The William T. Grant Foundation is now accepting applications for the 2026 cycle of its Institutional Challenge Grants program.
The Institutional Challenge Grant aims to support university-based research institutes, schools, and centers in building sustained research-practice partnerships with public agencies or nonprofit organizations to reduce inequality in youth outcomes. Research institutions will need to address four important goals:
- Grow an existing institutional partnership with a public agency or nonprofit organization.
- Pursue a joint research agenda to reduce inequality in youth outcomes.
- Create institutional change to value research-practice partnerships within research institutions.
- Enhance the capacity of both partners to collaborate on producing and using research evidence.
The Foundation is most interested in supporting existing research-practice partnerships that will use the grant to continue learning and growing, and are not yet so established that the grant adds little value to what is currently in place.
The award will provide $650,000 over three years, which includes: up to $60,000 for up to nine months of joint planning activities, funding for two years of a full-time equivalent fellowship, and up to three years of support for the research partnership. In addition, universities must fund one additional year of a full-time equivalent fellowship.
Eligibility criteria include:
- Principal investigators must have visibility, influence on institutional policies and practices, and access to the resources needed to optimize and implement the award.
- Fellows must have received their terminal degree or completed their first residency between 8 and 20 years from the date that the application is submitted.
Please see RFP for full criteria.
To Apply:
- This is an open RFP (UCSF may submit an unlimited number of applications).
- Because of the institutional commitment required, applicants must obtain approval from their Chair or Dean before applying.
- Please email [email protected] to announce your intention to apply, then follow application instructions in RFP, conferring with your Grants Officer as needed.
- Application deadline is Wednesday, September 9, 2026.
For more information and to review complete application instructions and eligibility requirements, please visit https://wtgrantfoundation.org/funding/institutional-challenge-grant.