Greetings Colleagues, 

Russell Sage Foundation has three categories of funding for their research grants. The deadline for a Letter of Intent is in one month on November 10^th, 2021. https://www.russellsage.org/how-to-apply/application-deadlines One usually thinks of RSF’s work in the social sciences rather than education. They aren’t focused curriculum or program development, but they support research to validate a particular educational approach’s impact on educational inequities, show how an approach deals effectively with a particular problem of inequity, or unlock knowledge on theories having an impact in the areas of workforce development or helping people toward economic independence. Once an applicant’s LOI is accepted and an invitation to submit a proposal is given, then the application deadline is March 9^th, 2022. 

 

--Iwan 

 

Social, Political and Economic Inequality 

https://www.russellsage.org/research/funding/social-inequality 

The Russell Sage Foundation’s program on Social, Political, and Economic Inequality supports innovative research on the factors that contribute to social, political and economic inequalities in the U.S., and the extent to which those inequalities affect social, psychological, political, and economic outcomes, including educational access, job opportunities, social mobility, civic participation and representation, and the transmission of advantage and disadvantage within and across generations. 

 

Behavioral Science and Decision Making in Context 

https://www.russellsage.org/research/funding/behavioral-science-decision-making 

The Russell Sage Foundation’s (RSF) core program on Behavioral Science and Decision Making in Context merges its long-standing program on Behavioral Economics and its special initiative on Decision Making and Human Behavior in Context. This program encourages perspectives from multiple disciplines, including economics, psychology, political science, sociology, law, public policy, and other social sciences, to further our understanding of economic, social, political, and psychological decision-making processes, attitudes, behaviors, and institutional practices in public and private contexts such as policing/criminal legal systems, employment, housing, politics, racial/ethnic relations, and immigration. 

The term “behavior” is used in multiple ways across disciplines. Behavioral observation has long been used for psychological research on human behavior. Experimental psychologists conduct field and/or laboratory experiments to learn more about why people take certain actions. Behavioral economists focus on the decision-making processes of individuals and institutions. In political science, the subfield of political behavior focuses on attitudes. Sociologists study how human behavior is shaped by the groups to which people belong and by the social interactions that occur within those groups. Social scientists across these areas are increasingly proposing interventions in ongoing policies and programs to test the effectiveness of their theories and models. The foundation seeks applications from all of these perspectives regarding how they affect individual, group, and institutional behaviors and social structures.   

RSF priorities do not include analyses of health or mental health outcomes or health behaviors as these are priorities for other funders. For the same reason, RSF seldom supports studies focused on educational processes or curricular issues but does prioritize analyses of inequities in educational attainment or student performance.  

 

The Future of Work 

https://www.russellsage.org/research/funding/future-work 

The Russell Sage Foundation’s program on the Future of Work supports innovative research on the causes and consequences of changes in the quality of jobs for less- and moderately skilled workers and their families. We seek investigator-initiated research proposals that will broaden our understanding of the role of changes in employer practices, the nature of the labor market and public policies on employment, earnings, and job quality. We are especially interested in proposals that address questions about the interplay of market and non-market forces in shaping the wellbeing of workers, today and in the future. 

 

In addition, Russell Sage Foundation accepts LOIs for research in the following two areas: 

1. Research on the Covid-19 pandemic and the resulting recession in the U.S. Specifically, research that assesses the social, political, economic, and psychological causes and consequences of the pandemic, especially its effects on marginalized individuals and groups and on trust in government and other institutions. Our priorities do not include analyses of health outcomes or health behaviors. RSF seldom supports studies focused on outcomes such as educational processes or curricular issues but does prioritize analyses of inequities in educational attainment or student performance.  
    
2. Research focused on systemic racial inequality and/or the recent mass protests in the U.S. Specifically, research that investigates the prevalence of racial disparities in policing and criminal justice and their social, political, economic, and psychological causes and consequences; the effects of the current social protest movement and mass mobilization against systemic discrimination; the nature of public attitudes and public policies regarding policing, criminal justice, and social welfare; and the effects of those attitudes in the current political environment. 
   
   More here: https://www.russellsage.org/research/funding/covid-19-pandemic  
   
   
3. This link is to some letter of inquiry writing tips and samples of LOIs are midway down the page: https://www.russellsage.org/grant-writing-guidelines