https://www.fcd-us.org/2024-ysp-call-for-proposals/
The Foundation for Child Development is currently accepting proposals for its 2024 Young Scholars Program (YSP). YSP supports scholarship for early-career researchers. The program funds implementation research that is policy- and practice-relevant, and that examines the preparation, competency, compensation, well-being, and ongoing professional learning of the early care and education (ECE) workforce. Research awards are up to $225,000 for primary data collection and analysis and up to $180,000 for secondary data analysis.
Letter of Intent Deadline: Tuesday, June 13, 2023
Research Focus
All proposed research must have primary questions that are relevant to at least one of the Foundation’s three ECE workforce goals. Research questions must support scientific inquiry into the implementation of specific ECE programs, policies, or practices that affect the workforce. While substantial research has focused on examining what constitutes high-quality early learning experiences and the impact of policies and programs to identify “what works,” implementation research is needed to better understand how to bring about high-quality experiences for different groups of children, across different settings and contexts. For more resources on how the Foundation thinks about implementation research, its approaches and methods, and recommendations for future research, we highly recommend that applicants review Getting it Right: Using Implementation Research to Improve Outcomes in Early Care and Education and its companion piece, Getting it Right: The Conversation Guide for Preparing the Next Generation of Implementation Researchers. Applicants are encouraged to propose studies that examine implementation questions that are of interest to policymakers, decision makers, and program implementers.
Who Should Apply?
YSP is an open competition. The Foundation is committed to diversity and equity in our work and through our grantees. To increase the diversity of research perspectives, the Foundation encourages applications from:
- Scholars who are from underrepresented groups that have historically experienced poverty, racism, xenophobia, prejudice, and discrimination. Such groups include, but are not limited to, researchers of color, first-generation college graduates, and researchers from low-income communities and/or immigrant families
- Scholars who represent a variety of disciplines and methodological approaches
Eligible researchers must have received their doctoral degrees (e.g., Ph.D., Ed.D., Psy.D., J.D., etc.) between January 1, 2014 and June 30, 2022. Physician applicants must have received their M.D. degrees between January 1, 2011 and June 30, 2022.
How to Apply
For additional information about the research focus, eligibility criteria, application timeline, and how to apply, please click here.
The deadline to submit a Letter of Intent is Tuesday, June 13, 2023 at 8 PM EDT | 7 PM CDT | 6 PM MDT | 5 PM PDT.
Questions?
Please view the YSP FAQs and send all inquiries about the application, including technical questions about the online system, to ysp@fcd-us.org.