Award: $1.2 million over three years Purpose: The W. M. Keck Research Program seeks
to benefit humanity by supporting Medical Research and Science &
Engineering projects that are distinctive and novel in their approach, question
the prevailing paradigm, or have the potential to break open new territory in
their field. The Foundation funds projects that:
- Focus on important and emerging areas of
research
Have potential to develop breakthrough
technologies, instrumentation, or methodologies
Are innovative, distinctive, and
interdisciplinary
Demonstrate a high level of risk due to
unconventional approaches or challenge the prevailing paradigm- Have potential for transformative impact such
as the founding of a new field of research, enabling new observations, or
altering perception of a previously intractable problem
Fall outside the mission of public funding
agencies
Demonstrate that W.M. Keck Foundation support
is essential to the project’s success
Limited Submission Instructions Per the Keck Foundation’s guidelines
(wmkeck.org), submissions must fit to one page in a Microsoft Word document
formatted with 12-point, Times New Roman, font with 1 inch margins. Include:
- Organization Name, Project Title, and Full
Name of Principal Investigator
An overview of the proposed project
emphasizing any unique aspects and pilot studies (indicate area of emphasis for
project -medical research or science & engineering research);
A description of the methodologies and listing
of key personnel;
A brief justification of the need for W.M.
Keck Foundation support; and
An estimated budget broken down, if possible,
by major areas, e.g., personnel, equipment, consumable supplies, etc. Budgets
should total $1.2 million and expenses should be rounded to the nearest
$100,000. A rough estimate is sufficient.
Submit by 5/20/26 at 11:59 pm to limitedsubmissions@ucr.edu. DO NOT
contact the Keck Foundation. Illustrations are not recommended at this
phase as they take space needed for text. If a reference is necessary,
abbreviate it as (Science,323, 45, ‘11). DO NOT USE (Jones et al., 2011). If space allows, the authors are free to add
other details (e.g., background to put the research into perspective,
description of the institution’s prominence in the field, etc.) Selection Criteria: A successful Keck proposal:
- Focuses on a unique, important emerging area
of research
Has the potential to develop breakthrough
methodologies
Demonstrates a high level of risk due to
unconventional approaches, or by challenging a prevailing paradigm
Has 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
Falls outside the mission of public funding
agencies
Common reasons why concepts are rejected by
Keck:
- The project is not ambitious enough (i.e., it
represents only a small advance vs. creating a new paradigm).
The proposal does not fully detail the scope
of work and potential impact.
The proposal lacks clear research methodology.
The project focuses on disease-related
therapies or treatments (in the case of medical research) as opposed to bench
science.
The project is focused on a device as opposed
to bench science.
The project focuses on revision or scaling of
existing technology.
The project focuses on implementation or
policy.
Things to note: For the limited submission, a one-page concept
paper is required (NOT the three pages that are usually part of UCR’s Limited
Submission process). Ideally, proposals will have already been
rejected by a federal funding agency with reviewer comments that reflect that
the research is innovative, exciting, and would have a large impact, but is too
risky or falls outside the scope of federal agencies. Questions may be directed to Jasmine Hill,
Director of Foundation Relations, at jasmine.hill@ucr.edu
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