Why Fast Grants?

A researcher who applies for a traditional research grant today might in many cases expect to receive funding up to 20 months from now. Regardless of the cause, long lags are a major problem because windows of opportunity to pursue scientific research leads can open and close, especially in partnership-based work aiming to improve decision making at organizations.

The idea of fast grant programs is to attempt to fill this gap, providing short-turn around funding for promising research ideas. In the spirit of combinatorial innovation, this particular Fast Grants for STEM Talent Identification & Development program is:

• • • Inspired by and closely following the model of Fast Funding for COVID-19 Science 
    • Using a streamlined application modeled on Tyler Cowen’s Emergent Ventures

Who is eligible to apply for a Fast Grant?

You must be:

• • • A PI at an academic institution
    • Working on a project aiming to (again, to borrow a beautiful phrase from Carina Initiatives) send more individuals from more communities to the frontiers of science and technology
    • In need of additional funding to complete the project.

Researchers outside the US are eligible for funding.

Who will make grant decisions?

A panel of advisers will make funding recommendations: 

• • • Co-lead: David Deming, Isabelle and Scott Black Professor of Political Economy, Harvard University
    • Co-lead: Heidi Williams, Professor of Economics, Dartmouth College
    • Kipp Bradford, Board of Directors, Digital Harbor Foundation
    • Tyler Cowen, Holbert L. Harris Chair of Economics, George Mason University
    • Eddie Mandhry, Senior Fellow & Lead, Schmidt Futures’ Virtual Center for Advanced Potential

What can a Fast Grant be used for?

We require that a Fast Grant be used for research aiming to send more individuals from more communities to the frontiers of science and technology. Beyond that, the grant recipient has complete discretion over how it is spent.

What criteria should panelist use?

• • • Team — does the team have a track record, whether conventional or not, that suggests they will be able to execute on their plan and to learn and pivot if things change?
    • Plan viability — what are the chances of successful execution of the planned activities? Are the major risks identified and mitigated to the extent possible?
    • Practical value — assuming executed as planned, how much might lessons from the project directly improve practice?
    • Distributional implications — to what extent might the benefits (and costs) of the actions (e.g. interventions) accrue differentially to people with respect to socioeconomic status, race/ethnicity, gender, etc.? Will the project capture this?

Does the grant go to the PI or to the university?

This is at the discretion of the applicant.

When can I apply?

We accept rolling submissions. Applicants will receive funding decisions within 14 days of their submission.

What conditions apply?

• • • You must use the grant to support research aiming to send more individuals from more communities to the frontiers of science and technology.
    • We request an update within one year of the award summarizing your progress. This can be as simple as a single-paragraph e-mail, and must be no more than one page.
    • We request that grantees follow the open science policy articulated by the Agency Fund: “We prefer that projects adhere to open science principles such as the preparation and registration of a pre-analysis plan; the open sharing of data and code; and the public archiving of research outputs. The need to safeguard the privacy and personally identifiable information of research participants takes precedence over this open science policy, but the loss to replicability should be minimized. Investigators’ desire to maintain exclusive access takes precedence over this open science policy only for six months beyond the grant period.”
    • In line with Gates Foundation policy, we pay at most 10% in indirect costs to universities.

How do intellectual property rights work?

Apart from the open science policy articulated above, there are no intellectual property restrictions associated with this program.

Who administers Fast Grants?

The program is administered by the Digital Harbor Foundation.

Are contributions to Fast Grants tax deductible?

Yes, as the Digital Harbor Foundation is a 501c(3) organization.

Will the identities of grant recipients be made public?

This shall be at the recipient’s discretion. We will list those who agree to be named on this website.