The LEGO Foundation launches global research fellowship to advance the understanding of how children thrive

Billund, Denmark, 1 June 2026 - As part of its 40th anniversary, the LEGO Foundation invites applications for the LEGO Foundation Fellowship, a new global research fellowship for early- and mid-career researchers whose work can strengthen the understanding of how children thrive across diverse contexts.

The Fellowship will provide flexible research funding of USD 300,000 over three years to up to 10 researchers pursuing ambitious, rigorous, and practically relevant work.

The programme welcomes applications from researchers across disciplines, methods, and geographies, including fields such as education, psychology, child development, public health, economics, sociology, neuroscience, data science, humanitarian studies, disability studies, human-computer interaction, and implementation science.

At a time when children’s lives are being shaped by conflict, crisis, rapid technological change, and systems not always designed around their needs, the LEGO Foundation Fellowship aims to support research that can help turn evidence into action for children.

“The LEGO Foundation Fellowship is an invitation to researchers around the world to help build the evidence needed to improve the future of childhood,” said Joe Savage, Vice President of Impact & Evidence at the LEGO Foundation. “As we mark 40 years of working to create the conditions for all children to thrive, we are looking for ambitious, rigorous, and practically relevant research that can deepen our shared understanding of what helps children learn, grow, and thrive.”

The LEGO Foundation Fellowship focuses on three urgent areas shaping children’s lives:

• the youngest children in crisis and conflict settings
• inclusion and wellbeing of neurodivergent children 
• and children’s learning and development in an AI-enabled world
  
  

The first theme welcomes research focusing on children from birth to eight years, and their caregivers, in crisis and conflict settings, including humanitarian emergencies and prolonged displacement. Relevant areas include the mechanisms of resilience, caregiving and family environments, scaling and sustaining effective interventions, and translating evidence into humanitarian practice.

The second theme focuses on neurodivergent children and young people up to 18, with a particular emphasis on Autism and ADHD. The Fellowship seeks research that can strengthen understanding of support before diagnosis, family environments, inclusive learning environments, and supporting children through key life transitions.

Finally, the third theme welcomes research on how AI is reshaping children’s lives up to 18, and how it can affect children's learning, social and emotional development, and the connection between adults and children.

The LEGO Foundation opens for applications on 1 June 2026 and closes on 31 July 2026, with the fellowship period running from 2027 to 2029. The application process is administered by the Social Science Research Council.
For more information about the LEGO Foundation Fellowship, including eligibility criteria, application materials, and selection process, visit: https://www.ssrc.org/programs/the-lego-foundation-fellowship/