Stage 1: Seed Partnerships

Funding Early-Stage Solutions

Solutions-focused research in the social sciences requires a deep, context-specific understanding of the problem being addressed. No remedy to a challenge confronting society can have real impact unless it considers who is affected by it, how they’re affected, and what else has been done (or is underway) to exacerbate, shift, or resolve it. 

This vital early-stage work takes time and coordination, and greatly increases the likelihood that research and insights, once shaped into solutions, will yield practical action that benefits society.

SIL's Stage 1: Seed Partnerships funding provides support for new and established partnerships to conduct research that deepens understanding of their chosen problem and sets the stage for testing solutions. Successful applicant teams are able to demonstrate:

• A demand for the research
• Collaboration with key stakeholders and end users
• A clear path towards developing and testing solutions

With Stage 1 funding, teams with established partnerships may wish to collaborate on a research project to better understand the nuances of a social problem (such as in a new context or discrete population) with the goal of building evidence to design or propose a solution. Teams may also have sufficient evidence to understand the drivers of a social problem but wish to pilot a limited intervention before proposing a large-scale R&D cycle and pathway to scaling. 

For teams with new partnerships, Stage 1 funding may be used to support the development of a deeper relationship with their partner(s) and to develop a shared understanding of causes and drivers of the social problem in a way that sets the stage for designing and testing a scalable solution in real-world settings.

Successful investments will yield a deeper understanding of the problem landscape and a strong equitable partnership ready to test a solution under real conditions. 

Our Stage 1: Seed Partnerships Request for Proposals (RFP) includes detailed information about SIL's investment process and criteria. We accept Stage 1 applications each year in September / October.