Call for Concept Papers

For both science/engineering projects and medical research projects, the Keck Foundation seeks to support projects likely to lead to new models or breakthroughs in basic or fundamental science. (The Keck Foundation is not interested in applied science.) A successful Keck Foundation proposal in either category could lead to the creation of a new field of research, develop the science of the previously unobservable, or discover knowledge that challenges prevailing perspectives and paradigms. Proposals should provide new, important, and transformative answers to underlying questions in fundamental science that carry an imaginative spark that may illuminate a previously unsolvable scientific mystery. Successful Keck Foundation proposals demonstrate a high level of risk1 due to unconventional approaches, challenges to prevailing thought, and/or unorthodox methodology. The Keck Foundation does not fund projects that represent the “next logical step” in research. The Keck Foundation looks favorably on research projects that have failed to secure funding from federal agencies (e.g., NSF, NIH) due, in part, to the project’s high-risk nature. The ideal concept paper would attest to a previous federal agency’s declination due to the high-risk nature of the proposal in spite of high reviewer and/or panel scores. For a flavor of the kinds of proposals Keck has funded recently, please see the Keck Foundation abstracts at https://www.wmkeck.org/our-focus-research/#focus-abstracts-research. A Go/No-Go flowchart at the end of this memo has been included to assist potential applicants in determining whether their ideas and project align with the interests of the Keck Foundation.