NEFE identifies the following topics as research funding priorities. While our grant cycle remains open to all eligible concepts, we give preference to well-designed projects that align with one or more of the priorities listed below. Our directed research opportunities provide funding for projects that address these topics specifically.
Our funding priorities closely mirror NEFE’s strategy: To improve financial well-being for all through access, quality, and impact of equitable K-12 and postsecondary financial education systems. Carefully read the tables and associated descriptions on this page and incorporate these considerations into proposals for funding. For those who have engaged with NEFE in the past, our prior research priorities are listed in Table 1 for reference and comparison purposes. Please see the footnote for more information.
Each research project proposed to NEFE will be considered holistically based on several factors, but must include alignment with at least one of our strategic priorities, incorporate at least one system-level consideration, and the most urgent needs of the field, as represented through our Personal Finance Ecosystem.
Research Funding Priorities
Table 1.
| Current Priorities | K-12 Systems | Postsecondary Systems* | Prior NEFE Priorities |
| Access: Pathways to effective financial education | Addressing systemic barriers for pathways in K-12 education | Addressing systemic barriers for pathways in postsecondary education | Systemic inequality, youth focus, data and methodological limitations |
| Quality: Rigorous, relevant and responsive financial education | System level effectiveness in K-12 education | System level effectiveness in postsecondary education | Measurement, data and methodological limitations |
| Impact: Systemic, systematic and/or generalizable outcomes of financial education | Clearly defined/ measured outcomes in K-12 education | Clearly defined/ measured outcomes in postsecondary education | Measurement, systemic inequality, data and methodological limitations |
*Postsecondary includes traditional and non-traditional aspects of education, including four-year public/private universities, two-year colleges, liberal arts colleges, vocational/technical or trade schools, graduate/professional schools, professional certifications, micro-credentials, apprenticeships and internships, bootcamps, online learning programs, continuing/executive education, etc.
Table 2.
| Level | Type of Incorporation | Activities Involved |
| Level 1 | Basic, outcomes-focused | System-level considerations are embedded into the practical application and recommendations sections, and as a deliverable |
| Level 2 | More integrated, with multiple levels of inquiry | Individualistic variables are coupled with systems-level inquiry, affecting the research question(s), literature review, recruitment, data collection and analyses, etc. |
| Level 3 | Highly focused, dedicated to systems level inquiry | Affects every aspect of the research proposed, including all deliverables |
This is intended to serve as a helpful guide to assist researchers in incorporating these considerations into their work. The levels provided are not hierarchical nor prescriptive in nature.
More about systems transformation: If educators and institutions have equitable access to validated, culturally responsive, and effective life-stage relevant research tools (quality), they can refine interventions, services and policy/practice, which leads to measurable learner impact (knowledge, confidence, behavior) and systems transformation (equity and inclusion), contributing to long term financial capability and well-being for all. Thus, a systems focus is strengthened when we intentionally shift systemic structures, polices, practices, resource flows, relationships, power dynamics, and mental models that hold current outcomes and the status quo in place, in an effort to increase the probability of durable and equitably distributed improvements for everyone in the personal finance ecosystem.
Case Study for Level 1 Integration: Morgan State University
The following case study from a NEFE grantee shows how researchers can integrate individualistic considerations with systemic variables using a Level 1 type of incorporation.
"Taken together, the interviews illustrate how autonomy, relatedness and competence intersect in the construction of financial identity. Students’ stories reveal that financial identity is not a static trait or a simple reflection of income or knowledge. Instead, it is an active, ongoing negotiation of power, belonging and self-determination within inequitable systems. It is personal but also profoundly social. The participants’ narratives demonstrate that developing financial autonomy involves asserting agency within constrained structures; relatedness grounds these choices in care for family and community; and competence is not merely about literacy but about navigating, questioning and sometimes resisting the systems that shape access to opportunity."
- Preliminary results taken with permission from Johnson, W., et al. (n.d.), in Creating Identity Responsive Financial Education.
Here, the individualistic constructs of psychological safety: autonomy, relatedness and competence, when coupled with equity considerations, provide additional context involving the systems in which people operate and how to navigate through these structures to improve their financial lives.
Our Funding Priorities: Advancing Access, quality & impact
Financial Education Access in K-12 and Postsecondary Systems
We define access-related inquiries as the investigation of barriers and enablers related to the pathways (e.g., avenues or journeys) that learners take which are influenced by systems and institutions.
As examples, we seek:
- Identifying barriers and enablers through policy and practice that have disproportionate effects.
- Exploring improvements in access and opportunity for high-quality, effective financial education.
High Quality, equitable financial education
We define quality through systems that are rigorous in their scope, relevant to all stakeholders, and responsive to the needs of those receiving financial education in order to ensure its effectiveness.
As examples, we seek:
- Examination of resource allocation flows and differentiated supports based on key stakeholder needs, which increase the quality and effectiveness of financial education, within the Personal Finance Ecosystem.
- Addressing underlying, causal antecedents that drive systems-level activities and decision-making which influence the creation and delivery of financial education for K-12 and postsecondary learners.
- Models, frameworks and theories of equity in financial education that help to ameliorate disparities and intensify learning success to increase financial well-being.
The evaluation and Impact of Financial education
We define impact as the clearly defined and measured outcomes of financial education that improve people’s financial lives and transform systems and institutions to advance financial well-being.
As examples, we seek:
- Evaluation research encompassing both individual and systems-level considerations that produces generalizable knowledge for the field.
- Best practice for implementing accountability and outcomes-based frameworks and models to demonstrate sustainable, long-term success.
- Rigorous, theoretically grounded measures and associated models that account for geographic, historical, contextual, and identity-based differences in outcomes of financial education.
Other important considerations
- Systems change is non-linear and longitudinal in nature; therefore, frameworks, models and methods should reflect these considerations, or at the very least, be reflected in the recommendations and practical applications sections of manuscripts.
- A systems-level focus does not necessarily ignore individualistic factors. Instead, it acknowledges that the field has done very well investigating phenomena at the individual level and provides the field with a new focus and associated inquiries that can be supplemented with what we already know.
- To reiterate, all NEFE funded research must include at least one strategic priority (access, quality, and/or impact), at least one system consideration (K-12 and/or postsecondary), propose a level of incorporation (see Table 2 above), and be grounded in our personal finance ecosystem.