Spencer Foundation Vision Grants

About this program

The Spencer Foundation funds two complementary programs to support transformative research for educational equity: Vision Grants for teams to plan multi-method, interdisciplinary collaborative studies addressing systemic equity challenges, and Transformative Research Grants—open only to teams that have completed a Vision Grant—providing up to $3.5 million to execute those plans (one to two awards expected annually). Vision Grant applicants should be collaborative teams that center equity, engage deeply with policymakers, practitioners, families, and communities, and propose interdisciplinary methods with clear impact aims. Transformative Research Grant applicants must have completed a Vision Grant and present a robust research and implementation plan aimed at policy, practice, or pedagogical change. Proposals are expected to move beyond documenting inequality toward actionable, system-level transformation.