We are pleased to announce the launch of W.M. Keck Foundation Research Program – 2025. Click on the link below to view more information. Thank you!
- Internal Submission Deadline: Monday, January 13, 2025
- Cycle: 2025
- Discipline/Subject Area: Medical Research and Science and Engineering
- Foundation Name: W.M. Keck Foundation
- Foundation Program: W.M. Keck Research Program
Description
A joint announcement from the Offices of Research and Foundation Relations, W.M. Keck Foundation – Research Program – December 2025 Cycle
Internal Deadline: January 13, 2025 11:59pm PST
Funder: W.M. Keck Foundation (WMKF)
Program: W.M. Keck Research Program
UCSC contacts: Sarah Carle | FR | sacarle@ucsc.edu
Award Amount & Terms
Grants are typically ~ $1 million over 3 years.
Overview
The campus is soliciting internal 1-page concept papers for the WMKF 2025 Application Cycle (for awards to be made in December 2025). The WMKF’s two programs areas – Medical Research and Science and Engineering – support 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 of 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
Important Information
- WMKF rarely funds in areas that the foundation has supported within the past 5-10 years. Before submitting a concept paper, please review abstracts of past projects to see if your research would be a new direction for funding for the foundation.
- Please do not contact WMKF directly, as the foundation follows a very formal protocol. When a project is selected, Sarah Carle, Executive Director of Foundation Relations, in coordination with the Office of Research, will facilitate dialogue with the foundation’s program officer(s) as the designated campus liaison to WMKF.
To apply
To be considered for nomination, materials should be submitted via InfoReady. Select “Apply” from the menu on the right-hand side, complete the form, and upload the following:
I. A Concept Paper (1 page maximum, 12-point Times New Roman, one-inch margins) describing your research project. Please include the following information in order:
- Organization name
- Project title
- Full name of Principal Investigator
- An overview of the research proposed emphasizing any unique aspects. This should outline how the work addresses the points outlined above (i.e., innovative, breakthrough approaches; transformative; high risk). Emphasize the impact the project will have in advancing the field.
- The goals and methodologies of the proposed research. How are you going to achieve the potential breakthrough?
- A brief description of the key personnel.
- Justification for Keck support. WMKF prioritizes projects that have been deemed too risky or that fall outside federal programmatic funding parameters. We highly recommend that you contact federal program officer(s) to solicit feedback on your idea. If you have submitted the proposed project to other funders, please include reviews and/or any details of communications you have had with program officers, etc. in Section II of your submission (see below).
- An estimated budget broken down by major areas (e.g., personnel, equipment, consumable supplies, etc. (budgets can be rough approximations at this stage). Keck does not fund indirect costs/overhead, student tuition, PI salaries >10% of the annual salary or renovations in excess of >10% of the request. Cost share is highly recommended for a competitive project (see below).
- If a reference is necessary, abbreviate it as (Science, 323, 45, ‘11). DO NOT USE (Jones et al., 2011). Please avoid any illustrations.
II. Proof of previous submissions (1 paragraph):
- A list of any agencies to which the project has been submitted previously, as well as any comments received and/or a summary of discussions with program officers to whom you may have pitched the idea.
A faculty committee will review and select the most compelling Concept Papers for each program area for consideration by WMKF.
Timeline
- January 13, 2025, 11:59pm PST: One-page Concept Paper with cost-share summary due via InfoReady.
- January 17, 2025: Following internal campus review and down-select process, PI finalists notified. The FR Office will submit Concept Papers for consultation with Keck program officers (consultation window closes February 15). Note: PIs will not be on the call per WMKF requirements.
- February 20, 2025: Final project(s) selected to submit Phase I Application based on consultation with program officers. The FR office will work with selected PIs and OR to submit the application by the deadline.
- May 1, 2025: Phase I Application due 4:30 pm PDT on W.M. Keck Foundation web portal.
- July 15, 2025: Notification if invited to submit full Phase II proposal.
- August 15, 2025: Phase II Full Proposal due (if invited).
- December 2025: Final decision made by WMKF; if selected, project would begin January 2026.
Special Instructions
Please notify the Office of Foundation Relations if you are interested in applying to this opportunity (fr@ucsc.edu). For support developing your proposal, please contact the Research Development Specialist assigned to your unit or send a request to resdev@ucsc.edu.
Call Sent: December 12, 2025
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The Office of Foundation Relations is a unit of University Advancement. The FR team creates and maintains mutually beneficial, long-term relationships with private organizations, matching funding initiatives with educational and research programs and centers. For a list of recent funding opportunities, please visit the FR website. FR Calls for Funding