Examples include non-profit or public colleges, universities, school districts, and research facilities, as well as other non-profit organizations with a 501(c)(3) determination from the IRS (or equivalent non-profit status if the organization is outside of the United States).

The PI associated with the administering organization for this grant could be either the practitioner/policymaker or researcher of the partnership. At least one Co-PI should be from the other member organization(s).

Proposals are accepted from the U.S. and internationally. All proposals must be submitted in English and budgets must be proposed in U.S. Dollars.

Restrictions

Research-Practice Partnership budget totals are limited to $400,000 including up to 15% indirect cost charges.

The proposed duration of the grant may not be longer than 3 years.

PIs and Co-PIs may only hold one active research grant from the Spencer Foundation at a time. (This restriction does not apply to the administering organization; organizations may submit as many proposals as they like as long as they are for different projects with different project teams.)

PIs and Co-PIs may not submit more than one research proposal to the Spencer Foundation at a time. This restriction applies to the Small Grants Program, Large Grants Program, Racial Equity Research Grants Program, and this Research-Practice Partnership Grants Program. If the PI or any of the Co-PIs currently have a research proposal under consideration in any of these programs, they are required to wait until a final decision has been made on the pending proposal before they can submit a new proposal.

Note that an exception to both of these restrictions is the Spencer Vision Grants program. 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. However, the projects proposed in a Vision Grant proposal and in another Spencer grant program proposal must be distinct.

The application process begins with the submission of a preproposal.

Preproposal Elements
 

Within the online form, there are detailed guidelines for each section. Below is an overview of the application elements you will be expected to complete.

Project Personnel - As the person creating the draft application, you will automatically be assigned to the proposal as the Principal Investigator. If there are Co-PIs on the proposal, you are asked to provide their names and organizations in this section.

We are asking you to address the following elements, not necessarily in this order:

•           Project Title, PI Last Name, Request ID Number (text will not count towards your word count).

•           A description of the problem or issue, its significance (including how it is situated in the extant literature), and how the partnership foregrounds issues of equity.

•           A description of the partners and partnership history (you do not need governance agreements or letters of support at the preproposal stage) as well as an explanation for why the proposed research and partnership activities are important next steps given the history of the partnership.

•           Your research question(s).

•           A summary description of your proposed research and partnership activities (e.g., resource sharing, capacity building, collaborative project development, program and/or research design, target communities/participants, data collection methods, data analysis). Please include the theories of change and the theoretical and/or conceptual framings that inform the proposed project’s research and partnership activities.

•           Respond to the following questions: What is the contribution of this project to 1) the field’s theoretical and empirical understanding of your phenomenon/a; and 2) the field’s understanding of equity-oriented research-practice partnerships?

You will be asked to provide a table with a draft budget that includes budget justifications (you may use whatever format you wish). Please note that The Spencer Foundation does not require official university sign-off for your budget at the preproposal stage.

NOTE: We highly recommend that you submit up to 2 pages of references (these two pages will not count toward your word count).

AI Agreement and Disclosure - The Spencer Foundation has developed a policy outlining the responsible and ethical use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies across the Foundation's operations, programs, and activities. We have developed the policy guidelines to appropriately balance the potential benefits of artificial intelligence with the potential risks. While submitting your application to the Research-Practice Partnership program in SmartSimple, you will be asked to acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to comply with these guidelines. Please see the guidelines on our website.

Proposal Summary – Information about the proposal is requested, such as the project title, estimated duration, the central research question(s), and a 200-word project summary.

Resubmission – If this is a resubmission of a proposal previously submitted to the Spencer Foundation, you are asked to indicate this within the application.

Types of Organizations – Identify the types of organizations, including your own, that are involved in the Research-Practice Partnership in your proposal.

Project Data – Within the online application, we ask you to check off the appropriate options with regard to your research activities in the partnership in the following categories: disciplinary perspective, methodologies, topics, geographical scope, contexts, and participants. This information is helpful in determining the appropriate reviewers for your eventual full proposal and for internal evaluations of our grant programs.

Reminder: Preproposals will be reviewed in approximately 3 months (subject to change).

Full Proposal Guidelines (by invitation only)

If you are invited to submit a Full Proposal, you will have access to the Full Proposal application on your Workbench. Within the online application, there are detailed guidelines for each section. Below is an overview of the elements you will be expected to complete.

Administering and Partner Organizations: In this section you will confirm the Administering Organization for the proposal and enter the name(s) of the partnering organization(s).

Project Personnel: It is necessary for you to connect the profiles of the Co-PI(s) to the full proposal. Instruct your Co-PI(s) to create an account and update their profile following Steps 1 and 2 above. Once they have done so, follow the guidelines in this section to connect them to the proposal.

In this section you are also asked to confirm that neither the PI nor the Co-PIs currently have another research proposal under review at Spencer (see Restrictions).

Proposal Summary: Information about the project is requested, such as the project title, start and end dates, the central research question(s) and a 200-word summary. This information can be different from what you submitted for your preproposal.

Budget and Budget Justification: The budget form is divided into the following categories, and each category has a pulldown menu of the line-item choices listed in parentheses below:

•           Salaries (PI, Co-PI, Postdoctoral Research Assistant, Graduate Student,

•           Researcher, Undergraduate Researcher, Other Research Staff, Other Staff)

•           Benefits (PI Benefits, Co-PI Benefits, Researcher Benefits, Other Staff Benefits, Tuition/Fees)

•           Other Collaborator (Independent Consultant, Advisor)

•           Travel (Project Travel, Conference or Dissemination Travel)

•           Equipment and Software (Equipment, Software)

•           Project Expenses (Supplies, Participant Stipends/Costs, Communication, Transcription)

•           Other (This should only be used for expenses not covered in the choices above)

•           Subcontracts (Information is pulled from the subcontract budget forms – see below)

Each expense for your project should be added and the budget narrative field should be completed, providing a description of that specific expense. Detailed guidelines are available within the application form.

Subcontracts: If your project has subcontracts, a separate subcontract budget form will need to be completed for each. The subcontract form has the same categories and line-item choices listed above.

Indirect Cost Charges (IDC): Budgets in this program may include up to 15% IDC (also known as overhead). Subcontract budgets may also include up to 15% IDC but should not be included in the main budget total when calculating the overall IDC for the project.

Proposal Narrative: We are looking for applications that make a persuasive argument for the value of your partnership and for why the proposed research and research-related activities will strengthen the partnership and contribute to educational change. You are expected to upload a proposal narrative pdf that includes the following:

History, Background, and Context of Partnership: Describe the nature of your partnership, including but not limited to: who the key organizational players in the partnership are, the history of the partnership, its theory of change, central goals and achievements to date, how the partnership is governed, how educational equity is central to the partnership, and how you envision the partnership progressing over the next five to ten years or longer. We also expect the proposal to make a compelling argument for why your partnership is useful and how it adds value to (and also beyond) existing research in the field.

Proposed Activities

Research activities – Describe the activities you will undertake with support from the Foundation. A clear articulation of your research activities should be a central component of your proposal narrative. You may describe how funds will be used to strengthen ongoing research activities or enable you to launch new activities. Situate these research activities in one or more particular topic area(s) and explain how proposed activities will lead to knowledge generation that ultimately advances understanding of the issue(s) and leads to improved policy and/or practice. To make this argument, you may consider briefly describing existing research and gaps in that work, but we do not expect a full literature review.

Additional activities – In addition to research activities, you should describe how funds will support activities that fall under at least one of the three other categories: (1) research infrastructure; (2) outreach, communications, and relationship-building; or (3) capacity-building. We recognize that there may be activities that will advance your work that fall outside these categories. We will consider proposals that seek funds for other kinds of activities with a compelling rationale for their importance to your work.

When describing the research and other activities you seek support for, it is important to clearly specify what these activities are and explain why support for them is critical to advancing the work of the partnership and realizing its long-term potential. Also, describe how educational equity is central to the partnership’s activities.

The proposal narrative may not exceed 4500 words and at its conclusion, should include the word count in parentheses. Your reference list should follow your narrative in the same pdf file and will not count toward the 4500-word limit. The text should be double–spaced and in 12-point font, and your pdf should have page numbers. APA style is preferred.

Note: Tables and other figures can be included in the text of your proposal, where appropriate, provided they are used sparingly. The text contained in any tables and figures will not count toward the word limit. However, it is important that you describe or explain any tables or figures in the narrative portion of your proposal, which will contribute to your word count. Do not assume that tables and other figures are self-explanatory.

Partner Letter: A letter from the partner organization(s) to the administering organization submitting this application should be uploaded. This letter should describe the value of the partnership from the partner's perspective. If there are multiple partners, teams are able to upload multiple letters.

Project Timeline: The project timeline should indicate the proposed start and end dates of the partnership activities as well as key events and milestones. The major activities listed in the project timeline should be reflected in the proposal narrative. The project timeline may not exceed 1 page and the text should be in 12-point font. The proposed project duration can be up to 3 years.

Project Team: A document should be uploaded that identifies the roles, responsibilities and knowledge base of the key personnel involved in the partnership. The Principal Investigator should be associated with the administering organization for this grant, which could be either the practitioner or researcher of the partnership. At least one Co-PI should be from the other member organization(s). This document should articulate how the team will work together toward the goals of the partnership, highlighting what each team member will contribute to the work. When applicable, please discuss the learning opportunities team members may experience through their participation in this project. This document may not exceed 800 words and the text should be double–spaced and in 12-point font.

Resubmission: If this is a resubmission of a proposal previously submitted to the Spencer Foundation, you are asked to indicate this within the application and upload a 1-page explanation of how the proposal was revised.

For information on optional appendices, our review process, frequently asked questions, and other important information, please see the full Request for Proposals in our online portal: https://spencer.smartsimple.us/.

Q: Do you support the work of research-practice partnerships in sectors other than K-12 and higher education?

A: Yes, partnerships between researchers and practitioners in educational settings that span the life course (i.e., from early childhood to adult learning) as well as those that focus on contexts outside of school are eligible.

Q: Do you support small-scale research-practice partnerships, for example a partnership between a researcher and a classroom teacher, or a partnership between the administrator of a small after-school program and a researcher?

A: We certainly see value in these partnerships, but this grant program is aimed at larger-scale partnerships that are likely to involve multiple schools or other educational sites. Because the program is intended to support long-term capacity building, we think that the larger scale is important for long-term viability. If you are interested in small-scale collaborations between a researcher and a practitioner, for example, you may wish to explore another one of our grant programs.

Q: Do you accept proposals for this grant program for partnerships outside of the U.S. or between U.S. and international agencies?

A: Yes.

Q: Many professors and colleges of education partner with schools to provide professional development or pre-service and in-service training and would like to add a research component to their work.  Are these partnerships suitable for this grant program?

A: Partnerships based on providing professional development would only meet the criteria for this grant program if they already had a history of conducting research jointly.

Q: Can the practice side of the partnership be the administering organization or principal investigator for the grant?

A: Yes. Given our emphasis on supporting partnerships where power is shared and the work of the partnership benefits research, as well as practice and/or policy, we can imagine a scenario where the principal investigator is the director of a practice-oriented organization, for example.

Q: If the practitioner is the lead PI for the grant, do they need an earned doctorate to be eligible?

A: Not necessarily. If the PI will be from the practice side of the partnership but does not have an earned doctorate, reviewers will expect them to have demonstrated professional experience appropriate for this RFP. However, we do expect the partners on the research side of the partnership to have an earned doctorate in an academic discipline or professional field.

Q: Am I allowed to subcontract with my partnering organization?

A: Yes. In many cases, subcontracting with the partner organization might be appropriate. The details on how to create a budget with subcontracts are available in the application guidelines.

Q: Can my organization submit more than one proposal at a time?

A: Yes, as long as the proposals are for different partnerships and the teams are different, it is fine for an organization to submit multiple applications at one time.

Q: If I have a current grant through Spencer, can I apply for a new grant?

A: You may not hold more than one active research grant at a time from The Spencer Foundation. You may apply for a new grant while you have an active grant at The Spencer Foundation if the active grant will end before the anticipated start date of the new project.

Q: What is your policy on indirect costs?

A: Research grant proposals with budgets over $75,000 may include 15% indirect cost charges (IDC) on the total direct costs. Subcontract budgets may include the 15% IDC, but should not be included in the main budget total when calculating the overall IDC for the project. To view the policy, please visit the Applicant information and Policies section of our website: https://www.spencer.org/resources/Applicant-Information-and-Policies

Q: Are budgets expected to include in-kind giving or cost sharing? If not expected, is it allowed?

A: In-kind giving or cost sharing is not expected or required as part of your proposal budget. However, if you plan to include in-kind giving or cost sharing as part of your project budget, you should indicate this in the online budget form in the narrative section. If your proposal is chosen for funding, the grant award may be contingent upon receiving documentation confirming the additional support.

Q: I would like to speak with someone about my partnership before submitting a proposal. Is this possible and whom should I contact?

A: If you have reviewed the program statement and are still uncertain as to whether your partnership falls within the Spencer Foundation’s funding mission and request for proposals, feel free to email research-practice-partnership@spencer.org. 

Q: How do I determine my start date and when should I expect payment if my proposal is selected for funding?

A: We recommend proposing a start date that is at least 9 months after the deadline for the Intent to Apply form. The review process for this program takes approximately 8 months and once notified of the funding decision, it can take an additional 2 months for the official approval process which entails reviewing the budget, processing award letters, and issuing the grant payment. NOTE: Grant payments are issued on the third week of each month. If Spencer has not received your signed award letters by your start date, your payment will be delayed.

On our online application portal you'll find the full Request For Proposal and other applicant resources such as writing guides. To review these resources and to apply, please visit https://spencer.smartsimple.us/.