The Spencer Foundation Large Research Grants on Education program supports intellectually ambitious, rigorous, and technically sound research projects that contribute to the improvement of education, broadly conceived. As a field-initiated program, Spencer does not prescribe specific research topics, disciplines, or methodologies. Instead, it welcomes proposals from multiple disciplinary perspectives (including education, anthropology, sociology, economics, history, and neuroscience) and diverse research designs (quantitative, qualitative, mixed-methods, ethnographies, and participatory research) that investigate critical educational questions globally.

Eligibility

The program features open international eligibility for academic institutions:
- Geographic Scope: Proposals are accepted from the U.S. and internationally. Universities, and non-profit organisations based in Kazakhstan and Central Asia are fully eligible to apply.
- Principal Investigators (PIs): The PI and Co-PIs must hold an earned doctorate (Ph.D. or equivalent) in an academic discipline or professional field. Graduate students can participate as research assistants but cannot be named as PIs.
- Administering Organisation: The Spencer Foundation does not award grants directly to individuals. The PI must be officially affiliated with a non-profit organisation, university, public/governmental institution, or equivalent non-profit entity outside the U.S.
- Language & Currency: All pre-proposals and full proposals must be submitted in English, and budgets must be structured in U.S. Dollars (USD).

Priority Areas
- Foundational Knowledge on How Learning Occurs Across the Life Course
- Evaluation of Educational Policy, Governance, and Equity
- Multidisciplinary Investigations into Cognitive and Social Dimensions of Training
- Creative, Deep-Inquiry Methodologies in Academic and Community Contexts