The Jacobs Foundation

The Jacobs Foundation was established by Klaus J. Jacobs in December, 1988, in Zurich, Switzerland, as a private philanthropic organization. It operates throughout the world.

The Foundation supports scientific research projects and their implementation which
• lastingly enhance the quality of young people’s lives
• promote their personal and professional development, and
• enable them to personally contribute to shaping tomorrow’s world

Grant Application Procedure

The Jacobs Foundation makes a range of grants available to qualified applicants, from Research Grants to Dissertation and Young Investigators grants. Candidates for grants are invited to submit first:

A short initial request, not exceeding 3 pages in length, which clearly describes the project or program and its objectives
·An itemised list of the amount of financial support requested
·A summary description of the applicant’s qualifications and accomplishments
·A list of all foundations or agencies to which requests for support for this proposal have been made

We propose that you use one of our 2 standard initial request forms and send them to our e-mail address: jf@jacobsfoundation.org

• Preliminary Research Proposal (Research Grants or Young Scholars)
• Implementation Project Proposal; Preliminary Application Form

Please note that there are no deadlines for submitting initial requests.

Please also note that we do not maintain any scholarship or tuition assistance programs, that we do not support construction or building projects, that we do not support publishing projects and that we do not contribute to fundraising drives or operating budgets.

On the basis of the initial request, the proposal is reviewed in consideration of the Foundation’s goals and objectives. If it is determined that the project could possibly be supported, a supplementary and more detailed proposal may be solicited.

Grants are decided upon by the Board of Trustees three times a year. To ensure a timely review of proposals, applicants should submit their projects in either January, May, or September.

Both the initial request and the full proposal must be submitted in the English language.

The criteria for the evaluation of all applications, solicited or unsolicited, are:
· The relevance of the project to the Foundation’s objectives
· The quality of the proposed project
· The applicant’s qualifications and capacities to execute the project successfully.

Further information about the Foundation is provided in the brochure “Priorities, Programs, Procedures”, which is available upon request.

Dissertation and Young Investigator Grants in Adolescence and Youth Research

The Jacobs Foundation runs a competitive grant program for empirical research investigations conducted either as dissertation projects or as young investigator projects (postdoc). Fields covered include the behavioral, educational, and social sciences.  

The program is directed towards young investigators from Central and Eastern Europe (former communist countries) and from developing nations in Asia, Africa, Central and South America.

Topical Emphases
The Jacobs Foundation has identified three general areas of interest in research on youth and adolescence:

• Development of life skills and social competence 
• Sensitivity toward nature and the environment 
• Capability to effectively use modern information technology

Within their general framework, the following topics are of special interest. These are not meant to be exhaustive:

• Beliefs about self agency and the future
• Social relations and generational nexus
• Life skills and life planning
• Cultural and individual diversity
• Educational values and citizenship
• Individual development and institutions (education, youth organizations, etc.)
• Interplay and improvement of cultural literacies
• Communication skills

Dissertation Grants
Dissertation grants are available to pre-doctoral students whose dissertation proposal has the approval of a dissertation mentor or committee. Funds up to USD 5’000 are available for materials, subject fees, research assistance, and other expenses required for conducting the study, analyzing data, presenting the results at conferences, or other forms of technical support. Personal stipends (salaries) are not covered by the grant program.

Young Investigator Grants
This program is aimed at postdoctoral investigators within a four-year period following the attainment of the doctoral degree. Applicants are expected to initiate their own research in the field of adolescence and youth. Funds up to a maximum of USD 10’000 are available for materials, subject fees, research assistance, and other expenses required for conducting the study, analyzing data, presenting the results at conferences, or other forms of technical support. Personal stipends (salaries) are not covered by the grant program. Institutions which host the investigator can claim an overhead of up to a maximum of USD 1’000.

Application
The application procedure is twofold: firstly, an Initial Request is to be submitted to the Jacobs Foundation. If the Initial Request is evaluated positively, a Full Research Proposal then has to be elaborated and sent to the Jacobs Foundation.

Initial Request
The Initial Request describes (1) the study goals and (2) their congruence with the Foundation’s mission statement; (3) the specific research questions; (4) design; (5) sample; (6) a preliminary budget;
(7) an approximate time schedule for the completion of the project, and finally, a short Curriculum Vitae of the applicant. The Initial Request should not exceed 5 pages. If the project is evaluated positively, the applicant is invited to submit a Full Research Proposal to the Jacobs Foundation.

Full Research Proposal
The Full Research Proposal contains three sections, i.e., (I) research project, (II) budget and timing, and (III) personal career. The Full Research Proposal should not exceed 15 pages.

I. The research section contains (1) the project title, (2) a summary, (3) the research questions, (4) a review of the relevant literature, (5) hypotheses, (6) detailed information about methodological procedures (sample, instruments, analyzing techniques), (7) expected results with reference to the Jacobs Foundation mission statement.

II. The budget and timing section contains (1) a time schedule for the completion of the project and (2) a detailed budget.

III. The personal career part contains (1) a Curriculum Vitae, (2) a statement of how the project would promote the applicant’s career, (3) an approval of the mentoror the committee for dissertation projects, or for young investigator grants a short recommendation from a mentor and an institutional confirmation of the applicant’s status as a young investigator.

Evaluation

The Initial Request should be sent to Jacobs Foundation, Seefeldquai 17, P.O. Box, CH-8034 Zurich, Switzerland. Submission by e-mail is requested (jf@jacobsfoundation.org). Submission deadlines for Full Research Proposals are three times per year, i.e., February 1st, June 1st and October 1st. Applicants receive a response within three months.

An Expert Committee of scholars in the field of adolescence and youth will review the Full Research Proposals and make a funding recommendation to the Jacobs Foundation.

Country: Deadline:RollingContact Person: Contact Email: Organization:The Jacobs FoundationWebsite:http://www.jacobsfoundation.org/