W.M. Keck Foundation
Science and Engineering and Medical Research Programs "Call for Concept Papers"
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Website:
This website is for reference only regarding the Foundation. The Concept Paper instructions are contained in this announcement and are not posted on the Keck website.
Up to four concept papers total may be submitted to the foundation, which will then select individuals to to advance to the Phase I application process.
Contact Persons for questions:
Kathy Veit at 725-7844 or Kathy.veit@stanford.edu.
Deadlines:
Internal Dean of Research Deadline: Nov. 10, 2009, 12 noon
(see Stanford Internal Submission Guidelines below).
Note: There will not be a preliminary internal selection process within the School of Medicine. All proposals can be submitted directly to the Dean of Research Office.
- Mid-Jan., 2010 Project(s) recommendations made to Keck Foundation
- By late February Selected project identified to advance to Phase I
- May 1 Phase I application deadline
- Mid-July Applicants notified whether they will advance to Phase II
- Aug. 15 Phase II proposals due
- December 2010 Award decisions made by Keck Foundation board
- Jan. 2011 Award decisions, first payments mailed
Recent Stanford recipients:
http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2008/february6/keck-020608.html
and
http://news.stanford.edu/news/2008/august6/med-keck-080608.html
Amount of funding:
Keck is currently asking that we hold funding requests to not more than $1 million.
Although Keck does not require formal cost sharing, the foundation does not like to be the sole funder of a project and likes to see a significant commitment to the project from the applicant’s home institution.
Toward the Stanford commitment, Keck will recognize overhead (it does not pay indirect costs, including the university infrastructure charge) and graduate student support, as well as commitments of space, renovations, and equipment. Awards may fund a multi-year project over a period of up to five years.See internal submission rquirements
W.M. Keck Foundation: Science & Engineering Research and Medical Research Programs
Supporting pioneering discoveries in science, engineering and medical research has been the Keck Foundation's mandate for a half-century. By funding the work of leading researchers, the building of labs and research centers, and the purchase of sophisticated instruments, the Foundation is laying the groundwork for breakthrough discoveries and new technologies that will save lives, provide innovative solutions and add immeasurably to our understanding of life on Earth and our place in the universe.
Faculty Eligibility
Faculty with PI status across the natural sciences, engineering, and medicine at all ranks are eligible. Keck has a stated interest in interdisciplinary research, thus proposals may also come from a team of faculty across departments, disciplines, or schools.
Funding Guidelines - Programmatic Criteria:
W.M. Keck Foundation: Science & Engineering Research and Medical Research Programs
Supporting pioneering discoveries in science, engineering and medical research has been the Keck Foundation’s mandate for over a half-century. By funding bold, innovative, high-impact work of leading researchers, the Foundation is laying the groundwork for breakthrough discoveries and new technologies that will save lives, provide innovative solutions and add immeasurably to our understanding of life on Earth and our place in the universe.
Funding Guidelines - Programmatic Criteria:
Projects should focus on emerging areas of research at the forefront of science, engineering and medicine, or have the potential to lead to breakthrough technologies in these areas. Thus, high-risk projects are encouraged, and the foundation recognizes that not all such projects will succeed.
Medical Research proposals should show promise of innovative research that has the potential to impact fundamental mechanisms of human health and disease. Proposals that are too clinical in nature will not be of interest, and proposals that focus exclusively on a single disease are not likely to be funded, as the Foundation is more interested in endeavors that address more basic mechanisms/questions that will impact a number of diseases or disorders. Medical Research program awards are not limited to medical school faculty; in the past Keck medical program grants have been awarded to faculty in H&S and Engineering.
Proposals should demonstrate that the chances of success would be seriously impaired but for the assistance of private philanthropy generally, and the W.M. Keck Foundation in particular. Keck is looking for projects that might be too early stage, too high risk, or too interdisciplinary to fit with traditional agency funding mechanisms.
Projects Ineligible for Funding
- Routine institutional or general operating expenses, general endowments, deficit reduction, or general or administrative overhead expenses
- General and federated campaigns, including fundraising events, dinners, mass mailings or direct mail campaigns
- Clinical research or treatment trials
- Medical research conducted in dedicated health care facilities or hospitals
- Grants or scholarships to individuals
- Conference or seminar sponsorship
- Book publication and film or theater productions
- Projects to be undertaken outside the United States
- Public policy research or activities of any kind
Program:
The W.M. Keck Foundation was established in 1954 in Los Angeles by William Myron Keck, founder of The Superior Oil Company. The Keck Foundation is one of the nation's largest philanthropic organizations, with assets of more than $1 billion. In recent years, the Foundation has focused on five broad areas: Science and Engineering Research; Undergraduate Science and Engineering; Medical Research; Liberal Arts; and Southern California. Each of Keck's grant programs invests in people and programs that are making a difference in the quality of life, now and for the future.
Stanford University has been invited to compete in the next funding round of the Keck Foundation's Science and Engineering and Medical Research programs. Concept papers for both programs will be reviewed concurrently. The Vice Provost and Dean of Research's office will review submissions to identify the best ideas (up to four total) to take to the Keck Foundation. The Foundation will determine which idea(s) seems most promising and competitive, and the relevant PI(s) will then be invited to participate in Keck's Phase I application process.
Concept Paper Guidelines
Concept papers should be one page, single-spaced, using 12-point font and 1-inch margins, inclusive of illustrations and references. Papers longer than a page will not be read by the Foundation; thus, illustrations are discouraged at this stage. Each concept paper should include:
1) An abstract/overview of the research proposed emphasizing any unique aspects;
2) Mention of any pilot studies or data including unpublished findings that support the idea;
3) A brief description of the key personnel;
4) A brief justification of the need for Keck support;
5) An estimated budget broken down, if possible, by major areas, e.g., personnel, equipment, consumable supplies, etc. (Budgets can be rough approximations at this stage.)
Faculty are welcome to add other details (e.g., background to put the research into perspective, description of the institution's prominence in the field, etc.), if space allows.
Concept Paper Suggestions
Be sure to state the major goals of the proposed research project, summarize the methodologies to be used in achieving the goals, and describe the problems that need to be solved to achieve these goals
Keck is looking to fund areas of research at the forefront of science, engineering and medicine, or that have the potential to lead to breakthrough technologies in these areas. Think about work that has the potential to alter the course of a field and clearly describe this potential.
The Foundation will want to know why Keck is an appropriate funder of this project. They are unwilling to fund work that could readily be funded elsewhere. They are willing, however, to fund high-risk, early-stage work that the government might not yet be willing to fund. They will also want to see an institutional commitment and other potential funders.
Keck is willing to fund equipment and sometimes even core facilities, but not in and of themselves. Your request should focus on the research question behind the equipment need and not seem merely to be an equipment request. That is, focus on the Ògrand challengeÓ you are seeking to solve and how you will do it, not on the technology or tool per se.
STANFORD INTERNAL SELECTION PROCESS:
By, November 10, 2009, 12 noon, please deliver 7 copies to
Elizabeth Lasensky
Dean of Research Office
Building 60 (to the right of the church), Room 223
723-9034; Lasensky@stanford.edu
1) Nomination letter printed on your department letterhead, addressed to the Dean of Research Office Internal Review Committee c/o Elizabeth Lasensky, and signed by your department chair. This letter should address the dollar amount of the proposal and confirmation that the department is committed to working with the applicant to identify matching funds.
2) One-page description of proposed project, which should include:
a. major goals, summarizing methodologies to be used
b. describe how the work has the potential to be at the forefront of science
c. describe why the Keck Foundation is an appropriate funder of this research
d. focus on the "grand challenge" of what you seek to resolve
NB: The sponsor limits the concept paper to only one page (single-spaced, 12-point font, one-inch margins) and discourages illustrations at this phase.
3) List of all funding, current and pending (include name of sponsor, amount and term of funding)
