Are you a researcher based in Ghana, Kenya, Senegal, or Zambia? Applications are now open for grants of up to $15,000 to support research that strengthens Foundational Learning (FL) and helps shape education policy and practice. 

These grants are part of Phase 2 of Education Sub Saharan Africa (ESSA) and Research for Equitable Access and Learning (REAL) Centre’s Foundational Learning Project, building on the success of Phase 1 to further strengthen the capacity of FL researchers across sub-Saharan Africa to inform education policy and practice.

This initiative is supported by the Gates Foundation and the Global Partnership for Education Knowledge and Innovation Exchange.

Why Foundational Learning matters: 

Foundational Learning is crucial for the lifelong success of a child, as it’s at that level that children acquire all the basic literacy, numeracy and socio-emotional skills in their early years. Yet today, too many children are still missing out. In Ghana, for example, approximately 80% of children do not attain fundamental literacy and numeracy skills by the end of primary school (UNESCO, 2022a,b); in Kenya less than 50% of Grade 3 learners meet expectations in reading English text (USAWA Agenda). In Senegal and Zambia, high levels of learning poverty continue to persist despite increased enrolment in schools.  

This is why investing in solutions that work in local contexts—and led by local researchers—is so critical. Together, we can ensure every child builds the strong foundation they deserve. 

Why fund Foundational Learning researchers? 

Investing in locally led FL research is important because it: 

• Responds to country-specific priorities.

• Generates evidence that directly informs policy and practice. 

• Reflects lived realities, experiences and classroom contexts.

By funding African education researchers, we invest in local solutions that can transform classrooms and shape national education systems.

What we will fund:

These grants will cover direct research expenses (e.g. researcher time), research materials, data collection, designing of reports, travel for collaboration meetings and dissemination efforts.  

Number of grants:

Up to four grants will be awarded per country to individual researchers or groups of researchers, valued at up to $15,000.  

Eligibility criteria: 

Applicants for these grants must meet the following criteria:

• Be Ghanaian, Kenyan, Senegalese, or Zambian citizens currently based in Ghana, Kenya, Senegal, or Zambia respectively.  

• The lead applicant should have a PhD and be working in a university, research institution, or government department/ministry in Ghana, Kenya, Senegal, or Zambia. 

• Proposed research must focus on an area(s) identified in the individual country calls (below).  

• The application and the submission of the research report should be in English or French (in the case of Senegal).