The Foundation for Child Development is accepting proposals for its 2023 Young Scholars Program (YSP). YSP supports scholarship for early-career researchers. The program funds implementation research that is policy- and practice-relevant, and that examines the preparation, competency, compensation, well-being, and ongoing professional learning of the early care and education (ECE) workforce. Research awards are up to $225,000 for primary research and up to $180,000 for secondary data analysis.

Letter of Intent Deadline: Thursday, June 9, 2022

Research Focus
All proposed research must have primary questions that are relevant to the ECE workforce. All proposed research questions must support scientific inquiry into the implementation of specific ECE programs, policies, or practices. Implementation research provides the opportunity to engage in meaningful exploration of what works (or not), for whom, and under what conditions using a variety of methodological approaches and research designs. The Foundation highly recommends reviewing Getting it Right: Using Implementation Research to Improve Outcomes in Early Care and Education, as it explains the Foundation’s perspective on the value of implementation research and provides guidance on various implementation research approaches and methods. The Foundation also recommends reviewing its companion piece, Getting it Right: The Conversation Guide for Preparing the Next Generation of Implementation Researchers. Finally, all supported research must have a clear connection to policies and practices that have the potential to result in a positive impact on the ECE workforce and on the young children in YSP’s priority populations.