AI
Transformation
Learning Grants
Call for Institutional Concepts
Artificial intelligence is creating an opportunity for broad-access colleges and universities to fundamentally rethink how they support students, modernize operations, and advance their missions. The Gates Foundation invites U.S.-based institutions pursuing bold, institution-wide AI transformation to submit concepts for its AI Transformation Learning Grants.
Through grants of approximately $150,000–$200,000, the Gates Foundation expects to support up to eight institutions as learning partners from Fall 2026 through Summer 2027. Rather than funding technology implementation alone, this initiative seeks to learn from institutions using AI as a catalyst for meaningful organizational transformation.
Selected institutions will contribute to a shared learning agenda designed to generate practical insights that can inform future strategy and help accelerate AI-enabled transformation across the higher education field.
Concept submissions are due September 11, 2026.
$150k – $200k
Award per institution
Up to 8
Institutions selected
Fall 2026
Grant period begins
Sept. 11, 2026
Concept submissions due
Criteria
View the full list of submission criteria and details:
Leaders Who Are Pursuing Bold Ideas with AI
We are looking for institutions that want to harness a more comprehensive vision for the potential of AI to include reimagined business practices, innovative teaching, real-time holistic support services, and architecting the digital infrastructure that positions their institution for the future. Specifically, we are looking for:
- Broad-access higher education institutions—including community colleges, public regional universities, minority-serving institutions, and other institutions serving large numbers of students from historically underserved backgrounds
- Institutions actively pursuing organizational, technical, and operational changes using artificial intelligence as a strategic lever for scaling change, supporting equitable outcomes, and improving institutional operations and service delivery
Examples of AI Transformations
Examples may include, but are not limited to:
- Institutional operations: Unified data strategies, data and technology modernization, institution-wide AI strategy implementation, governance and organizational redesign
- Student support: AI-enabled student advising and support, financial aid transformation, student success operations
- Teaching and learning: AI-enabled tutoring and learning support, adaptive learning pathways
- Administrative processes: Institutional workflow redesign, administrative process modernization
2026 Key Dates
August 7
Call for concepts released
August 21
Final date for questions submission
September 11
Concept submissions due
October 2
Institutions will be notified
November 2
Learning grant launch
Frequently Asked Questions
Who should apply?
Bold thinkers, strategic visionaries, and action-oriented leaders who are pursuing an aspirational vision of the future and understand that AI transformation is more than implementing a chat bot. We are especially interested in leaders who are using AI as an opportunity to rethink how their institution fulfills its mission over the long term.
We are looking for institutions that want to harness a more comprehensive vision for the potential of AI to include reimagined business practices, innovative teaching, real-time holistic support services, and architecting the digital infrastructure that positions their institution for the future. Specifically, we are looking for:
- Broad-access higher education institutions—including community colleges, public regional universities, minority-serving institutions, and other institutions serving large numbers of students from historically underserved backgrounds
- Institutions actively pursuing organizational, technical, and operational changes using artificial intelligence as a strategic lever for scaling change, supporting equitable outcomes, and improving institutional operations and service delivery
Institutions do not need to be at the same stage of AI transformation. The Foundation welcomes concepts from institutions that are beginning their transformation journey as well as those further along, provided they have a clear vision, action orientation, committed leadership, and a willingness to engage as learning partners.
What do we mean by AI Transformation?
We are looking for bold institutions that want to change how they work to deliver on their mission. We loosely define transformation as addressing more than the surface layer of technical, operational, process, and policy changes needed to produce equitable outcomes for students. This involves more than standing up a technology as a discrete intervention. The Foundation is interested in a broad range of transformation efforts in which artificial intelligence plays a central role in redesigning and scaling innovation in institutional operations, student support, teaching and learning, or administrative processes.
Examples may include, but are not limited to:
- Institutional operations: Unified data strategies, data and technology modernization, institution-wide AI strategy implementation, governance and organizational redesign
- Student support: AI-enabled student advising and support, financial aid transformation, student success operations
- Teaching and learning: AI-enabled tutoring and learning support, adaptive learning pathways
- Administrative processes: Institutional workflow redesign, administrative process modernization
The Foundation intentionally seeks a portfolio of institutions pursuing different approaches. There is no expectation that all participating institutions focus on the same functional area or implementation model.
Does our institution need sophisticated data infrastructure to apply?
The Foundation recognizes that institutions are at different stages of digital maturity.
While advanced technical infrastructure is not required, the Foundation is particularly interested in understanding how institutions are approaching shared data foundations, interoperability, and technical architecture as part of broader AI-enabled transformation efforts.
What funding is available?
The Foundation anticipates selecting approximately up to eight institutions to receive awards of approximately $150,000 – $200,000 each.
Funding is intended to provide flexible support for AI transformation activities and may be used for activities such as planning, staffing, implementation, professional development, stakeholder engagement, technology, documentation, evaluation, and other activities that advance the institution’s transformation goals.
Additional budget guidance will be provided to selected institutions during the proposal development process.
What are the learning expectations?
Participating institutions will serve as learning partners throughout the initiative.
While each institution will pursue its own AI transformation priorities, all participants will contribute to a shared learning agenda designed to improve understanding of how broad-access institutions successfully adopt and scale AI-enabled transformation.
Participating institutions should anticipate activities such as:
- Participating in 4 – 5 learning conversations with Foundation staff and partners.
- Sharing selected planning documents, implementation artifacts, and other materials that help illustrate their transformation journey.
- Documenting lessons learned.
- Engaging in light lift activities to support the Foundation’s development of case studies, presentations, or other dissemination activities intended to benefit the broader field.
What is the Gates Foundation hoping to learn?
The Gates Foundation hopes to better understand how broad-access institutions successfully pursue AI-enabled transformation and how we might engage strategically to support those efforts at scale.
Areas of interest include, but are not limited to:
- How leadership, governance, and organizational readiness influence transformation.
- How institutions approach data, interoperability, and technical infrastructure.
- What implementation strategies appear most effective.
- What policies and critical practices support AI transformation efforts.
- What barriers institutions encounter and how they overcome them.
- Which lessons are broadly applicable across institutions.
Collectively, these insights will help inform future Foundation investments, strategic priorities, and field-facing resources.
How will institutions be selected?
Applications will be reviewed holistically.
The Foundation expects to select a cohort of institutions representing a diversity of institutional contexts, transformation strategies, organizational maturity, and AI implementation approaches.
Ready to share your concept?
If your institution is pursuing an ambitious vision for AI-enabled transformation, we encourage you to review the call for concepts. Concept submissions are due September 11, 2026 to AILearningGrants@gatesfoundation.org.
Full details are in the Criteria and Instructions PDF. Please submit the completed Concept Submission Form as a single PDF no later than September 11, 2026 by 5:00pm Pacific Daylight Time / 8:00pm Eastern Daylight Time based on the timestamp of receipt of the submission email.
Questions?
The question submission window has closed. Please review submitted questions and responses.