Deadline: May 12, 2009

The William T. Grant Foundation, which focuses its work on improving the lives of youth between the ages of 8 and 25 in the United States, has announced a new Request for Proposals on Understanding the Acquisition, Interpretation, and Use of Research Evidence in Policy and Practice.

Through this RFP, the foundation will support research on the factors that affect policy makers' and practitioners' acquisition, interpretation, and use of research evidence. The Grant Foundation believes studies of this topic will increase the understanding of how to improve the production and subsequent use of research for and in public policy and practice.

For the next several years, the foundation anticipates providing award amounts ranging from $100,000 to $600,000 for direct and indirect costs for two to three years of work. The total estimated budget for these projects is $1.5 million per year.

The foundation will consider applications for newly initiated studies and add-on studies to existing projects. The foundation encourages interdisciplinary projects and welcomes applications from researchers in various fields and disciplines, including anthropology, communication studies, economics, education, family studies, human development, organizational studies, political science, prevention research, psychology, public administration, public policy, public health, social work, and sociology.

Grants are limited, without exception, to tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organizations. The foundation only funds projects that include a primary investigator who is a full-time employee of the organization applying. Usually, this excludes graduate students. Graduate students can, however, be listed as co-primary investigators.

For more information, visit Grant Foundation to Fund Studies on Use of Research Evidence in Public Policy.