Jacobs Foundation LEVANTE Research Grants 2026 Open with Up to $1M Funding for Global Researchers

The Jacobs Foundation has officially opened its 2026 LEVANTE Call for Proposals, committing up to $6 million to fund global research on how children learn and develop. In a funding climate where education research is becoming increasingly competitive, this call stands out for its scale, international scope, and focus on data-driven, longitudinal studies.

The Jacobs Foundation LEVANTE 2026 Call for Proposals is a global research funding opportunity offering up to $1 million per project for studies on child learning and development. It targets experienced researchers with PhDs working in academic or research institutions, supporting projects that collect longitudinal data on children aged 3–12. Funding covers multi-year research costs, including data collection and infrastructure.

A Strategic Funding Push for Global Education Research

At its core, the LEVANTE initiative is not just another research grant—it is a structured attempt to build one of the most comprehensive global datasets on child development. The program focuses on understanding learning variability across individuals, groups, and environments, a topic gaining urgency as education systems worldwide struggle with unequal learning outcomes.

Unlike traditional academic grants that fund isolated studies, LEVANTE aims to integrate projects into a global research network, meaning selected researchers contribute to a shared dataset and collaborative ecosystem. This makes the program particularly attractive for academics looking to scale their research impact beyond single-country studies.

What Funding Actually Covers—and Why It Matters?

The funding structure is tiered:

• Regular projects: up to $250,000 (2–3 years)
• Large projects: up to $600,000 (4 years)
• Infrastructure projects: up to $1 million (4 years)

This range allows both smaller, focused studies and large-scale, technically complex projects to participate. Importantly, funding is designed to support longitudinal data collection, which is often underfunded but critical for understanding how learning evolves over time.

For researchers, this translates into the ability to conduct multi-year, high-resolution studies—including advanced methods like neuroimaging, behavioral tracking, and environmental data integration.

Who Is Eligible—and How Competitive It Really Is?

Eligibility is clearly defined and selective:

Applicants must:

• Hold a PhD (awarded at least 5 years before the deadline)
• Be affiliated with a university or research institute
• Demonstrate a strong publication and research track record
• Work in child development, learning sciences, or related fields

This is not an entry-level opportunity. It targets mid-career to senior researchers with proven expertise. However, the inclusion of young scholars within project teams is encouraged, offering indirect access for early-career academics and PhD candidates.

From a competitiveness standpoint, proposals are judged on:

• Scientific rigor and innovation
• Feasibility and resources
• Contribution to causal understanding of learning
• Geographic and demographic diversity

Projects from underrepresented regions are explicitly encouraged, which could slightly rebalance the competition in favor of researchers outside traditional Western academic hubs.

Why This Program Exists Now?

The LEVANTE framework aligns with a broader shift in global education research: moving from static assessments to dynamic, real-time understanding of learning processes. Governments and institutions are increasingly demanding data that explains not just outcomes, but why learning gaps occur.

By funding studies that use dense, high-frequency data collection, the Jacobs Foundation is positioning LEVANTE as a cornerstone initiative in evidence-based education policy.

Should You Apply?

This opportunity makes sense if you:

• Lead or are part of an established research lab
• Have access to child development study populations
• Are interested in longitudinal, data-intensive research
• Want to collaborate within an international research network

If your work is more theoretical or lacks infrastructure for large-scale data collection, this may not be the right fit.

Application Timeline and Final Decision

The application process of Jacobs Foundation LEVANTE Research Grants runs in three stages, starting with an initial submission followed by an extended proposal and interviews for shortlisted candidates.

The deadline for submitting initial applications is June 10, 2026.

For researchers operating in education, psychology, or developmental sciences, this is one of the more substantial global funding calls currently open—and one that prioritizes both scientific depth and international collaboration.