William T. Grant Distinguished Fellows
The goal of the Distinguished Fellows Program is to increase the supply of, demand for, and use of high-quality research in the service of improved youth outcomes and well-being. To accomplish this goal, the program gives researchers the opportunity to immerse themselves in practice or policy settings and conversely gives influential mid-career practitioners and policymakers the opportunity to work in research settings.
The RFP will be reissued as the 2008-2009 William T. Grant Distinguished Fellows Application Guide on September 19, 2008. Deadline for Letters of Inquiry will be January 8, 2009.
Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible for consideration, Fellows must:
* Be influential mid-career practitioners, policymakers, or researchers.
* Submit a proposal that advances the William T. Grant Foundation's Current Research Interests.
* Propose one or two tax-exempt private and governmental organizations that are willing to "house" and mentor the Fellow.
Q. What is the goal of the Distinguished Fellows Program?
A. The Foundation focuses on supporting research to improve the lives of youth ages 8-25 in the United States. The goal of the Distinguished Fellows Program is to increase the supply of, demand for, and use of high-quality research in the service of improved youth outcomes.
Q. Who is eligible to apply for the William T. Grant Distinguished Fellows Program?
A. Mid-career policymakers, practitioners, and researchers who are influential within their role and significantly able to affect attitudes and practices of others working in similar roles and settings. Support is restricted to researchers seeking to work in policy or practice settings, or policymakers and practitioners seeking to work in research settings.
Q. How do you define mid-career?
A. Mid-career is defined as having 8 to 20 years of cumulative experience in one's current role as a researcher, policymaker, or practitioner.
Q. How is someone judged to be an influential?
A. For the purposes of this RFP an influential is defined as a policymaker, practitioner, or researcher who is seen by colleagues in his/her role as particularly knowledgeable and well connected to others in the role and who uses knowledge, access, and connections to influence colleagues on matters important to youth.
Q. How do you define practitioner, policymaker, and researcher?
A. Practitioner refers to a person working in an organization or system that provides direct services to youth ages 8-25 (e.g., school districts, the child welfare system, community-based organizations) or in an organization meant to support such direct service organizations and systems (e.g., training and technical assistance providers, constituent group organizations).
Policymaker refers to a person currently working in a policymaking or policy-implementing organization (e.g., legislative or executive branch staff) or in an organization meant to support and/or influence such agencies (e.g., constituent group organization, advocacy organization).
Researcher is a person who works in a setting where he/she manages, designs, or conducts research, evaluations, and/or policy analyses.
Q. Are there any restrictions on the number of people per institution who may apply to the program?
A. There are no restrictions regarding the number of applicants per institution.
Q. What does the Distinguished Fellows award consist of?
A. Award recipients will be named William T. Grant Distinguished Fellows, and each Fellow will receive up to $175,000 (including direct and indirect costs of 7.5%) for the total duration of the fellowship. Fellowships may range between six months and two years. Fellowship activity must amount to a minimum of half of a person-year at the fellowship site(s) over the duration of the project. (Thus, the minimum duration is full-time for six months at the Fellowship site.) Awards are made to the applicant's employer, which must be a non-profit private or governmental organization.
William T. Grant Foundation
570 Lexington Ave., 18th Floor, New York, NY 10022-6837
Phone: 212.752.0071 Fax: 212.752.1398 E-mail: info@wtgrantfdn.org
