The 2027 Tools Competition is now open, offering a multi-million-dollar funding opportunity for innovators building education technology, AI tools, public infrastructure and learning datasets. The programme is aimed at improving learning, teaching and access to opportunity across real-world education settings, with an emphasis on responsible design, usefulness and evidence-informed implementation.
Key facts
- The competition is a programme of Renaissance Philanthropy and is organised by The Learning Agency.
- It supports tools and public infrastructure that use digital technology, data, artificial intelligence and learning science.
- The 2027 cycle includes four tracks: Strengthening Teaching, Reimagining Assessment, Navigating Postsecondary Learning and Work, and Building Better Datasets.
- Applicants are encouraged to show how a tool can work in practice, protect privacy, support safety and produce meaningful benefits.
- The overview says the competition refers to learners worldwide, but it does not provide a complete country-by-country eligibility list in the supplied material.
What does the competition mean for students, educators and researchers?
For students and learners, the competition points toward tools that could make learning more personalised, more responsive and easier to navigate. That includes assessment systems that show progress more clearly, teaching tools that support better classroom instruction, and platforms that help people move from education into work. The emphasis on trust, privacy and responsible AI also matters because these tools may shape how students experience digital learning in practice.
For educators, researchers and organisations, the main practical takeaway is that proposals need to do more than demonstrate technical novelty. The competition is looking for solutions that can be used in real classrooms, sustained over time and adapted to the needs of learners and institutions. Applicants should identify target users, explain the problem being addressed and show how the proposed approach is grounded in research, learning science or practical evidence.
The four tracks point applicants toward different priorities:
- Strengthening Teaching: tools that reduce workload, support lesson planning and improve instructional practice.
- Reimagining Assessment: systems that provide more continuous, actionable information about K–12 learning.
- Navigating Postsecondary Learning and Work: tools that help learners choose pathways, build skills and connect with opportunities.
- Building Better Datasets: data resources that can support research, product development and AI evaluation.
Which track fits a proposal?
The competition divides applications into four tracks so that applicants can match their idea to the problem it is meant to solve. The right track depends on the intended users, the learning stage being addressed and whether the project is focused on instruction, assessment, transitions into work or dataset development.
Strengthening Teaching is aimed at tools that help educators do their jobs more effectively without adding unnecessary complexity. Reimagining Assessment is designed for tools that provide clearer and more inclusive evidence of student learning. Navigating Postsecondary Learning and Work focuses on support for learners facing education-to-employment transitions. Building Better Datasets is for teams creating high-quality datasets that can improve research and future education tools.
Why is this competition happening now?
The competition arrives as artificial intelligence is becoming more common in education, work and daily life. That shift creates opportunities for better support, but it also raises questions about accuracy, privacy, bias, academic integrity and how technology should be used responsibly. The competition responds by favouring proposals that are useful in practice, inclusive in design and grounded in evidence rather than novelty alone.
What kind of proposals are encouraged?
Applicants are being asked to show that their solution can help real users in real settings. The competition highlights several qualities that matter across tracks: evidence-informed design, a clear understanding of the target users, practical usefulness, responsible technology use and a plan for sustainability or scale.
For dataset proposals, the overview says applicants should explain the value of the dataset, the population or learning context it represents, how it will be developed or collected, and how privacy, consent, security and responsible use will be addressed.
Frequently asked questions
Who can consider applying?
The competition is relevant to education technology startups, non-profit organisations, researchers, universities, companies, developers, social enterprises, data scientists, learning designers, educators and workforce organisations, as well as collaborations among those groups.
Does the overview confirm eligibility for every country?
No. The overview refers to learners worldwide and says people outside the United States should review the official eligibility requirements, rules and submission information to confirm whether they can apply. The supplied material does not give a complete country-by-country eligibility list.
