Open call for Research Grants Program

The work is focused on Early Childhood Education and Care for children from birth to eight years of age – a broad and often multi-disciplinary field of study to inform, support, critique and advance Froebelian approaches to education pedagogy and practice as well as further research.

The Grants for Research

• Research is a core element of the strategy at the Froebel Trust. By funding projects, they aim to advance knowledge and understanding of Froebelian education and learning, and to develop practice in Early Childhood Education by helping researchers to share their evidence and key messages.
• They know that many people engage in research through their work in Early Years settings, schools, colleges, universities and community-based organisations.
• The researchers that they fund explore many different issues and questions connected to Froebelian education and scholarship. They involve a variety of participants or sources; they use a multitude of research designs and methodologies; and they present their findings in numerous ways.
• The Froebel Trust welcomes this diversity and the Open Call Research Grants scheme is designed with this variety in mind.
• They offer two types of Open Call Research Grants:
  • Seed corn grants are intended for early career researchers and/or small-scale and pilot studies. The maximum budget for these grants is GBP £5,000
  • Larger grants are intended for bigger studies and/or more experienced researchers. They expect budgets to be in the region of GBP £10,000.
• Applications are welcome from individual researchers or teams in any country, and from partnerships that involve more than one organisation or country. They can only pay grants to organisations, not to individuals.

Who can apply?

• Researchers can work in any discipline, organisation or country, but applications must show how the proposed research will promote and advance Froebelian education and learning related to children from birth to eight years.
• It is not necessary for applicants to have a masters or doctoral level qualification, but understanding of research, experience of project management, and the strength of the project design will be considered when applications are reviewed.
• Although applicants do not need to be based in the UK, applications must be written in English and budgets must be presented in GBP.
• Partnership projects are welcome. In such cases, a lead organisation must be identified for contractual reasons.
• Applications must be for original research projects. The Open Call Research Grants Scheme does not fund building, resourcing or development projects or research that is unconnected to Early Years education or early learning.

For more information, visit Froebel Trust.