Ascendium is accepting action-oriented research projects that address gaps in evidence for rural learner postsecondary education and workforce success.
Donor Name: Ascendium
State: All States
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline (mm/dd/yyyy): 10/07/2022
Grant Size: up to $500,000
Grant Duration: 3 years
Details:
Ascendium supports efforts that can help the field better understand rural learners from low-income backgrounds and postsecondary education and workforce training providers.
Research projects selected for funding through this RFP will be those that:
- Generate evidence about the policies, practices and/or programs that increase persistence in and completion of high-quality postsecondary education and training.
- Generate evidence about the policies, practices and/or programs that promote pathways from postsecondary education to high-quality jobs.
- Provide insight on optimal frameworks and conditions for scaling evidence-based strategies across communities and organizations seeking to support and improve postsecondary education and workforce outcomes in rural areas for low-income learners.
- Demonstrate the applicability of anticipated research study results to specific actors (e.g., institutional leaders, state and local policymakers, intermediary partners and funders) who are positioned to bring about change for low-income learners in rural areas.
Ascendium has two primary goals for the research projects funded through this RFP. All proposed projects should center research questions that address one or both goals. Successful proposals will demonstrate the applicability of anticipated results for practitioners and other key actors — including state and local policymakers, intermediary partners and funders — positioned to bring about equitable change for low-income learners in rural areas.
- Goal 1: To close gaps in existing evidence on policies, practices and programs that are effective in providing rural learners from low-income backgrounds with successful pathways through postsecondary education and the workforce.
- Goal 2: To strengthen understanding of how postsecondary education and workforce training providers successfully implement evidence-based solutions in support of rural learners from low-income backgrounds.
Funding Information
Ascendium anticipates awarding grants up to $500,000 and three years in length to support the execution of research and dissemination.
Eligibility Criteria
Eligible applicants include public and/or nonprofit academic institutions, private nonprofit organizations and state government agencies. Applicants may represent partnerships between researchers/research teams and organizations, including research-practice partnerships.
They are committed to investing in research led by individuals and organizations representing the regional diversity of rural communities in meaningful ways. They strongly encourage applications from project teams representing the following.
- Rural-located and/or rural-serving institutions and training organizations.
- Researchers from historically underrepresented groups and/or from institutions that serve underrepresented groups, such as:
For more information, visit Ascendium.
