Research Grants

 

Call for Proposals

 2025-2026 Research Grants in Child and Youth Rights

התוכנית לזכויות ילדים ונוער, הפועלת במרכז מינרבה לזכויות האדם באוניברסיטה העברית בירושלים, מזמינה חוקרים וחוקרות מכל המוסדות האקדמיים בישראל ומכל התחומים להגיש הצעות לפרויקטים מחקריים העוסקים בזכויות ילדים ונוער, לשם קבלת מענקים לתמיכה במחקרים אלו. התכנית מציעה מענקים למחקרים מסוגים שונים: אישי לחוקר/ת יחיד/ה,  משותף לשני חוקרים או יותר, שת"פ בינלאומי, מחקר פעולה, ומחקר שטח.			The Child and Youth Rights Program (ChYRP) at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem's Minerva Center for Human Rights (MCHR) invites researchers in all Israeli academic institutions and disciplines to submit proposals for grants supporting research projects in child and youth rights. ChYRP will support the following research projects: Individual, collaborative-Israeli, collaborative-international, action research, and implementation research.
מטרתה של התוכנית לזכויות ילדים ונוער (ChYRP) לקדם מחקר, הוראה והפצת ידע בתחום זכויות הילד (בגילאי 0-18). אמנת האו"ם בדבר זכויות הילד מהווה את עמוד השדרה והקו המנחה של התוכנית. בהתאם לכך, התוכנית מעודדת מחקר בין-תחומי ושיטות מחקר המכבדות את זכויות הילד והילדה. במוקד העניין של התוכנית סוגיות עולמיות עקרוניות ומחקר משווה, כמו גם סוגיות מקומיות הנוגעות לילדים וילדות בישראל ובשטחים. מידי שנה התוכנית מדגישה זכות אחרת הקבועה באמנה. בשנה האקדמית 2026-2025 הדגש יהיה על עקרון טובת הילד הקבוע בסעיף 3 לאמנה.			ChYRP aims to promote research, pedagogy, and dissemination of knowledge in the field of child rights (aged 0-18). ChYRP uses the United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) as the blueprint for the program agenda and fosters interdisciplinary scholarship with a preference for rights-respecting methodologies. The program’s focus is on children’s rights from a global and comparative perspective, as well as local issues relating to Israel and the Palestinian Territories. Each year ChYRP emphasizes a different right outlined in the CRC. For the 2025-26 academic year, the program will prioritize studies related to “the best interest of the child” principle (Article 3).

 

We invite Israeli researchers from all academic institutions and disciplines to submit applications for research grants exploring various aspects of children’s lives, using a children’s rights lens, with particular attention to “the best interest of the child” principle. Research fields can vary and include education, criminal justice, child wellbeing, city planning, public policy, children’s health and mental health, children and media, sociology of childhood, cultural studies, children and their families, and children’s identities. Research projects may be theoretical, doctrinal, or empirical (using any methodology) and preferably involve children and youth in the planning and implementation of the research. The submission must show how the selected approach fits the research goals and questions. Research grants are designed to cover research-related expenses, such as research assistance, statistical consultation, and editing and will be paid in accordance with the Hebrew University regulations.  

Application deadline: May 2, 2025

(see full details below)

Submissions may be for any one of the following tracks: 

• Research Grant: Proposals may be submitted by either a single researcher (who will act as the sole Principal Investigator) or by a team of two or more researchers (who will act as Co-PIs). In the case of multiple researchers, applications must clearly demonstrate the distinct contribution of each Co-PI. Preference will be given to interdisciplinary research teams and methodologies. The sum of up to $20,000 will be allocated among proposals selected in this Track.

• International Research Consortium Grant: Proposals will be submitted by at least one Israeli researcher, who will act as the contact person with ChYRP, and at least one researcher who is a faculty member at an academic institution abroad.  The sum of up to $10,000 will be allocated among proposals selected in this track. Grantees of the International Research Grant may apply for additional funding to support visits in Israel of the international Co-PIs. Such visits will be considered together with other visiting scholars invited by ChYRP regularly to engage in teaching and research. 

• Action Research Grant: Action research projects involve the introduction of an innovative practice, program, or approach in an exploratory format (“pilot”), and an associated formative study designed to document the program and assess its potential. Action research projects require the commitment of practitioners from governmental or non-governmental organizations to establish the new program and the collaboration of researchers to conduct the associated study. Accordingly, proposals in this track must be submitted by a research team of at least one academic researcher (who will be the PI and contact person with ChYRP) and at least one representative of a governmental or non-governmental organization (who will act as the Collaborative Investigator – CI). The sum of up to $10,000 will be allocated among proposals selected this track. 

• Implementation Research Grant: Proposals will involve a structured assessment of an existing practice related to children and youth. It may be a legal or empirical assessment of the attainment of a certain right or a group or rights of children, or an evaluation of a program. Implementation research projects require collaboration between practitioners and researchers, but the grant will support the research only. Accordingly, applications for the Implementation Research Grant must be submitted by at least one academic researcher (who will be the PI) and must demonstrate the willingness of the relevant practitioners to collaborate or at least grant access to the data. Thus, an authorized practitioner must be either a CI in the proposed project or provide a letter of support for the study. The sum of up to $5,000 will be allocated among proposals selected in this track. 

 

 

Eligibility criteria:

• All academic applicants must hold a Ph.D. or an equivalent diploma and demonstrate relevant research experience in any discipline related to issues of child and youth rights. Israeli researchers may be either tenured, tenure-tracked, or research fellows in an academic institution. 

• All collaborating practitioners in Action Research Grant and Implementation Research Grant proposals must have the authority to establish (in the case of action research) or implement (in the case of implementation research) the examined practice and to collaborate toward the execution of the research project. 

 

Criteria for selection:

• Strong links to child and youth rights literature and the UN CRC, preferably with links to the best interest of the child principle. 

• Inclusion or consideration of children belonging to disadvantaged and minority groups.

• The curriculum vitae (CV) of the academic applicants should demonstrate relevant background to conduct the suggested research project; the CV of the practitioner applicants should reflect relevant experience in promoting the practice, service, or policy.

• Preference for interdisciplinary methods and research teams. 

• The proposal must show how the selected approach fits the research goal and question.

• The proposal must outline the significance of the examined program or the study outcomes.

• The research should include children and youth in the planning and implementation of the research and practice, where possible. 

 

Obligations and expected outputs: 

• Grant recipients will receive funding in accordance with the University's regulations for research grant disbursement and based on the budget proposal included in their application.

• The grantees are expected to submit a final report upon completion of the study. Each report will describe the substantive work that was done and the expenses spent during the study term. The research report will be published on the ChYRP website.

• Grantees are expected to publish at least one article presenting the research outcomes in a leading international academic journal.

• Grantees are expected to present the research findings in at least one conference or seminar held by ChYRP/MCHR. 

• Grantees will be expected to state the support of ChYRP in any publication resulting from the research.

 

Application instructions: 

1. Applications should include: 

• Research plan (up to two pages) describing the research questions, methodology, contribution of each applicant to the project, and potential significance of the examined project to children’s rights. Applications in the Action and Implementation Research Grant tracks will additionally include a description of the studied practice, its feasibility, and its significance in the children’s rights field.

• Proposed research timeline, including the expected outputs and completion date (1 page). 

• Detailed research budget (1 page). Please also list additional sources of funding obtained or pending for the project. ChYRP grants will not cover practitioners’ salaries in Action and Implementation Research Grants. Office equipment, including laptops, will not be funded.   

• CV of each applicant. 

• A one-page research plan summary written in accessible language (English, Hebrew, or Arabic) for young readers (ages 12-18), explaining your research topic and its importance for children's rights. ChYRP’s youth advisory boards will review these summaries and provide their input as part of the selection process. 

2. All documents should be combined into one PDF file.

3. Please submit applications (and questions) to the Child and Youth Rights Program via email: chyrp@mail.huji.ac.il.

4. The filename should indicate the applicant’s name and research track. 

 

 

Application deadline: May 2nd, 2025 

Notification of decisions - by early June