The Foundation’s grantmaking adheres to an agreed upon set of protocols. The grant review and award process is guided by a set of principles that are regularly revisited by the Foundation’s Board and staff.
From these principles, the Foundation developed a set of grant review procedures similiar to those used by the federal research agencies.
Our grantmaking process seeks to:
- help applicants, reviewers, and potential grantees further their development as researchers
be seen by all interested parties as objective and fair - be transparent to applicants
- contain multiple checks and balances including perspectives from multiple disciplines
- balance the risks and rewards of particular grants (for example, by funding grants in phases and making awards with contingencies)
- support ongoing communication with grantees and potential grantees to achieve capacity-building goals
- be flexible in working with grantees to enable them to produce the best possible product (for example, by making supplemental awards when useful); and use staff time and expertise strategically and efficiently
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