MacArthur Foundation’s Call for Proposals for Strengthening Education

MacArthur Foundation has announced a call for proposals for the Partnership to Strengthen Innovation and Practice in Secondary Education (PSIPSE). The aim of the program is to accelerate innovation in secondary education programming, research, and development in selected countries. It is led by a group of private donors and donor advisors, including ELMA Philanthropies Services, Human Dignity Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, MasterCard Foundation, and Wellspring Advisors, who have come together to encourage a new wave of innovation and learning in secondary education.

The PSIPSE’s focus is both upper and lower secondary education. Where schooling at the upper level is further divided between traditional general secondary education and vocational education, PSIPSE is focused on increasing the relevance of general secondary education learning.  PSIPSE supports programs and projects targeted to the formal education system and informal programs that help students transition to or re-enter the formal system.  PSIPSE is interested in four thematic areas: demand, improving teacher effectiveness, promoting employment-relevant skills, and alternative educational models for learning (see ‘Thematic Areas of Interest’ section below).

Proposals submitted may be for pilots, for research, or  for scale-up (see ‘Types of Projects’ section below). Regardless of their nature, the PSIPSE encourages projects with replication and scale-up potential. Across the four themes, the PSIPSE looks for projects that (i) target marginalized populations, such as girls; (ii) use technology in innovative, cross-cutting ways**; or (iii) do both. The PSIPSE is also concerned with the delivery of secondary education to conflict-affected populations in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and in Uganda.

Applicants are encouraged to submit proposals for projects that benefit the following marginalized populations:

    Learners living in low-resource or poverty-affected areas
    Girls and young women
    Learners with physical, intellectual and /or developmental disabilities

Geography

Applicants may propose work in the following geographic areas:

    East Africa
    Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo
    Ethiopia
    Kenya
    Rwanda
    Tanzania
    Uganda

*: Note, projects targeting conflict-affected populations are welcomed only in the Eastern DRC (North Kivu, South Kivu, Province Orientale, Maniema) and in Uganda (Northern Uganda, West Nile Sub-region, and Western Uganda). Funding in Uganda is not restricted, however, to conflict-affected populations, nor to any particular parts of the country

    Nigeria (particularly the states of Kano, Sokoto, Jigawa, Lagos, Rivers, and Cross Rivers)
    India (particularly the states of Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Andhra Pradesh and the cities of Chennai, Delhi, and Mumbai)

These regions and countries have been selected based on secondary education needs, as well as strategic and geographic priorities of donor and donor advisor partners. Projects that take a regional focus may also apply

The deadline for all Letters of Inquiry submissions is May 15, 2013 at 12:00 pm CST. For more information, visit this link.