Foundations & Others

The G. Harold and Leila Y. Mathers Foundation Grants – Winter Cycle

Slots: Universities/Institutions are limited to four applications per cycle.

One application per cycle per investigator.

Deadlines

Internal Deadline: Friday, September 22, 2023, 5pm PT

Registration Deadline: November 17, 2023

LOI: December 1, 2023

Due Date for Invited Proposals: March 1, 2024

Award Information

Award Type: Grant

Award Amount: When creating the LOI, the budget should be reasonable based on the aims of the project. When reviewing applications, we determine if the budget is reasonable based on multiple factors. This includes the number of researchers working on the grant (and their training), the type of model being used for experiments (mouse, drosophila, c. elegans, etc.), supplies required for experiments, genetic sequencing or other outsourced services, test setup development, etc. With the large variances in typical budgets between the different scientific disciplines, we do not provide a boundary condition. However, a detailed budget justification will be required and scrutinized during the proposal phase if the LOI is invited to proceed to step 2 of the application process.

Who May Serve as PI: Not specified on website.

Link to Award: http://www.mathersfoundation.org/

Process for Limited Submissions

PIs must submit their application as a Limited Submission through the Research Initiatives and Infrastructure (RII) Application Portal: https://rii.usc.edu/oor-portal/. Use the template provided here:

RII-Limited-Submission-Application-Template.

Materials to submit include:

(1) Two-Page Proposal Summary (1” margins; single-spaced; font type: Arial, Helvetica, Times New Roman, or Georgia typeface; font size: 11 pt). Page limit includes references and illustrations. Pages that exceed the 2-page limit will be excluded from review. You must use the template linked above.
(2) CV – (5 pages maximum)

Note: The portal requires information about the PIs in addition to department and contact information, including the 10-digit USC ID#, Gender, and Ethnicity. Please have this material prepared before beginning this application.

Purpose

The G. Harold and Leila Y. Mathers Charitable Foundation was organized as a Texas non-profit corporation and obtained a ruling from the Internal Revenue Service granting it tax-exempt status as a section 501(c)(3) organization. The Foundation commenced its grant-making activities in Fall, 1982. Since its inception, The Mathers Foundation has granted in excess of $350M.

For many years the Foundation has enjoyed special recognition in the research community in supporting “basic” scientific research, realizing that true transformative breakthroughs usually occur after a thorough understanding of the fundamental mechanisms underlying natural phenomena. More recently, and with the advent of newer investigative methodologies, technology, and tools, the Foundation now embraces innovative translational research proposals.

The Foundation primarily supports basic science, ideally with potential translational applications.
Immunology, microbiome, genomics, structural biology, cellular physiology, neuroscience, etc., are some noteworthy examples of current research support.
Covid-19 related research projects (aims or sub-aims) will not be considered for support.
Medical imaging technology related projects and/or electrical engineering technology development projects will not be considered for support.
Plant Biology Research, Oceanography, Space Exploration. and Global Warming related research will not be considered for support.
As technology continues to advance, it is apparent that investigations in the area of basic science and translational research may become more and more reliant on collaborative, interdisciplinary projects. It is important to note that any interdisciplinary project proposals may require additional information regarding collaborator(s)’ achievements and relevant expertise.
Feedback for declined LOI Requests will not be provided; LOIs or Formal Proposals that have been declined should not be resubmitted at a later date for consideration.
Renewal applications for the same or related research will not be accorded priority consideration. It is strongly advised that any re-application for grant renewal consider a new direction based on prior research or emphasize some new potential translational aspects and not merely an extension of previously funded research.
Requests for funding previously federally supported research and/or applications pending federal approval will not be accorded priority consideration.
Requests for support of clinical trials or drug discovery will not be approved. The Foundation will not support projects which we consider pre-clinical drug development.
Grant Agreements must be signed by an authorized signatory for the University/Institution and countersigned by the Primary Investigator.

Budgetary Requirements

The budget justification should provide detailed costs of investigators’ salaries, laboratory supplies, etc., and will be highly scrutinized.
Grant duration must be three years.
Our expectation is that an investigation will be completed within the requested duration of the grant (up to 3 years). A no-cost extension may be requested if the investigation has not been completed and there are still funds available. If at the end of the grant term, the aims of the project have not been met, an explanation should be provided to the Foundation. (The primary investigator is urged to consider a proposed modification of the project’s original aims to prevent such a situation from occurring.)
Preliminary Budgets are required during the LOI phase. A detailed budget justification is not required until the proposal phase.
The Foundation’s grant award is not intended to be utilized for purchasing capital equipment (“bricks-and-mortar”) for the lab and is intended only to support the actual investigation. The Foundation assumes and expects that capital equipment must be provided by the research institution or university.
Indirect Costs for the proposed project cannot exceed 10%.

Visit our Institutionally Limited Submission webpage for more updates and other announcements.

(CLOSED) 2024 Gordon & Betty Moore Foundation Moore Inventor Fellows

Slots: 2

Deadlines

Internal Deadline: ~~Friday, September 15, 2023, 5pm PT~~ Closed.

LOI: November 14, 2023, 5pm PT

External Deadline: December 13, 2023, 5pm PT

Award Information

Award Type: Grant

Estimated Number of Awards: 50

Anticipated Award Amount: $34 million across awards.

Each fellow will receive $200,000 per year from the foundation for three years. In addition, the foundation will provide the host institution with $25,000 each year to cover costs associated with administering the grant, resulting in a total three-year award of $675,000. Each host institution will be required to contribute $50,000 in annual direct support of the inventor’s work. This can be “in kind” as released time or access to special facilities for which there is normally a charge. We expect each fellow will be personally engaged in pursuing their invention and we require each fellow to devote at least 25 percent of their own time to their invention. Fellows may use the grant funds to support their own salary to create this opportunity. They may also hire research personnel and purchase services, equipment, or supplies.

Who May Serve as PI:

Candidates must be faculty, research scientists, postdocs or other full-time staff who can receive funding through their institutions. Candidates must be no more than 10 years past receiving the terminal advanced degree in their field (M.S., Ph.D. or M.D. received on or after 2014). Please see the Moore Inventor Fellows FAQ for more information regarding candidate eligibility and exceptions.

The scope of this call is intentionally wide: proposed projects do not need to fall within our current funding priorities but should be broadly within the program areas of foundation interest (science, environmental conservation and patient care). Patient care inventions should resonate with our focus on improving the experience and outcomes of patients with solutions that improve clinical diagnosis.

We aim to support inventions at an early stage that could lead to proof-of-concept of an invention or advance an existing prototype that tackles an important problem. We seek innovations that promise to make a long-lasting and meaningful impact by addressing underlying problems in their field, but a clear path toward commercialization is not a requirement. For this opportunity we are not interested in supporting fundamental research projects or projects already at a stage where significant venture capital is available. As with all our grants, we seek to measure progress toward a defined goal during the three years of support. The foundation’s policy is that intellectual property that results from a grant must be managed and disseminated in a manner that leads to the greatest impact. Each award will include IP terms to reflect the needs of that project.

We recognize real invention can take surprising turns, so we seek creative individuals who have big ideas, deep knowledge, and the courage to take smart risks. We recognize inventors and innovators come from a diversity of backgrounds, disciplines and experiences and seek creative individuals across a broad array of academic programs and research institutions. Examples of such programs include but are not limited to environmental science and conservation, remote sensing, artificial intelligence, big data, climatology, emerging infectious diseases, biology, oceanography, engineering, physics, chemistry, materials science, neuroscience, and public health.

Link to Award: https://www.moore.org/initiative-additional-info?initiativeId=moore-inventor-fellows

PDF: https://www.moore.org/docs/default-source/moore-inventor-fellows/moore-inventor-fellows-guidelines.pdf

FAQ: https://www.moore.org/docs/default-source/moore-inventor-fellows/moore-inventor-fellows_faq

Process for Limited Submissions

PIs must submit their application as a Limited Submission through the Gordon & Betty Moore link here: https://provost.sma.usc.edu/prog/moore/. Use the template provided here: RII Limited Submission Applicant Template

Materials to submit include:

(1) Two-Page Proposal Summary (1” margins; single-spaced; standard font type, e.g. Arial, Helvetica, Times New Roman, or Georgia typeface; font size: 11 pt). Page limit includes references and illustrations. Pages that exceed the 2-page limit will be excluded from review. You must use the template linked above.
(2) CV – (5 pages maximum)

Statement of the School’s plan to assure that the nominee has at least 25 percent of their time to devote to their invention and $50,000 in annual direct support of the inventor’s work

Note: The portal requires information about the PIs and Co-PIs in addition to department and contact information, including the 10-digit USC ID#, Gender, and Ethnicity. Please have this material prepared before beginning this application.

Purpose

The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation is pleased to announce the ninth competition for the Moore Inventor Fellows program. The foundation seeks to identify outstanding inventors and innovators who harness science and technology to enhance the conduct of scientific research, strengthen environmental conservation, or improve the experience and outcomes of patient care.

The Moore Inventor Fellows fellowship focuses on supporting scientist-inventors at a critical prototyping stage to capture opportunities that otherwise might be missed. We seek to provide freedom and support to promising inventors with the most compelling ideas to pursue creative and disruptive innovations.

Visit our Institutionally Limited Submission webpage for more updates and other announcements.

FOA-ILAB-23-30 U.S. Department of Labor “Strengthening Social Compliance Project”

Slots: 1. Multiple applications from an organization are not allowed.

Deadlines

Internal Deadline: Contact RII.

LOI: N/A

External Deadline: October 6, 2023

Award Information

Award Type: Cooperative Agreement

Estimated Number of Awards: 1

Anticipated Award Amount: $2,000,000

Who May Serve as PI: Applicants selected for award, including PIOs, must abide by DOL’s requirements in the term and conditions of the award, in alignment with U.S. appropriation laws and applicable U.S.
regulations.

Applicants do not need previous experience managing federal awards, but they must speak
persuasively about their ability to leverage other previous experience and bring it to scale in
support of a large federal investment

Link to Award: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=348804

Process for Limited Submissions

Materials to submit include:

(1) Two-Page Proposal Summary (1” margins; single-spaced; standard font type, e.g. Arial, Helvetica, Times New Roman, or Georgia typeface; font size: 11 pt). Page limit includes references and illustrations. Pages that exceed the 2-page limit will be excluded from review. You must use the template linked above.
(2) CV – (5 pages maximum)

Purpose

ILAB leads the U.S. Government’s (USG) efforts to improve working conditions and fight labor
exploitation around the world. ILAB’s mission is to strengthen global labor standards, enforce
labor commitments among trading partners, promote racial and gender equity, and combat
international child labor, forced labor, and human trafficking. ILAB’s Office of Child Labor,
Forced Labor and Human Trafficking (OCFT) works to eliminate child labor, forced labor and
human trafficking through international research, policy engagement, and technical cooperation.
See ILAB’s webpage for additional information: https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab.
This FOA solicits applications to implement 1 project(s) with the objective to fund Phase I of a
global technical assistance project, piloted in the Indonesian palm oil sector, to reduce and
remediate forced labor in supply chains where forced labor is prevalent.
The multi-phase project will develop and pilot actionable resources to create global worker-driven social compliance systems putting workers and their organizations at the center of
effective solutions to ensure the real, independently verifiable protection of labor rights in global
supply chains. A worker-driven social compliance system is an approach to ensuring fair and
ethical labor practices within supply chains and workplaces. Unlike traditional compliance
systems that rely on audits and inspections conducted by third-party organizations or brands,
worker-driven social compliance systems prioritize the active involvement and empowerment of
workers. In a worker-driven social compliance system, the workers play a central role in
identifying and addressing labor rights violations, health and safety issues, and other concerns
within their workplaces.
Once developed, these actionable resources are intended to be adaptable to any sector in any
country and designed to consider a variety of potential private sector audiences, including
multinational corporations, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and smallholder
farmers. The resources must include, but may not be limited to, guidance to improve private
sector stakeholders’ understanding of forced labor indicators and international core labor
standards. These resources must cover responsible recruitment practices, guidance on
strengthening monitoring of working conditions through worker engagement, and how to
establish effective grievance mechanisms to improve workers’ access to remedies. Furthermore,
the resources should guide companies on providing evidence to demonstrate remediation of
forced labor.

Visit our Institutionally Limited Submission webpage for more updates and other announcements.

University Consortium for Applied Hypersonics Project Call Announcement #: TEES/JHTO-RPP-2023-001

Slots: 3 total; one slot taken.

Deadlines

Internal Deadline: ~~Monday, August 14th, 2023, 5pm PT~~ Contact RII.

LOI: September 11, 2023 5:00 PM EST,

External Deadline: November 1, 2023 at 5:00 PM EST

Award Information

Award Type: Grant

Anticipated Award Amount: Approximately $500,000 per year/per award for 3 years

Who May Serve as PI: Candidate must be a University Consortium Member prior to submitting a Notice of Intent (NOI), as described in Section 3.3.1 of this document. All Awardees shall maintain their Consortium Membership, in good standing, for the duration of the PSA. Affiliate Consortium Members are not eligible to respond to this RPP as the lead institution, but may team with an eligible University Consortium Member and be funded accordingly. Affiliate Consortium Members include industry, laboratories, University-Affiliated Research Centers (UARCs), and Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs), U.S. Military Academies, and Universities (on a case-by-case basis) from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. University Consortium Candidates and team members are generally responsible for determining the extent to which their participation in PPP submissions is appropriate and consistent with their own entities’ authorities and applicable laws, regulations, and policies.

Link to Award: https://hypersonics.tamu.edu/project-call/tees-jhto-rpp-2023-001-request-for-proposal/

Process for Limited Submissions

Materials to submit include:

(1) Two-Page Proposal Summary (1” margins; single-spaced; standard font type, e.g. Arial, Helvetica, Times New Roman, or Georgia typeface; font size: 11 pt). Page limit includes references and illustrations. Pages that exceed the 2-page limit will be excluded from review. You must use the template linked above.
(2) CV – (5 pages maximum)

Purpose

The Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (OUSD), Research and Engineering (R&E) Joint Hypersonics Transition Office (JHTO), in partnership with Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station (TEES) and the UCAH, is soliciting for Prototype Project Proposals (PPPs) supporting projects that will accelerate hypersonics technology development, develop the nation’s future hypersonics workforce, and facilitate the transition of ready technologies into operational capabilities. The project topic descriptions are listed in Section 2 of this document. The JHTO reserves the right to fund none, some, or all the submissions made in response to this RPP. Furthermore, JHTO may choose to fund a portion of a submission or a combination of submissions. No funding for direct reimbursement of PPP development costs will be provided. Any references within this document to the UCAH website, specific to this RPP Project Call, will utilize the following website: https://hypersonics.tamu.edu/project-call/.

TOPIC 1: Thermal Energy Harvesting

TOPIC 2: Implementation and Validation of Navigation, Guidance, and Control Algorithms

TOPIC 3: Controllable Propellants and Energetics

TOPIC 4: Low Cost Ground and Flight Testing Enablers

TOPIC 5: Novel Aperture and Radome Designs for High-Mach Operation

Visit our Institutionally Limited Submission webpage for more updates and other announcements.

U.S. Department of State – Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs – SFOP0009975 Diversifying Semiconductor Supply Chains

Slots: 1 per organization.

Deadlines

Internal Deadline: ~~Monday, August 14th, 2023, 5pm PT~~ Contact RII.

LOI: N/A

External Deadline: September 29, 2023, 11:59pm EST

Award Information

Award Type: Cooperative Agreement

Anticipated Award Amount: $13,800,000

Who May Serve as PI: The recipient must demonstrate ability to operate consecutively within the Americas and Indo-Pacific region.
Recipient must have demonstrated capability to provide both in-person and distance learning engagements, with in-person engagements preferred. Virtual engagement can take various forms, e.g., one-on-one meetings, small group consultations, webinars, and video conferences, among others.
The recipient must share international and regional best practices, techniques, protocols, and processes in these areas; draw upon national, regional, and international case studies, as well as their own implementation experience; draw from resources provided by multilateral regimes; and provide illustrative models of relevant investments that partners can emulate in developing their own.
Recognizing that the project requires in-depth knowledge of global supply chains and semiconductor industry, the recipient must have demonstrated experience with both aspects. Recipient must have demonstrated ability to understand, aggregate and utilize semiconductor supply chain data. Recipient needs to demonstrate a sufficient amount of subject matter expertise and understanding of how the U.S. government might review the supply chain for shortages, blockages and for misuse by malign actors. Recipient must provide evidence of prior successful project delivery by a U.S. Federal Agency, preferably in a related industry/supply chain.
The Department of State will issue an award to the recipient whose application represents the best value to the U.S. Government based on technical merit, efficient use of U.S. Government funds, and satisfactory organizational capacity. The Department of State reserves the right to make an award based on the initial application received with or without discussion or negotiations.

Link to Award: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=349537

Process for Limited Submissions

Materials to submit include:

(1) Two-Page Proposal Summary (1” margins; single-spaced; standard font type, e.g. Arial, Helvetica, Times New Roman, or Georgia typeface; font size: 11 pt). Page limit includes references and illustrations. Pages that exceed the 2-page limit will be excluded from review. You must use the template linked above.
(2) CV – (5 pages maximum)

Purpose

The semiconductor supply chain is global but there are certain countries that are currently active in various areas/components of the supply chain. After reviewing the supply chain, EB/TPN/MTA has identified existing or potential bottlenecks in infrastructure, regulatory environment, or workforce in key economies. This NOFO invites proposals that target the existing supply chain with a goal to expand and diversify the current composition – to “rewire” the supply chain.

The Program goals are to engage host governments, industry, and stakeholders to address supply chain gaps/bottlenecks, increase private investment, build technical capacity, improve global integration, and develop the workforce in order to facilitate new investments that will complement and support the growth of new U.S. chip production.

The objectives are to: 1) improve the business environments so as to facilitate private sector efforts that generate additional capabilities in ATP facilities; 2) expand and diversify the required workforce to ensure growth is possible; and 3) improve regulatory environments that will encourage diversification and expansion of the ATP global supply chain.

EB/TPN/MTA seeks to fund recipients to deliver tangible, measurable capacity development and technical assistance programming that helps address these regulatory and institutional weaknesses and facilitates expansion of workforce capacity needs. Proposals should reflect a clear understanding of the problem set. As denoted further within each project description below, efforts may include research, training, workshops and seminars, targeted industry outreach, technical consultations, and mentorship. As appropriate, EB/TPN/MTA may supplement recipient’s subject matter expertise with USG experts from the Departments of State, Commerce, Treasury, and others. Their participation and travel will be covered separately.

Visit our Institutionally Limited Submission webpage for more updates and other announcements.

Tang Prizes

Slots: Research Deans may submit three nominations total in each category of Biopharmaceutical Sciences, Rule of Law, and Sustainable Development, and one nomination total in Sinology.

Deadlines

Internal Deadline: Contact RII.

LOI: N/A

External Deadline: September 30, 2023

Award Information

Award Type: Grant

Estimated Number of Awards: 10 total. 3 laureates total for Biopharmaceutical Sciences, Rule of Law, and Sustainable Development each; 1 laureate in Sinology.

Anticipated Award Amount: The biennial prize will grant a cash award of NT$40 million (around US$1.3 million) plus a NT$10 million grant (around US$330,000) for further amplification of the laureate’s endeavors related to the topic. More information can be found at www.tang-prize.org.

Who May Serve as PI: Candidates should be individuals and/or organizations that have made extraordinary contributions to their chosen field, especially through groundbreaking innovations in science and technology. For Sinology, the Tang Prize recognizes the study of Sinology in its broadest sense, awarding outstanding research on China and its related fields.

Link to Award: https://www.tang-prize.org/en/

Process for Limited Submissions

Research Deans must submit their confidential nomination as a Tang Prize Submission through the Research Initiatives and Infrastructure (RII) Application Portal: https://provost.sma.usc.edu/prog/tang-prize.

Materials to submit include:

(1) Two-Page Nomination Letter (1” margins; single-spaced; standard font type, e.g. Arial, Helvetica, Times New Roman, or Georgia typeface; font size: 11 pt). Page limit includes references and illustrations. Pages that exceed the 2-page limit will be excluded from review.
- The foundation recognizes extraordinary achievements in the four major fields of: Sustainable Development, Biopharmaceutical Science, Sinology, and Rule of Law. The prize is intended to gather the wisdom mankind needs to tackle the crises unique to the 21^st century. Its laureates are selected on the basis of the originality of their work and its impact on society, irrespective of their nationality, ethnicity, gender or faith.
(2) CV – (5 pages maximum) (optional)
(3) List of key publications from the nominee

Purpose

With the advent of industrialization and globalization, humanity has been able to enjoy the convenience brought about by the advancement of science and technology. Yet, a multitude of new challenges also emerged along the way, such as climate change, emerging infectious diseases, wealth gap, and moral degradation.

Against this backdrop, Dr. Samuel Yin established the Tang Prize in December 2012 to encourage individuals across the globe to chart the middle path to sustainable development. By recognizing extraordinary achievements in the four major fields of Sustainable Development, Biopharmaceutical Science, Sinology, and Rule of Law, the prize is intended to gather the wisdom mankind needs to tackle the crises unique to the 21^st century. Its laureates are selected on the basis of the originality of their work and its impact on society, irrespective of their nationality, ethnicity, gender or faith.

Rooted in China’s time-honored philosophical tradition and as a point of convergence of different civilizations, the Tang Prize aims to provide fresh impetus to the pursuit of sustainable development in the 21st century, bring about positive change to the global community, and create a brighter future for all of humanity.

Sustainable Development

The Tang Prize in Sustainable Development recognizes those who have made extraordinary contributions to the sustainable development of human societies, especially through groundbreaking innovations in science and technology

Biopharmaceutical Science

The Tang Prize in Biopharmaceutical Science recognizes original biopharmaceutical or biomedical research that has led to significant advances towards preventing, diagnosing and/or treating major human diseases to improve human health.

Sinology

The Tang Prize in Sinology recognizes the study of Sinology in its broadest sense, awarding research on China and its related fields, such as Chinese thought, history, philology, linguistics, archaeology, philosophy, religion, traditional canons, literature, and art (excluding literary and art works). Honoring innovations in the field of Sinology, the Prize showcases Chinese culture and its contributions to the development of human civilization.
Sustainable Development

Rule of Law

All individuals are born equal, and everyone, including states and international organizations, is accountable to the law. For the purpose of the Tang Prize, the Rule of Law encompasses due process and substantive justice, and champions peace, human rights, and sustainable development in order to serve the common good of humankind and nature. The Tang Prize in the Rule of Law recognizes individual(s) or institution(s) who have made significant contributions to the rule of law, reflected not only in the achievement of the candidate(s) in terms of the advancement of legal theory or practice, but also in the realization of the rule of law in contemporary societies through the influences or inspiration of the work of the candidate(s).

Visit our Institutionally Limited Submission webpage for more updates and other announcements.

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