Answers to questions from grant applicants

Since we announced our first grant two weeks ago, about 100 people from a variety of academic disciplines and types of organizations have expressed an intention to apply and we’ve received a couple of early applications. We’ve tried to respond promptly to all questions, but some questions may have gotten lost in the volume of inquiries, so if your question was not answered here are the answers to the main questions we’ve been getting:

Q: How do I apply?

A: The grant announcement page now supports application submissions. We apologize for the delay in building the submission system.

Q: Can I apply from X country (we’ve gotten this question from Kenya, Zambia, Nigeria, etc.)?

A: Yes, as long as we can legally do business with you, which may be impractical in a small number of countries (such as North Korea). We anticipate that most applications will likely come from Sub-Saharan Africa or South Asia, but being located in one of these regions is not a requirement.

Q: Am I allowed to submit more than one application?

A: Yes, though we will fund a maximum of one grant per organization in the current round.

Q: Do I need a collaborator in the US?

A: No. Although international collaborations can be useful, we anticipate that most finalists will not have a collaborator in the US.

Q: Is there a restriction on the number or type of collaborators?

A: There is no limit on the number of collaborators, though in principle the grant is intended to fund a high fraction of the cost of a small project rather than a small fraction of the cost of a large project. We encourage applicants to work with organizations that are in a position to help research results be widely adopted as well as with other researchers.

Q: My collaborators and I are affiliated with multiple institutions. Through which should we apply?

A: Generally speaking, we would prefer to work with an organization that has experience receiving international grants but whose costs are lower than is the case at many Western or international institutions.

Q: Can PhD students apply?

A: Yes. There are no restrictions on the title of the applicant, though we prefer that applicants be affiliated with an organization that has processes to monitor the use of the funds. In the current grant round, applications will be evaluated against those with a similar goal (climate adaptation, nutrition, etc.) rather than against those with similar seniority. In future grant rounds, we may have different tracks for different career stages.

Q: Is research on coffee eligible?

A: Yes, we consider coffee to be a food, which is eligible, rather than a flavoring or recreational substance, which isn’t.

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