Limited Submission Grant Opportunity: W. M. Keck Foundation - Internal Call for Concept Papers

Limited Submission Grant Opportunity: W. M. Keck Foundation - Internal Call for Concept Papers

The Office of the Vice President for Research is seeking interdisciplinary and transformative project concepts for the W. M. Keck Foundation. Keck seeks to benefit humanity by supporting projects in two specific areas (1) medical research and (2) science and engineering, that:

• Focus on important and emerging areas of research
• Have the potential to develop breakthrough technologies, instrumentation or methodologies
• Are innovative, distinctive and interdisciplinary
• Demonstrate a high level of risk due to unconventional approaches, or by challenging the prevailing paradigm
• Have the potential for transformative impact, such as the founding of a new field of research, the enabling of observations not previously possible, or the altered perception of a previously intractable problem
• Do not focus on clinical or translational research, treatment trials or research for the sole purpose of drug development
• Fall outside the mission of public funding agencies
• Demonstrate that private philanthropy generally, and the W. M. Keck Foundation in particular, is essential to the project’s success.

 
Funding requests are for $1,000,000 in direct costs over three years. Indirect costs are not supported. Larger budget requests and award extensions are not allowed. 
 
If you would like to submit an initial project idea, please complete and submit a one-page concept paper using this template via Infoready. The deadline to submit concept papers is Friday, June 11, 2021 (this is the first of three steps needed for an award decision in June 2022). The process is highly competitive, and after the initial concept papers stage, the foundation receives ~150 Phase 1 proposals and ultimately funds 8-10 projects. 

TIMELINE

*The University is permitted to present no more than 8 concepts to the Foundation this round. These may include up to 4 concepts in each of the program areas: 1) Science / Engineering Research and,  2) Medical Research.
**University is only allowed to submit one Phase I application per category.
 
To learn more about the W. M. Keck Foundation and their current funding interests and past grant abstracts, please visit their website. You can also review the W. M. Keck Foundation’s FAQ and Grantee Responsibility sections for additional information. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Lynn Wong, Director of Foundation Relations at lynn.wong@hsc.utah.edu.