W.M. Keck Foundation Research Program

Keck Foundation Pre-Application Portal

The Office of the Vice President for Research and the Office of Advancement invite pre-applications for the W.M. Keck Foundation Research Program on a rolling basis. The program supports projects in two specific areas, 1) medical research and 2) science and engineering, that are distinctive and novel in their approach, question the prevailing paradigm, or have the potential to break open new territory in their field. Stony Brook University can pitch a maximum of EIGHT concepts (up to FOUR in the medical research area and up to FOUR in the science and engineering area) per cycle. Please see below for details. 

Program Details

What it Funds: Funding is awarded to universities and institutions nationwide for projects that focus on important and emerging areas of research and have the potential to develop breakthrough technologies, instrumentation, or methodologies. Projects should be innovative, distinctive, and interdisciplinary, and demonstrate a high level of risk due to unconventional approaches or by challenging the prevailing paradigm. Projects should also have the potential for transformative impact, such as the founding of a new field of research, the enabling of observations, or altering the perception of a previously intractable problem. Additionally, the concept should have been previously submitted and reviewed by federal agencies and received feedback that the concept falls outside of what they typically fund. 

What it Does NOT Fund:

• • The purchase of new tools or instrumentation (unless it ties into significant breakthrough science)
  • Follow-on work
  • Single-investigator projects
  • Infrastructure related projects
  • Projects that are already close to making a discovery (e.g., new drug or technology development in final stages, close to completion)
  • Survey work
  • Projects that the foundation has previously funded
  • Projects that are part of a larger project
  • Applied and Clinical Research
  • General operating expenses, endowments, or deficit reduction
  • Grants to individuals
  • Public policy research
  • General and federated campaigns, including fundraising events, dinners, or mass mailings
  • Book publication and film productions
  • Conference or seminar sponsorship
  • Medical devices and translational research
  • Treatment trials or research for the sole purpose of drug development
  • Capital Projects

Applicant Requirements: No PI restrictions.

Award: Typical grants are awarded $1M to $1.5M over 3 years. 

Foundation Deadlines: 

• • Concept counseling with the Foundation will occur between January 15 and February 15. The phase 1 application deadline is May 1. The phase 2 proposal deadline is August 15.
  • Concept counseling with the Foundation will occur between July 15 and August 15. The phase 1 application deadline is November 1. The phase 2 proposal deadline is February 15.

Pre-Application

If you would like to be considered for this program, please submit a one-page pre-application (12-point font and 1-inch margins) as a single PDF document via the Keck Foundation Pre-application Portal. A pre-application must be submitted at least 2 months prior to a counseling period for inclusion in that cycle, otherwise it will be rolled over into the next cycle:

• • May 15: July 15 through August 15 counseling period for the June grant cycle;
  • November 15: January 15 through February 15 for the December grant cycle.

Your pre-application must include the following:

• • An overview of the proposed project emphasizing any unique aspects and pilot studies (indicate the area of emphasis for the project: Medical Research or Science & Engineering Research)
  • A description of the methodologies and key personnel
  • A brief justification of the need for Keck Foundation support. On a separate page(s), please include reviews from federal sponsors noting they will not fund the project due to being outside the scope of federal funding, or notes from a discussion with a PO at a federal agency. 
  • An estimated budget disaggregated, if possible, by major areas, e.g. personnel, equipment, consumable supplies, etc.

Review

A pre-application will undergo an initial evaluation by the Office of Advancement to confirm program fit. If a pre-application does not fit what the Keck Foundation is looking for, it may be returned to the PI without further review. If a pre-application is determined to fit what the Keck Foundation is looking for, then it will move on to the next stage of review. 

If less than eight pre-applications are received and pass the fit evaluation for a cycle, they may be allowed to move forward to the counseling call. If more than eight pre-applications are received and pass the fit evaluation for a cycle, all pre-applications that comply with these guidelines will be peer-reviewed based on the criteria below. Please note that all reviewers will be internal to SBU and may not be experts in the specific field of the research topic. Applicants should develop the narrative in such a way that colleagues in related fields can clearly understand.

1. Overall fit for the Keck Foundation: How well does the pre-application as a whole fit what the Keck Foundation is looking for?
2. Bold/Innovative Concept: To what extent do the proposed activities suggest and explore creative, original, or potentially transformative concepts?
3. Potential to transform the field: To what extent does the project have the potential for transformative impact, such as the founding of a new field of research, enabling of new observations, or altering perception of a previously intractable problem?
4. Is the project high-risk, high-reward? How well does the project demonstrate a high level of risk due to unconventional approaches or challenge to the prevailing paradigm?
5. Federal Funding: Reviewers will be asked to indicate whether the project could be funded through federal programs (yes/no).
6. Focus Area: Reviewers will be asked to comment on which focus area would be the more appropriate fit (Medical Research, Science and Engineering, or Both).

Counseling Call

Once the PI(s) chosen to move forward to the counseling call with the foundation has/have been determined, Stony Brook’s designated institutional liaison will reach out to the Keck Foundation to schedule the counseling call. PI’s will be asked to provide their single-page concept paper, which will be submitted by the institutional liaison to the foundation prior to the counseling call. Please be aware that PIs may not join the counseling call. The Office of the Vice President for Research and the Office of Advancement will work with the PI(s) to determine the faculty member (typically the PI’s Chair/Dean who is familiar with the PI’s project) who will attend the counseling call on the PI’s behalf. 

At the counseling call, the foundation will provide feedback on the concept paper(s) and the PI’s representative(s) will answer questions from the foundation. Based on this feedback, the PI’s representative(s) and institutional liaison will determine whether the PI should move forward with submitting a Phase 1 Application. Please note that only one Phase 1 application is allowed per grant cycle to each of the applicable grant areas: Medical Research, and Science & Engineering Research.

Examples of Awarded Projects

View abstracts of past W.M. Keck Foundation Research Program Awardees

Keck Foundation FAQ