The COVID-19 Related Research Grants support education research projects that will contribute to understanding the rapid shifts in education in this time of crisis and change. We are especially interested in supporting two primary categories of projects. First, we are interested in supporting studies that aim to understand and disrupt the reproduction and deepening of educational inequality caused by the COVID-19 crisis. Second, we also recognize that in times of great disruption and change, there may be opportunities to remake and imagine anew forms of equitable education. Thus, we are also interested in research projects that are working to reimagine educational opportunities in these times.
As with other Spencer grant programs, this program is “field-initiated” in that proposal submissions are not for a particular research topic, discipline, design, method, or location. We will be accepting applications on a rolling basis with budgets up to $50,000 for projects ranging from one to three years. We will review applications received by May 4th, again on May 18th, and again on June 8th. Our goal for this program is to support rigorous, intellectually ambitious, and technically sound research that is relevant to the most pressing questions and compelling opportunities in education in these times.