Jacobs Foundation LEVANTE Call for Proposals 2026

📖 About Jacobs Foundation LEVANTE Call for Proposals

The LEVANTE initiative by the Jacobs Foundation brings together researchers worldwide to coordinate data collection on how individual variability, group heterogeneity, and contextual variability influence children’s learning and development outcomes. This initiative has created the first cross-cultural, multidisciplinary open dataset capturing the diversity of child development, aiming to improve understanding of learning variability and its association with learning outcomes globally.

💰 Benefits of Jacobs Foundation LEVANTE Call for Proposals

The Jacobs Foundation is committing up to USD 6 million to support project proposals as part of the LEVANTE network. Proposals can be submitted under the following categories:

1. Regular Projects

• Maximum Budget: USD 250,000 over a minimum of 2-3 years (data collection at baseline, followed by two annual waves).
• Expected to support:
  • Follow-up of an existing, deeply characterized cohort as participants enter the school-age window relevant to the LEVANTE battery.
  • Efficient, high-value data collection leveraging prior investments without requiring the full suite of analyses or infrastructure envisioned in larger awards.
  • A narrow, well-defined scope focused on a single cohort or site.

2. Large Projects

• Maximum Budget: USD 600,000 over a minimum of 4 years (data collection at baseline, followed by three annual waves).
• Expected to support:
  • Collection of LEVANTE measures in new samples.
  • Addition of LEVANTE measures to ongoing or planned studies.
  • Supplementation of LEVANTE data collection with other measure types.

3. Infrastructure Projects

• Maximum Budget: USD 1,000,000 over a minimum of 4 years (data collection at baseline, followed by three annual waves).
• Examples include:
  • Collection of LEVANTE measures in new samples of greater size or with specific population characteristics requiring greater resource expenditure.

Note: Grants of USD 1,000,000 will only be provided for exceptional proposals requiring significant technical infrastructure and effort.

✅ Requirements for Applicants

Main applicants should:

• Hold a PhD or equivalent degree obtained at least 5 years prior to the application deadline (excluding career breaks).
• Be employed by and part of a research lab at an institution of higher education or research institute.
• Conduct high-quality research in the area of variability of learning and development.
• Commit to engaging with and contributing to the activities of both LEVANTE and the Jacobs Foundation.

📋 Selection Criteria

The following criteria will be considered during the selection process:

• Scientific quality of methods and data.
• Publication record and experience in similar collaborative projects.
• Feasibility of the proposed project.
• Availability of resources and capacity of the lab.
• Innovativeness, uniqueness, and value proposition of the proposed project.
• Geographic localization and demographic representativeness of the sample.
• Conceptual alignment and integration with the LEVANTE framework.
• Collaboration and multidisciplinary character of the project.
• Inclusion of young scholars in the team.
• Additional measures with no/limited additional funding requests.

📅 Application Date and Process

The application process consists of three stages:

Stage 1: Initial Application

Dates: April 13 – June 10, 2026 (midnight GMT)

• Submit general information about yourself, your team, and your background.
• Provide details of your study, including project description, geographical focus, and target population age range.
• Upload your CV and a list of publications.
  Review: Proposals will be reviewed by the review panel.

Stage 2: Extended Proposal

Dates: July 29 – September 25, 2026 (midnight GMT)

• Submit an extended proposal, including:
  • In-depth study description.
  • Timeline.
  • Budget.
    Review: Applications will be reviewed by external and internal panels and members of the LEVANTE Advisory Committee.

Stage 3: Interview

Dates: November 9-18, 2026

• Successful candidates will be invited for an interview with the review panel.
  Final Approval: Selected candidates will be presented for approval to the Jacobs Foundation Board.

⏰ Application Deadline

10 June, 2026

🌟 Opportunity Application

For more details and to apply, visit the official Jacobs Foundation LEVANTE Call for Proposals page.

• Up to USD 6 million to support project proposals.
• Regular projects: Maximum budget of USD 250,000 over a minimum of 2-3 years.
• Large projects: Maximum budget of USD 600,000 over a minimum of 4 years.
• Infrastructure projects: Maximum budget of USD 1,000,000 over a minimum of 4 years.