🌍 Global Fellowship 🧒 The LEGO Foundation Fellowship: Research on How Children Thrive 🔬 ($300,000 over 3 years)

The LEGO Foundation Fellowship is a global initiative supporting researchers working to deepen our understanding of how children thrive. Spanning disciplines from education and psychology to public health, data science and humanitarian studies, the fellowship brings together early- and mid-career scholars whose work has the potential to generate evidence that matters for children's lives. Fellows receive three years of flexible support to pursue rigorous, practically relevant research, and join a cohort of peers working across the fellowship's themes. The programme is developed in partnership with the LEGO Foundation and administered by the SSRC as part of its commitment to supporting scholars whose work bridges research and real-world impact.

About the Fellowship

The LEGO Foundation invites applications for a global research fellowship for early- and mid-career researchers whose work can strengthen understanding of how children thrive across diverse contexts. The fellowship provides flexible support over a three-year period for researchers pursuing ambitious, rigorous and practically relevant work. They are looking for fellows with strong research potential, clear ideas for the next phase of their work, and a commitment to building evidence that can inform action for children.

Applications are welcome from researchers across disciplines, methods and geographies. Relevant fields may include, but are not limited to, education, psychology, child development, public health, economics, sociology, neuroscience, data science, humanitarian studies, disability studies, human-computer interaction and implementation science.

The fellowship supports researchers with a clear line of inquiry related to children's thriving. Applicants should describe the work they are ready to advance during the fellowship period, how it builds on their existing research, and why this is the right moment for fellowship support. Funds are awarded to and administered by the fellow's institution and may be used, consistent with programme guidelines, to support the fellow's effort and the broader costs of carrying out the research. Allowable costs include research personnel, professional travel and equipment. Fellows also join a cohort of researchers working across the fellowship themes, with opportunities for exchange, feedback and sharing evidence with relevant research, policy and practice audiences.

About the LEGO Foundation

The LEGO Foundation focuses on the realities children face, addressing barriers, supporting learners of all abilities, and responding where children are touched by crises and humanitarian needs. By investing in the holistic ecosystems that shape childhood, from families and schools to communities and entire societies, it works to strengthen access to education, creativity and play, through both grantmaking and impact investments.

Since 1986, the LEGO Foundation has worked to create the conditions for all children to thrive. A good childhood is not a given, it is built, and too many children face challenges that limit their possibilities. Over the past 40 years, the Foundation has invested in organisations, initiatives and individuals that help children learn, grow and develop through play. The fellowship coincides with the LEGO Foundation's 40th anniversary, an invitation to come together for children at a time when more children are growing up in conflict and crisis, while many others struggle to thrive in fast-paced systems not designed with children's needs, nature or wishes in mind.

Research Themes

The fellowship welcomes proposals that advance understanding of children's thriving through one of three themes. Applicants may explore the role of play where it is relevant, though this is optional and not a condition of eligibility.

1. The youngest children in crisis and conflict settings

In times of crisis, the youngest children are among the most vulnerable. Applications are welcome focusing on children (and their caregivers) from birth to eight years in crisis and conflict settings, including humanitarian emergencies and prolonged displacement. This includes refugee children, internally displaced children, and vulnerable or marginalised children in host communities. Thematic areas include:

🌱 Mechanisms of resilience and pathways to thriving: identifying how children can develop and learn despite adversity in crisis and conflict contexts

👨‍👩‍👧 Strengthening caregiving and family environments: how caregiving, parenting and family environments can be supported to promote development and learning in crisis contexts

📈 Scaling and sustaining effective interventions: generating evidence on how interventions for children's mental health and development can be scaled and sustained in crisis-affected systems, how integrating mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) with health, education, nutrition and protection influences outcomes, and effective models of intersectoral coordination

🔄 Translating evidence into practice: understanding what enables or constrains the adoption, implementation and sustained use of evidence-based MHPSS interventions in humanitarian field programmes

2. Inclusion and wellbeing of neurodivergent children

With a particular focus on autism and ADHD, the fellowship seeks to strengthen support for neurodivergent children and their families. Applications are welcome focusing on neurodivergent children up to 18 years of age across different settings. Thematic areas include:

🔎 Support before diagnosis: how neurodivergent children's needs can be recognised and supported before formal diagnosis or specialist assessment

🏠 Strengthening family environments: how family routines, caregiving approaches and home environments shape neurodivergent children's everyday experiences

🏫 Inclusive learning environments: how education systems, school structures, teacher capabilities and classroom practices can be designed around neurodivergent learners

🔁 Transitions and continuity of support: how neurodivergent children and young people experience key transitions, and what maintains effective support as their needs and environments change

🧩 Enabling tools: when, how and for whom digital technologies can reduce barriers to learning, communication, participation and belonging

3. Children's learning and development in an AI-enabled world

AI represents a profound technological shift that will affect children's relationships with themselves and with the adults and institutions around them. Applications are welcome focusing on how AI is reshaping children's lives up to 18 years of age and how it can support thriving, learning, wellbeing and inclusion. Thematic areas include:

🤝 AI and adult-child connection: how AI shapes interactions between children and the adults who support them

💬 AI and children's social and emotional development: how using AI for advice, reassurance and reflection shapes how children manage feelings, understand others and seek help

🎯 AI and productive struggle in learning: how AI affects motivation, engagement and persistence, and how those qualities shape children's use of AI

⚖️ Differential effects of AI: when AI deepens or reduces existing differences in children's learning, participation and support

Offers

💶 Flexible research funding of USD 300,000 over three years, inclusive of 15% indirect costs

🏛️ Funding administered by the fellow's host institution

🧾 Support for eligible research costs, including research personnel, professional travel, equipment, dissemination, trainee support and related project costs

🤝 Access to a cohort of fellows working on children's thriving across disciplines and contexts

🗣️ Opportunities for exchange with other fellows, researchers, practitioners and partners, including at convenings hosted by the LEGO Foundation

📣 Media channels to disseminate your work to a broader audience

🌟 Recognition as part of the LEGO Foundation's network

Expectations

⏳ Dedicate sustained time to the research agenda proposed in your application

📅 Participate in fellowship convenings, including annual meetings and virtual cohort sessions

🔄 Share work in progress and contribute constructively to exchange with other fellows

📝 Submit annual progress updates and a final report

✅ Acknowledge fellowship support in publications, presentations and other outputs

🎥 Take part in LEGO Foundation coverage of the fellowship and the dissemination of your research

🔒 Follow relevant ethical, safeguarding, data protection and institutional requirements

Who Can Apply

The fellowship is open to early- and mid-career researchers from around the world who are employed by a university or research institute and have received their PhD or equivalent research doctorate within the past 10 years. Applicants should demonstrate:

📚 A strong record of research accomplishment relative to career stage

💡 A clear and original research agenda related to one or more fellowship themes

🔬 Strong methodological grounding and a feasible plan for the fellowship period

🧒 Potential to contribute to evidence that can inform action for children

🤝 Interest in engaging with an interdisciplinary fellowship cohort

Applicants must:

🎓 Hold a PhD or equivalent research doctorate by 31 July 2026

🗓️ Have received their PhD no earlier than 1 January 2016 (subject to any approved career-break policy)

🏛️ Be employed by a university or research institute at the start of the fellowship

💼 Be able to have fellowship funds administered by their host institution

📄 Submit an individual application

🎯 Propose work that aligns with one or more fellowship themes

🌍 Applicants from any country are welcome, with the exception of countries subject to EU or US sanctions

Selection Criteria

🎯 Alignment with the fellowship themes

✍️ Clarity and strength of the proposed work

🧭 Applicant readiness (experience, judgment and capacity relative to career stage)

🔬 Approach and feasibility, appropriate to the question, context and population

📊 Research quality, rigour and methodological soundness

🌐 Field context and contribution to related research and practice

🤝 Fellowship fit and contribution to the cohort

Application Materials

📝 A standard online application form

📄 A resume or CV (two-page limit)

📑 A research abstract (250-word limit)

🗒️ A personal statement (500-word limit) explaining (a) your inspiration for pursuing research into childhood development, (b) how the proposed research will contribute to scholarly knowledge, and (c) how it will support your capacity for leadership in moving discovery into practice

📋 A research proposal (five-page limit) covering relevance (your research question), original contribution (practical implications), methods (data, analysis, reliability, plus IRB plans if human subjects are involved), feasibility (anticipated challenges and how you'll address them), and work to date

💶 Completed budget and budget justification templates

📚 A selected bibliography (two-page limit)

Application & Selection Process

The programme includes two evaluation stages. In the first round, an international and multidisciplinary committee of childhood development specialists reviews applications and nominates a panel of finalists. In the second round, the LEGO Foundation's review committee selects grantees. Applicants will be informed of their status in November 2026. Applications must be submitted through the online portal by 31 July 2026, at 11:59 EST; late or incomplete applications will not be considered.

Frequently Asked Questions

❓ Can I apply if my research addresses more than one theme? Yes. You may address one or more themes if relevant; the application should explain the primary theme and any secondary themes. Proposals do not need to address all three.

❓ Is play required as part of the research proposal? No. You may include play where it's relevant, but it's optional and not a condition of eligibility.

❓ Can applicants from any country apply? Yes, with the exception of countries subject to EU or US sanctions. If your country is not on either sanctions list, you are eligible regardless of your location.

❓ Do I need to be employed by a university or research institute? Yes. Funds are awarded to and administered by the fellow's institution.

❓ Am I eligible if I currently hold a post-doctoral position? Yes, provided your institution can sign the LEGO Foundation contract.

❓ Can the fellow change institutions during the fellowship? Yes, subject to approval and confirmation that the new institution can administer the award.

❓ What is considered a research institute? An organisation with research as its primary purpose, producing, advancing or applying knowledge. It is not a research institute if research is secondary to another core mandate, or if it is a subset of a broader umbrella organisation that does not have research as its primary purpose. It must be non-profit or an entity that is prohibited from distributing profits and is obligated to reinvest all profits back into its mission.

❓ Can research teams apply? No. The fellowship is awarded to an individual researcher, who is considered a LEGO Foundation Fellow and must participate in fellowship activities.

❓ Is there a time requirement for the Principal Investigator? No, but the PI is considered a LEGO Foundation Fellow and must participate in fellowship activities.

❓ Is a budget a required component of the application? Yes.

❓ Can I use the fellowship to extend funding for an existing project? Yes.

❓ Can I accept funding from other sources for the same project? Yes.

❓ Does the programme offer support for visas or IRB clearances? Visa costs for travel to fellowship annual meetings and IRB clearances can be included in the proposed budget, but the LEGO Foundation cannot provide logistical support for obtaining travel visas or IRB clearances.

❓ Are career breaks considered in the ten-year post-PhD requirement? Applicants who received their PhD no earlier than 1 January 2016 are eligible. Documented career interruptions (parental leave, caregiving, illness, displacement and other circumstances) may alter this window: you can add six months plus one day per sanctioned break to the post-PhD timeline. For example, someone who completed their PhD in 2015 with one sanctioned break is eligible, and someone who completed it in 2014 with two breaks is eligible, and so on.

❓ Can an MD or equivalent (e.g. MBBS) count as an equivalent research doctorate? Yes.

❓ Will applicants receive feedback? Due to the expected volume, individual feedback may only be available to applicants who reach the final stage.

❓ How is neurodivergence defined here? Projects under the second theme must address autism, ADHD, or both. Projects involving neurodivergence more broadly are allowed only if they also incorporate autism, ADHD, or both.

❓ How are crisis and conflict settings defined? Projects under the first theme must involve children affected by humanitarian emergencies who now live in acute, protracted or recovery settings. In acute settings, crises unfold rapidly and often overwhelm government structures, with humanitarian actors stepping in through emergency systems and children's safety at significant risk (for example, the LEGO Foundation's acute humanitarian response work in Gaza and the West Bank). In protracted settings, the crisis persists over time; some systems may stabilise, but children continue to face major mental health and psychosocial challenges as humanitarian funding declines (for example, work with Syrian refugee children in Jordan). In recovery settings, the environment may be more stable with greater access to services, but significant mental health, legal and protection needs remain, and the priority is integrating displaced children into national systems (for example, teacher professional development work in refugee-hosting counties in Kenya).