Programs

The Rodrigues Research Fellowship Program offers fellowships to early- and mid-career researchers in area of physical and life sciences.

Particularly encouraged to apply are scholars who seek to combine multiple levels of analysis and engage in interdisciplinary work. There is a special focus on work to understand and embrace variability in learning, promote the practical application of evidence on human learning and development, and increase the scale-up of effective education policies and practices.

SALEX supports schools to build evidence and implement promising practices.

The School Action Learning Exchange (SALEX) is a learning community of organizations that support schools, school leaders, and teachers by aggregating and sharing knowledge, building capacity, and implementing promising practices in schools. Its diverse set of founding members, who work across six continents, include national NGOs, multilateral institutions, and organizations supporting teacher and school leader capacity, among others.

SALEX members undertake a variety of collaborative activities to facilitate the generation and uptake of evidence, both within the community and for the broader education ecosystem.

In Switzerland, teaching and learning are continuously evolving with the rise of digitalization. Students, teachers, parents, and policymakers are all experiencing the impact of these changes. We recognize the need for fresh perspectives, innovative partnerships, and an open mindset as technology rapidly evolves. Simultaneously, we see the potential for digital learning to enhance education.

Our approach focuses on bridging the gap between evidence, policy, and practice, fostering collaboration among diverse stakeholders within Switzerland’s decentralized education system. The approach consists of three interconnected partnerships: a research consortium, a forum for sharing school best practices, and an initiative involving education authorities.

LEAP is an initiative by the Rodrigues Trust that brings together researchers, social entrepreneurs, and educational companies interested in creating impactful solutions for 21st century education.

It is often difficult for researchers and education practitioners to work together successfully. There can be time constraints, perceived incompatible needs or simply a lack of awareness of the available expertise. Even if they do manage to embark on a joint project, there are currently limited opportunities for them to receive professionally managed and tailored support. With LEAP, the Jacobs Foundation wants to reduce those barriers and strengthen innovative and evidence-based education solutions. By taking part in LEAP, researchers and social entrepreneurs can use their skills to support organizations that are tackling pressing educational challenges across the globe.

The Learning EdTech Impact Funds (LEIF) program strengthens the EdTech ecosystem by encouraging greater use of evidence in investment decisions and product development. Through LEIF, we connect researchers to EdTech companies and invest in venture capital funds that commit to the use of evidence.

Even though the use of EdTech has grown rapidly over the past 10-15 years, only a small proportion of EdTech innovations are evaluated for their impact or effectiveness. Evaluation data are generally unavailable to the public, and only a fraction of EdTech companies conduct randomized control trials that are typical in most other industrial sectors. As a result, many EdTech innovations are supplied to schools without any analysis of whether they meet children’s needs. Ineffective and potentially even detrimental technologies are reaching the classroom.

Through LEIF we support EdTech companies to use evidence early on in product development. We also encourage researchers and academics to embrace the new possibilities of evaluating children’s progress offered by technology. We have committed CHF 40 million to encourage more evidence use in EdTech. About CHF 30 million of that is invested in venture capital firms committed to applying research standards to their funding decisions. We also help portfolio companies to meet evidence standards. We are currently working with eight venture capital funds: Brighteye Ventures, Educapital, Learn Capital, New Markets Venture Partners, Reach Capital, Rethink Education, Sparkmind.vc and Owl Ventures. These funds reach over 160 companies across the EdTech sector.

LEVANTE is an ambitious project designed to coordinate data collection by research teams on children’s learning variability within and across individuals, groups, and cultures.

LEVANTE – The learning variability network exchange

Variability is a common factor during childhood. Children’s abilities may vary within a classroom, within a social group, in different parts of a country or in different regions of the world. Yet education systems are not designed to address children’s variable states, often offering inflexible instruction that does not fit the needs of most children at a given time. In addition, research usually focuses on group averages, short snapshots of time, and only one environment. Our understanding of the causes and types of learning variability, as well as the best ways to address them, is still incomplete. How can we better understand this inherent diversity of the childhood experience and prepare children to thrive in the multitude of contexts they will encounter throughout life?

This is the primary question driving LEVANTE – the Learning Variability Network Exchange – a new flagship initiative supported by the Foundation under the umbrella of our Strategy 2030 Research Agenda on learning variability.