The Annenberg Institute supports Community Engaged Education Research Funds to promote and accelerate collaborations between Brown University researchers and education partners in Providence and Rhode Island. These funds provide opportunities for researchers at Brown to deepen their engagement with communities to build knowledge and bring evidence to bear to advance educational opportunity and equity.
This funding opportunity intends to support ongoing engagement between researchers at Brown and local education policymakers, practitioners, or community-based organizations. Projects can:
- Seed new community-engaged education research projects, creating demonstration projects that may make limited initial contributions but will lead to broader engagement and impact in future years;
- Accelerate existing partnerships, for example by supporting ongoing community-engaged education research efforts, strengthening partnerships to lead to future funding, or building the capacity of community partners to implement rigorous research and/or evidence-aligned solutions;
- Support the development of accessible, relevant and actionable policy tools for local education leaders resulting from research; or
- Synthesize research evidence in a key area of policy or practice to support more actionable evidence use and connections between research and practice.
Amount and Duration
The Institute will consider awards up to $30,000, although awards are expected to average $15,000 to $20,000. We expect to support smaller awards as well. Funds can be used to support research, education, and engagement expenses, but not faculty effort. Typical awards will last for one year.
Dates
Proposals Due: June 1, 2024
Announcements Anticipated: June 15, 2024
Projects Expected to Start: July 1, 2024 or later
Requirements and Eligibility
Brown faculty whose research is administered through Brown are eligible to apply. Faculty do not need to be Annenberg affiliates to apply, but we encourage all applicants to become affiliates and expect funded faculty to do so.
All projects must have a community partner (e.g., community-based organizations, state or district central offices, schools) identified at the time of application. This funding opportunity is designed for researchers and community partners with an existing relationship. Faculty who want to seed a new partnership should apply under the broader Annenberg research grants competition.
We define education and community broadly and invite proposals that support the learning and development of students at all levels. This award supports engagement in Rhode Island.
Proposals
Submit applications to annenberg@brown.edu with “Annenberg Community Engaged Research Funding” in the subject line.
Proposals should be brief (i.e., less than 3 pages recommended) and should include:
Background and Significance
Provide a brief discussion of the project’s background and significance. Describe the project’s overall goals and how this grant will help to further them, including how the project will support the community partner and contribute to the broader field.
Partnership
Describe the community partner and the nature of your existing partnership, including your approach to partnership development and your plan for collaborative engagement.
Project Approach
Describe what you will do during the project, including (as applicable) research methods/activities, analysis plan, and plans for evidence use by the community partner.
Project Team
Describe key personnel and relevant expertise.
Deliverables, Anticipated Outcomes, and Timeline
Provide a clear description of the specific products that you aim to produce and describe the outcomes that should be expected at the conclusion of the research project.
Itemized Budget (not included in the 3-page recommendation)
All use of University funds must comply with University policy. Please note any external funding sources that may support this project.
Funding for community partners should be made through alternative mechanisms (not payroll) and should be listed in a consultative costs section of the budget. While funds should adequately compensate the community partner for their time and resources, no more than 50% of requested funds can be allocated.
Funding can be requested to support all activities justified in the budget. Allowable costs include:
- Time + effort for students, research staff, and community partners
- Consulting
- Costs related to hosting meetings
- Costs related to furthering the partnership (e.g., facilitation or training resources)
- Costs related to planning, collaboration, and the development of joint proposals
- Costs associated with tracking and reporting on activities.
Note: these funds do not support time and effort for Brown faculty except in rare instances
Review Criteria
Proposals will be reviewed by an Annenberg Institute committee and potentially other Brown ad hoc reviewers. Successful proposals will center on education or educational experiences of youth, especially from communities that have been historically marginalized. They will demonstrate an actionable commitment to equity and authentic stakeholder engagement grounded in best practices for community-engaged partnership research.
We will evaluate proposals based on four main criteria:
- The extent to which the project will improve education (writ large) and promote equity in Rhode Island;
- The extent to which the project responds to community-identified challenges and opportunities;
- The project’s potential to attract funding from other sustainable sources, enhance additional partnerships, and/or strengthen local partnerships for future collaboration; and
- The proposed budget.
Requirements and Expectations
Grant awardees will be expected to:
- Provide a brief interim progress report due mid-way through the project and a brief final report due one month after completion of the project.
- Complete a final financial report, if requested.
- Agree to acknowledge this funding opportunity (e.g., “this project was supported by the Annenberg Institute at Brown University” in products).
- Participate in the broader Annenberg community (e.g., by attending seminars, etc.) and present work in at least one Annenberg-sponsored activity.
- Become Annenberg Affiliates.
- Award recipients may be asked to serve on a proposal review committee in future years.