The Role of Funders in Developing and Supporting Equitable Global Scholarship: Advancing Critical Research in Comparative and International Education

Group Submission Type: Workshop

Description of Session

Amid ongoing global cuts to higher education funding, research funders play an increasingly pivotal role in shaping the academic landscape (Altbach & De Wit, 2020; Mintz, 2021). With universities facing financial strain, political pressures, and rising tuition costs, their ability to support independent, critical scholarship is weakening. In this context, external funders significantly influence what research is pursued, who receives support, and which topics are prioritized (Connell, 2007; Klees, 2018).
This influence is especially impactful in comparative and international education (CIE), a field already shaped by deep-seated global inequalities that affect whose knowledge is valued and who leads scholarly inquiry (Takayama et al., 2017; Zavala, 2016). While funders have the potential to counteract these inequities by supporting marginalized voices and regions, they may also unintentionally reinforce the dominance of global North institutions and epistemologies (Au & Lubienski, 2016; Baltadano, 2017; Stein & Andreotti, 2016). Thus, research funding must be understood not only in terms of financial input but also as a powerful force that can either reproduce or challenge structural inequities in global academia (Tuck & Yang, 2012; Baltadano, 2017).
This 75-min symposium brings together representatives from private funding agencies – along with scholars from the global South who have received support from these foundations – to critically examine how research funding can more equitably support knowledge production in global education. By placing grantmakers and grantees into shared dialogue, the session will surface pressing questions about access, agenda-setting, and accountability in international education research. We ask: How can funders support the development of critical, transformative educational research that centers the knowledge and leadership of scholars and communities in the global South? What does equitable funding look like in practice, and what barriers persist within existing systems of grantmaking? How can greater transparency and collaboration between researchers and funders drive more just outcomes?
The session opens with a panel featuring program officers from the Spencer Foundation, Echidna Giving, Evidence for Action, and the Impact Funders Forum, alongside grantees. Funders will discuss how they assess and support CIE scholarship, balance innovation with contextual relevance, and share lessons learned from diverse global funding contexts. Grantees will offer insights into the grant-seeking process, identifying both enabling factors and systemic barriers in securing funding for international work.
Participants will then move into small, facilitated groups, each led by a funder or grantee, to dive deeper into shared experiences and surface practical strategies for enhancing the competitiveness and visibility of CIE research. These discussions will create space to examine how funders and scholars can work together to reimagine proposal development, mentorship, and support structures in ways that amplify critical, community-embedded research.
The workshop will conclude with a large-group synthesis, where insights from the small-group conversations will be shared and used to co-develop actionable recommendations. This closing dialogue will help chart a path toward more inclusive, responsive, and effective funding structures, review processes, and support mechanisms that promote more equitable and impactful CIE research that is both cutting edge at the global level while deeply grounded in local contexts.

Sub Unit

• Book Launches and Workshops / Workshop

Chair

• Rhoda Freelon, Spencer Foundation

Workshop Organizer

• Tafadzwa Tivaringe, The Spencer Foundation

Presenters

• Dana Schmidt, Echidna Giving

• Jeana E Morrison, Evidence 4 Action, RWJF, UC San Francisco

• Diana Rodríguez-Gómez, University of Wisconsin-Madison

• Moira V Faul, NORRAG, Geneva Graduate Institute