| 2009 |
The Center for Independent Documentary, Inc. |
Dissemination |
|
$200,000 |
| Date: |
12/03/2009 |
| Duration (months): |
11 |
| Description: |
Toward a public television documentary that retells a groundbreaking investigation into race relations in America |
| Abstract: |
Vital Pictures, affiliated with the Center for Independent Documentary, was founded in 2004 with a mission to create compelling media projects that stimulate national conversations on a range of issues, including social justice, spirituality, race, and the meaning of community—issues that define us as humans, as Americans, and members of the global community. The goal of their proposed project, Reflections on An American Dilemma is to produce a two-hour documentary for public television that retells the creation of the Corporation-funded study An American Dilemma, Gunnar Myrdal’s groundbreaking investigation into race relations in America in the 1940s. The film will stimulate a robust discourse among viewers about the beliefs and practices of American citizens, with special focus on the perspective of new immigrants. |
|
| 2009 |
Financial Services Volunteer Corps, Inc. |
International Peace and Security |
U.S. Global Engagement |
$350,000 |
| Date: |
12/03/2009 |
| Duration (months): |
24 |
| Description: |
Toward a project on relations among the United States, Russia and China |
| Link: |
www.fsvc.org |
| Abstract: |
The last several years have seen major changes in foreign and domestic policies of the United States, Russia and China. The complexity and interdependence of national and international challenges necessitate engagement among these powers. One way to foster this is through unofficial discussions that are structured to help advance official policies. The Financial Services Volunteer Corps (FSVC) has been conducting trilateral meetings involving the United States, Russia and China. The meetings, which also include representatives from India and Europe, provide venues for experts and practitioners to discuss topics that lie at the intersection of security, economic, financial and energy considerations in defining foreign policies. With continued support, the project will hold two annual international symposia, several working group meetings and publish recommendations for action. |
|
| 2009 |
George Washington University |
International Peace and Security |
U.S. Global Engagement |
$751,500 |
| Date: |
12/03/2009 |
| Duration (months): |
24 |
| Description: |
Toward research, dissemination and policy forums on Eurasia |
| Link: |
www.gwu.edu |
| Abstract: |
Since the end of the Cold War, the region of Eurasia has become a source of some of the most powerful challenges to the existing world order. Yet, the dynamics and the interrelationships in Eurasia are not well-understood or appreciated, especially in the United States. To help fill that attention gap the Corporation established the Project on New Approaches to Research and Security in Eurasia, also known as PONARS Eurasia. PONARS Eurasia has demonstrated itself as an effective mechanism for generating intellectual interaction and collaboration among a cohort of international scholars and with important policy-scholarly communities in the United States and overseas. With this grant, the project will relocate from Georgetown University to George Washington University’s Elliot School of International Affairs as part of a substantial expansion of the reach and impact that it has begun to demonstrate. |
|
| 2009 |
George Washington University |
Islam Initiative |
|
$475,000 |
| Date: |
12/03/2009 |
| Duration (months): |
36 |
| Description: |
For a project building the field of political science and international relations of the broader Middle East |
| Link: |
www.gwu.edu |
| Abstract: |
The broader Middle East has been central to many significant issues of global politics, economics, and national security over the past decade. Yet, Middle East specialists are underrepresented in the fields of political science and international relations. In the context of this array of pressing issues, the academic underrepresentation of Middle East specialists has exerted a negative effect on both public discourse and U.S. foreign policy, and limited the quality and scope of relevant research and public scholarship. Compounding this problem is the divide between the academic and policy realms in political science–a divide that falsely sets up these two realms as competing, rather than mutually reinforcing and interconnected. In response to these challenges, the Institute of Middle East Studies, housed at George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs, will spearhead a project to build the fields of political science and international relations of the broader Middle East, integrating regional expertise and linking scholarship with policy and outreach. |
|
| 2009 |
Institute for Advanced Study |
Higher Education and Libraries in Africa |
ICTs for Teaching, Learning and Research |
$200,000 |
| Date: |
12/03/2009 |
| Duration (months): |
12 |
| Description: |
For enhancing the capacity of selected science and technology postgraduate training and research networks |
| Link: |
www.ias.edu; www.msi-sig.org |
| Abstract: |
The Regional Initiative in Science and Education (RISE), hosted by the Institute for Advanced Study, supports five science and engineering postgraduate training and research networks, aimed at producing and retaining in Africa a new generation of African scientists, many of whom are expected to remain in the higher education sector as teachers and researchers. These networks involve sixteen universities and research institutes in nine African countries, and cover four fields: marine science, materials science, natural products and water resources. To date, the networks have recruited fifty postgraduate students and one post-doctoral fellow. This grant will enable the networks to engage in activities to strengthen network cohesion, fill Skills gaps and foster integration into their host institutions. |
|
| 2009 |
International Research and Exchanges Board, Inc. |
Higher Education in Eurasia |
|
$700,000 |
| Date: |
12/03/2009 |
| Duration (months): |
24 |
| Description: |
For improving university administration in Russia, Eurasia and Ghana |
| Link: |
www.irex.org |
| Abstract: |
One of the challenges facing universities in countries in transition relates to management, particularly in the areas of operations, strategic planning, fundraising, outreach and student services. The University Administration Support Program (UASP), administered by the International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX), began to address these shortcomings in Russia following the collapse of the Soviet Union. With funding from the Corporation, UASP offers ten-week U.S. visiting fellowships to competitively chosen university administrators and awards pilot project grants to enable them to implement reforms at their home institutions upon their return. With continued support, UASP will provide exchange opportunities and resources to university administrators from Russia, several Eurasian countries and from Ghana, building on IREX’s previous programs. |
|
| 2009 |
Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies |
Islam Initiative |
|
$300,000 |
| Date: |
12/03/2009 |
| Duration (months): |
24 |
| Description: |
As a challenge grant toward an historical atlas project |
| Link: |
www.oxcis.ac.uk |
| Abstract: |
The Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies is compiling a comprehensive, multivolume Historical Atlas of the Islamic World, with a first volume tracking the diffusion of Muslim education, practice, sects and intellectual life through the Indian subcontinent.
Many years have been spent on archival research and the preparation of 136 maps and their accompanying charts and tables illuminating ten centuries of developments in the region of the world where Muslim populations and traditions are most plentiful. In order to ensure that this unprecedented piece of scholarship reaches completion and reaches its intended publics, the Corporation is making a challenge grant for the finishing costs of the project over a designated final two years. The Corporation’s funds will principally support the on-staff researchers and visits by specialists to complete the volume. No indirect, overhead or consultancy costs are within the range of the grant.
|
|
| 2009 |
Tides Center |
International Peace and Security |
Nuclear Security |
$220,000 |
| Date: |
12/03/2009 |
| Duration (months): |
24 |
| Description: |
Toward the ReThink Media project to strengthen the media capacity of select nuclear security grantees |
| Link: |
www.tides.org |
| Abstract: |
ReThink Media was founded, as a project of the Tides Center, in response to a 2007 assessment that surveyed seventy-one organizations in the field and found substantial gaps in media and communication capacity. Through this grant, ReThink will work with selected Corporation grantees to help them better articulate and build support for their policy recommendations. In addition to technical support and coaching in media Skills, each organization will receive access to state-of-the-art tools that are typically available only to large organizations with a dedicated media shop: a dynamic journalist database and a specialized press tracking system. Finally, ReThink will work closely with polling organizations to synthesize the latest public opinion research and help Corporation grantees better frame and articulate their message. |
|
| 2009 |
US Pugwash |
International Peace and Security |
U.S. Global Engagement |
$320,000 |
| Date: |
12/03/2009 |
| Duration (months): |
24 |
| Description: |
Toward multilateral dialogue on security issues in the Greater Middle East |
| Link: |
www.pugwash.org |
| Abstract: |
Over its more than fifty-year history, the Pugwash Conferences (Pugwash) has been facilitating Track II dialogues among parties in conflict around the world, especially where the presence of nuclear weapons magnifies the danger of nuclear war. The Pugwash Group in Iran is led by Saideh Lotfian, associate professor of political science at the faculty of law and political science at the University of Tehran, and Deputy Director of the Center for Middle East Strategic Studies in Tehran. With her help and that of her colleagues in Iran, Pugwash has established a strong relationship with senior levels of the Iranian policy community, resulting in several Pugwash organized and cosponsored meetings in Tehran and elsewhere since 2003. During the next two years, Pugwash plans to organize workshops and consultations on a range of Iran-related security issues bringing Iranians together with Americans, Europeans and others from the region. |
|
| 2009 |
Achieve, Inc. |
Urban and Higher Education |
Opportunity Equation |
$2,163,300 |
| Date: |
12/03/2009 |
| Duration (months): |
24 |
| Description: |
For developing the next generation of science standards |
| Link: |
www.achieve.org |
| Abstract: |
The Carnegie/IAS Commission on mathematics and science recommended expanding STEM education by significantly increasing the number of students to be STEM capable for college readiness. A key foundation of this effort is the development of common standards in science that are fewer, clearer and higher and that are accompanied by high quality assessments. The Common Core standards have been undertaken by the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and the National Governors Association currently has 46 states and 3 territories committed to developing new common standards in mathematics and English Language Arts. The Commission recommended that science standards be addressed next. In partnership with that National Academy of Sciences and others Achieve will orchestrate the building of the next generation of science standards. |
|
| 2009 |
FSG Inc. |
Urban and Higher Education |
New Designs for Education Systems |
$150,000 |
| Date: |
12/03/2009 |
| Duration (months): |
12 |
| Description: |
Toward an assessment of national need for and supply of school models that can be used to transform the country's lowest performing schools into high performing schools for all students |
| Abstract: |
The Obama Administration has charged the philanthropic and public sector to work together in turning around our nation’s lowest performing schools. FSG plans to meet this need by conducting a comprehensive assessment of the turnaround landscape and convene practitioners during a conference to prioritize exemplary strategies. The assessment will help coordinate efforts and make sure that pathways to successful scaling are linked to best practices. Research will include identifying and interviewing key stakeholders and highlighting new trends affecting turnaround work as they emerge. |
|
| 2009 |
Gateway to College National Network |
Urban and Higher Education |
New Designs for Education Systems |
$987,000 |
| Date: |
12/03/2009 |
| Duration (months): |
36 |
| Description: |
Toward a project to transform traditional approaches to developmental education for underserved youth |
| Abstract: |
High school dropouts face significant and unique challenges in attempting to reenter the school system, from significant needs for remediation to school systems that lack capacity to reabsorb them while providing effective developmental education approaches that effectively bring their knowledge and Skills up to grade level. Gateway to College is a model designed to provide high school dropouts, aged 16 to 21, with the opportunity to reconnect with their education, graduate with a high school diploma, and earn college credit. In the coming three years, Gateway will shift its focus from college access to college completion. The proposed project will advance four strategic components: expanding its network of partner colleges and school districts; adapting the Gateway model to drive change across development education; strengthen data tracking and evaluation components of the model; and building its capacity for growth and expansion. |
|
| 2009 |
Harvard University |
Urban and Higher Education |
Strengthening Human Capital |
$752,000 |
| Date: |
12/03/2009 |
| Duration (months): |
36 |
| Description: |
Toward an evaluation of D.C. Public Schools' human-capital practices as measured by their effects on teacher effectiveness and student achievement |
| Link: |
www.harvard.edu |
| Abstract: |
Under the leadership of Chancellor Michelle Rhee, the Washington, D.C., public-school system has become a hotbed of reform. At the core of Rhee’s turnaround strategy is improving teacher quality by selecting and supporting effective teachers while cycling out those who consistently underperform. Toward that end, Rhee has launched three human-capital initiatives: 1) developing IMPACT, a data-driven teacher evaluation system, 2) identifying more effective ways of selecting new teachers, and 3) engaging in teacher contract negotiations. With this grant, Harvard University’s Education Innovation Laboratory (EdLabs), led by Dr. Roland Fryer, will assess to what extent these initiatives are advancing teacher effectiveness and student learning, shedding light on promising human-capital strategies for districts and schools nationwide. |
|
| 2009 |
National Consortium for College Completion |
Urban and Higher Education |
|
$500,000 |
| Date: |
12/03/2009 |
| Duration (months): |
24 |
| Description: |
Toward capacity building for a national consortium for college completion |
| Abstract: |
More students than ever go to college, but proportionally fewer graduate today than did 40 years ago. We should view the available evidence about this situation cautiously, but rough estimates suggest that at least half of the 1.2 million students who enter four-year colleges each year do not graduate. Those entering two-year colleges are even less likely to do so. At a time when arguments abound for doubling the numbers of college graduates to ensure a vital democracy and a competitive economy, President Obama has made college completion a centerpiece of his domestic agenda. The new organization, the National Consortium for College Completion, is capitalizing on the serious attention this challenge is now receiving across the nation by focusing on state policy solutions that can materially advance the ambitious goal of doubling the numbers of college graduates in the coming decades. |
|
| 2009 |
National Math and Science Initiative |
Urban and Higher Education |
Strengthening Human Capital |
$1,500,000 |
| Date: |
12/03/2009 |
| Duration (months): |
24 |
| Description: |
Toward the refinement and targeted expansion of UTeach, an innovative model for preparing math and science teachers |
| Abstract: |
Recent estimates project a nationwide shortfall of more than 280,000 math and science teachers by 2015, a shortfall which will most severely affect our highest-need students. The National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI) is working to address this need by expanding UTeach, a teacher-preparation program founded at the University of Texas at Austin that enables undergraduates to obtain a secondary teaching certification while earning a science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) degree. This grant will support a two-year effort to significantly improve the UTeach model through a continuous, data-driven feedback cycle that includes robust links to student achievement and a clearer focus on serving high-need students and schools. |
|
| 2009 |
New Technology Network |
Urban and Higher Education |
New Designs for Education Systems |
$2,027,000 |
| Date: |
12/03/2009 |
| Duration (months): |
24 |
| Description: |
Toward national expansion of a network of high schools and organizational capacity building to support expansion |
| Abstract: |
Globalization and an increasingly international labor market are redefining the Skills and knowledge today’s students need to acquire to be successful in tomorrow’s labor market. In response, the nation’s schools are facing a great demand to bring many more students to college readiness and post-secondary success. Schools and school systems must evolve their instructional practices with particular promise for engaging under-prepared adolescents, and technology can be a critical tool for this. The New Tech Network supports a school model in 40 high schools across 9 states, serving a majority of low-income students and students of color, with promising results in academic achievement. Facing significant increases in demands for its model, New Tech Network will build its organizational infrastructure and improve its core high school design model to both expand and strengthen its education delivery in the coming two years. |
|
| 2009 |
Our Piece of the Pie, Inc. |
Urban and Higher Education |
New Designs for Education Systems |
$1,305,400 |
| Date: |
12/03/2009 |
| Duration (months): |
36 |
| Description: |
For a project to develop and implement a recuperative education strategy for disconnected youth |
| Link: |
www.opp.org |
| Abstract: |
Hartford presents a compelling microcosm of the national challenge to bring larger populations of disconnected youth to much higher levels of achievement. With 16 high schools serving 5884 students, Hartford reported a graduation rate last year of 36 percent, up from 29 percent the previous year. The stark nature of Hartford’s statistics only emphasizes the need to develop and implement new school designs able to bring disconnected youth back into the system and then raise their levels of achievement to both high school graduation and college readiness. Our Piece of the Pie (OPP), an education reform organization operating in Hartford for 35 years, has formed a partnership with the State Commissioners of Education and Higher Education and with the superintendent of the Hartford Public Schools. In the coming three years, OPP will undertake activities to become a transfer school developer; establish itself as a leader in building a recuperative community of practice in CT through the transfer school model; and to become a leader in advocating for policy conditions in support of recuperative education in CT. |
|
| 2009 |
Police Executive Research Forum |
|
|
$250,000 |
| Date: |
12/03/2009 |
| Duration (months): |
12 |
| Description: |
For public education and outreach about the impact of immigration policy on law enforcement |
| Link: |
www.policeforum.org |
| Abstract: |
Much of the public policy debate about immigrants and immigration is now taking place at the state and local levels. One of the growing concerns emerging from these debates is whether local law enforcement should or should not enforce federal immigration laws in their localities. The Police Executive Research Forum is a national nonprofit organization of law enforcement chief executives from city, county, and state agencies who collectively serve more than half of the country’s population. Acknowledging the importance and wide impact of immigration on local law enforcement, it will document the challenges local communities face in response to heightened pressure on them to enforce federal immigration laws. By providing documentation and hard evidence, the Police Executive Research Forum will provide policymakers and the larger public with balanced information about the consequences of the laws they enact. |
|
| 2009 |
Public Interest Projects |
|
|
$6,000,000 |
| Date: |
12/03/2009 |
| Duration (months): |
12 |
| Description: |
Toward the Four Freedoms Fund's immigrant integration activities |
| Abstract: |
Throughout its history, the United States has been renewed by immigrants. The country faces a demographic imperative to support effective integration of immigrants. Much of this work is taking place at the local and state level, often within communities and regions, such as the South, that are charged with integrating newcomers for the first time. As states grapple with increasingly diverse populations, especially in new destination communities and in this economy, there is a need to build the capacity of the field so that nonprofit organizations across the nation can help with integration and educate different constituencies about the roles and responsibilities of being full and active citizens. Established in 2003 by the Corporation and other donors, the Four Freedoms Fund (FFF) is a funder collaborative housed at Public Interest Projects. It focuses on building immigrant integration capacity at the state and local levels, focusing on strengthening the communications, civic, and management Skills of immigrant-serving organizations. |
|
| 2009 |
Urban Assembly, Inc. |
Urban and Higher Education |
|
$180,000 |
| Date: |
12/03/2009 |
| Duration (months): |
24 |
| Description: |
Toward implementation of college-readiness performance systems in Urban Assembly Schools |
| Abstract: |
The Educational Policy Improvement Center (EPIC) is working with Urban Assembly schools to design College-readiness Performance Assessment System (C-PAS) in order to track student progress in the acquisition of five cognitive strategies for sixth through twelfth graders. Urban Assembly schools are one of two implementation pilots; the other is a network of twenty two Early College High Schools in California. The experience of the first year of the pilot indicated strong commitment on the part of both networks, but far greater challenge in implementing the curriculum and teaching tools in the Urban Assembly schools that target students entering high schools significantly below grade level. The Urban Assembly is looking to support the implementation of the C-PAS assessment as well as support for school staff in the documentation and evaluation of C-PAS. |
|
| 2009 |
Research Foundation of State University of New York |
Urban and Higher Education |
New Designs for Education Systems |
$250,000 |
| Date: |
12/03/2009 |
| Duration (months): |
36 |
| Description: |
One-time only grant for a college readiness initiative |
| Abstract: |
America spends an estimated $2.5 billion each year on remedial programs at the college level. This number represents more than a drain on the country’s economy; it is evidence of an ever widening gap between high school graduates who are “college eligible,” and those who are “college ready.” Without the necessary K-12 education, fewer Americans (as a percentage) are graduating from college than in the past. A growing number of professional educators and policymakers are using the term college readiness to explain America’s educational recession, a disconnect of academic expectations between post-secondary education and K-12. With Corporation support, SUNY College at Old Westbury will implement a three-year college readiness pilot program in the Westbury School District. The pilot program will demonstrate the means and methods that schools and communities can employ to improve high school graduation rates and college readiness among their graduates. |
|
| 2009 |
Advocates for Children of New York |
Urban and Higher Education |
New Designs for Education Systems |
$50,000 |
| Date: |
12/02/2009 |
| Duration (months): |
7 |
| Description: |
Toward sustaining and replicating a website available to New York City parents to navigate choice within the largest school system in the nation |
| Abstract: |
New York City has the largest school system in the nation; navigating school choice within this system can be daunting for families. Advocates for Children’s website Insideschool.org guides parents to make sure their children are matched with a school that is appropriate to their child’s needs. 1.2 million New Yorkers visited Insideschools.org last year. The core offering of the website is its qualitative review of each of NYC’s nearly 1,600 public and charter schools, produced by staff and freelancers based on in-person visits to the schools. These reviews in turn make the school system more accountable, but are labor-intensive and costly. Advocates for Children is pursuing two tracks simultaneously: piloting partnerships with other organizations to reduce production costs while maintaining quality; and evaluating offers from potential buyers committed to investing and growing the project. The Corporation will support the exploration and analysis of all options during this transitional year.
|
|
| 2009 |
Center for Investigative Reporting, Inc. |
Dissemination |
|
$50,000 |
| Date: |
12/02/2009 |
| Duration (months): |
12 |
| Description: |
Toward a reporting project on immigration courts |
| Link: |
www.muckraker.org |
| Abstract: |
With the economy deeply shaken, arrests of illegal border crossers down to a 33-year low, and a new administration, the country has opportunities to deliver immigration reform. With Corporation support, for the past year, the Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR) has reported stories that bring the problems of the immigration system to public attention and elaborate on the complexity of forces shaping the challenges. The goal is to inform the public so it can ask the right questions, demand useful action, and hold its representatives accountable for reform. CIR will to continue the trajectory of this reporting with additional support from the Corporation. CIR has investigated stories over the past year and has developed numerous sources and stories that provide a lens into major immigration issues. Potential new areas of coverage include—Immigration courts, laws, and mental health needs of detainees; Customs and Border Protection attempts to weed out corruption; Reporting related to children including undocumented, unaccompanied children and migrant labor; and reporting relating to detention and enforcement. The reporting serves many local and national news organizations. |
|
| 2009 |
Woodstock Theological Center |
|
|
$50,000 |
| Date: |
12/01/2009 |
| Duration (months): |
12 |
| Description: |
Toward a public education initiative on what the Catholic faith tradition teaches on migrants and newcomers |
| Abstract: |
The Woodstock Theological Center (WTC) is an independent research institute located at Georgetown University that carries out theological and ethical reflection on pressing human issues of the day. With Corporation support, WTC will continue its work on a national public education initiative that targets lay Catholics (and others) on what the Catholic faith tradition teaches on migrants and newcomers. The initiative, begun in 2006, provides a theological underpinning to groups and individuals who are engaged in migration-related service-delivery, policy work, and scholarship. The project is intended to directly benefit immigrant-led organizing groups, Catholic service agencies, academics, high school and university students, religious communities, and general parishioners. |
|
| 2009 |
Statue of Liberty- Ellis Island Foundation, Inc. |
|
|
$25,000 |
| Date: |
12/01/2009 |
| Duration (months): |
12 |
| Description: |
Toward the establishment of a museum of the history of immigration in America |
| Abstract: |
The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, Inc., was founded in 1981 to raise funds for the restoration and preservation of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. With Corporation support, the foundation will create the Peopling of America Center, housed at the Ellis Island Immigration Museum. The center will become the recognized destination to explore the essential character and experience of its subject matter; a clearinghouse and facilitator for immigration education and celebration; and a newly established institutional landmark. |
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