Key information
- Status: Open
- Grant amount: Maximum value $400,000 per successful recipient
- Application opened: 22 October 2025
- Application closes: 22 November 2025, 5:00 pm
Program objective
The ECEC Strategic Research Fund is a grants program to fund quality research as part of the ECEC Research program, which aims to enhance research that will benefit children, Early Childhood teachers and educators, ECEC settings, and communities across NSW.
The ECEC Strategic Research Fund is made up of two categories of grants:
- Leveraging Grant: supports existing post-award research projects (for example philanthropic funding, ARC Linkage or Discovery projects). Successful projects will increase the applicability of project outcomes/outputs to the NSW ECEC context and the principal objective of the CEO Fund.
- Innovation Grant: supports the development of new ambitious, innovative ECEC research aligned with the ECEC research Successful projects will provide immediate applied benefit to the ECEC workforce and support the translation of research into new innovations and policy initiatives.
This program is administered by Department of Education.
Eligibility
Who can apply
To be eligible for grants under the ECEC Strategic Research Fund, lead researchers must:
- be employed by a university in NSW (“the administering organisation”).
- be a permanent staff member, who holds the position of Senior Lecturer equivalent or above.
- have the demonstrated skills and capacity to deliver the project.
- ensure the administering organisation must be financially viable and able to demonstrate they are likely to remain so over the duration of the project.
Who the grant is targeted towards
Expert ECEC researchers employed by a university in NSW
Types of projects funded under this grant
For projects to be eligible all grants under the ECEC Strategic Research Fund must:
- Meet the eligibility criteria of one of the following grant categories under the ECEC Research Program:
- For projects to be eligible for the Leveraging Grant, the research project proposal must be a post-award project (for example philanthropic funding, ARC Linkage or Discovery projects). Successful projects will increase the applicability of project outcomes/outputs to the NSW ECEC context and the principal objective of the CEO Fund.
- To be eligible for the Innovations Grant, the research project proposal must qualify as ambitious, innovative ECEC research aligned with the ECEC research priorities. Successful projects will provide immediate applied benefit to the ECEC workforce and support the translation of research into new innovations and policy initiatives.
Align with at least one of the six Research Priority Areas:
- ECEC Quality: Research that focuses on what quality can look like across the many ECEC contexts of NSW and how quality services that meet the needs of children and families can increase access and participation. This will include better understanding the factors enabling and constraining quality in ECEC environments, pedagogy, professional practice and leadership.
- ECEC Workforce: Research that focuses on innovations to support attracting, retaining and sustaining the ECEC workforce, and understanding more about the conditions that enable ECEC professionals to thrive and provide high quality education and care. This will include research on professional learning and mentoring to support, retain and sustain the ECEC workforce, and support professionalism and completion of qualifications for the ECEC workforce.
- ECEC Models of Provision: Research that focuses on effective models of provision, and the benefits, challenges and enabling factors of different ECEC models of provision across different contexts and communities of NSW, including rural and remote areas. Research that provides the evidence to design, deliver and oversee inclusive, accessible and high-quality ECEC that meets the needs of the children, families and communities of NSW.
- Aboriginal led ECEC: Research that focuses on sustainable ECEC provision for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander children, families and communities. Understanding more about how to increase access to culturally responsive early learning services; Aboriginal design and governance of ECEC in NSW; ECEC that builds on the strengths, wisdom and traditions of Aboriginal connections to Country, Language and Culture in NSW.
- ECEC Inclusion: Research that focuses on support to ECEC workforce and services to include all children, including how the supports required and/or different models can be created for sustainable, equitable, and high quality ECEC for all children, with a particular focus on disability equity.
- Under-served Communities: Research on increasing ECEC participation for under-served cohorts and communities in NSW; understanding more about the data used to identify children and communities most in need. Research on increasing supply in under-served areas and reducing barriers to access for children and their families, and supporting ECEC Workforce – attracting, retaining and sustaining workforce in under-served areas and/or for under-served cohorts.
Have ethics approval or be likely to receive ethics approval from the relevant ethics committee at the university.
- Include evidence of approval or apply through the NSW State Education Research Applications Process (SERAP), if the proposed research project involves public preschools or schools. If a SERAP is unsuccessful, the proposed research will not be funded
What your application needs to include
Prepare your application with this checklist
Applicants will need to upload the following supporting documentation:
1. Endorsement letter from administering organisation
A signed letter of endorsement from the administering organisation confirming:
- The lead researcher is a permanent employee the university.
- The university supports the proposed research project grant application (all applicants).
- Funding levels of cash contributions and levels of in-kind contributions to the proposed research project (if applicable).
- That research ethics approval is likely to be or already has been granted.
2. Partner university support letter
A signed letter of support from any partner universities clearly indicating the following:
- Levels of cash contributions to the proposed research project (if applicable).
- Levels of in-kind contributions to the proposed research project (if applicable).
3. Budget and research activity template
Applicant should download and complete the budget and research activity template.
4. Lead researcher CV
A summary CV for the lead researcher demonstrating evidence of researcher's capability to conduct this research (maximum 2 pages).
5. Research team CV
A summary CV for the research team demonstrating evidence of the team's capability to conduct this research (1 page per team member).
6. University ethics approval
7. SERAP approval (if applicable)
8. Leveraging grant evidence
Evidence of the existing research project funding is required for applications in the leveraging category.
Address the eligibility criteria
Each applicant, as part of an application response, must confirm that they meet the eligibility criteria.
Applicants that do not address the eligibility criteria in full may be excluded from the application process at the department's discretion.
Address the assessment criteria
Criteria requirements and weighting
a) Researcher(s) capability (300 words limit) 35%
- Time and capacity to undertake the research
- Evidence of experience in research training, mentoring and supervision (where appropriate)
- The capability of the Lead Researcher or team to build collaborations both within NSW and nationally.
b) Quality and innovation (600 words limit) 20%
- Contribution to an important gap in knowledge or significant problem
- Novelty/originality and innovation of the proposed research (including any new methods, technologies, theories or ideas that will be developed)
- Clarity of the hypothesis, theories and research questions
- Cohesiveness of the project design and implementation plan (including the appropriateness of the aim, conceptual framework, method, data and/or analyses)
- Culturally responsive and respectful research design, methods, data analysis and reporting
- Demonstrates immediate applied benefit to Early Childhood Teachers, Educators, children, families and communities
c) Benefits (600 words limit) 35%
- Demonstrates benefit to the principal objective of the CEO Fund.
- Alignment to one or more of the Six Research Priority Areas
- New or advanced knowledge resulting from outcomes of the research
- Expected short, medium and long-term outcomes of your research project
- Social and/or cultural benefits against economic, state and national priorities
- Potential for translation into priority policy
- Settings including NSW Education, Premier’s and state priorities, for example as articulated in the NSW Our Plan for Public Education
- Suitability of proposed project and research translation into NSW context
- Research impact and engagement, and anticipated outputs (summary)
d) Feasibility (300 words limit) 10%
Availability of the necessary facilities to complete the project
- The value-add of NSW ‘top up’ contribution - cost-effectiveness of the research
- Extent to which the project’s design, participants and budget create confidence in the timely and successful completion of the project.
- Potential for research findings to be shared early and often, though a project design that allows for a timeline with multiple delivery points.
Start the application
The ECEC Strategic Research Fund grants are open and competitive. Applicants will submit a detailed application via SmartyGrants under one of the following categories: Leveraging or Innovation.
For all Research Fund grants:
- Applications close on 22 November 2025, 5:00PM
- Applicants must submit a Detailed Application
- Applications must be submitted via the SmartyGrants website by an authorised officer from the applicant organisation, who confirms the accuracy of the application.
- Applications will be reviewed to ensure they are complete, meet the eligibility criteria and comply with the Program Guidelines.
- Eligible and compliant applications will then proceed to assessment. Applications will be assessed on their comparative merits against the assessment criteria. The Selection Panel will recommend suitable applications for funding to the CEO Fund Board. The CEO Fund Board is the final decision-maker, and, in all circumstances, the CEO Fund Board’s decision is final.
- Applications must be signed by the lead researcher and endorsed by the respective Research Office(s) at the Administering Organisation(s).
- Late applications will not be accepted.
Note: If you are a new applicant to SmartyGrants, you will need to register and create a password. If you are already registered, you can log in with your existing username and password.
Apply now
After the application is submitted
Successful applications will be decided by: Childcare and Economic Opportunity Fund Board
Assessment of grant applications
Selection Panel
The assessment of applications will be led by the ECEC Research Selection Panel (the “Selection Panel”), who will provide advice and recommendations to the CEO Fund Board on the suitability of proposals for support.
The Selection Panel will comprise members with a range of research and early childhood expertise, advice will also be sought in specialist areas related to projects as required.
The Selection Panel will be required to identify any conflicts of interest and sign a confidentiality agreement. Upon direction from the CEO Fund Board, an independent expert reviewer and/or probity advisor may be engaged for the specified purposes.
Assessment of applications
This grant under the ECEC Research Program has an open, competitive assessment process. To be considered, applicants need to meet the specific requirements and provide a comprehensive application that meets the assessment criteria.
The Selection Panel on behalf of the CEO Fund Board will:
- Assess and rank grant applications according to the eligibility and assessment criteria; and
- Recommend which applicants, if any, should receive grants, and the amount of those
The assessment criteria will be used to evaluate and rank applications by the Selection Panel for final funding approval by the CEO Fund Board.
Decision making
The CEO Fund Board will consider recommendations from the ECEC Research Selection Panel and make final decisions on whether to fund projects.
Support and contact
Childcare and Economic Opportunity Fund