Fast Funding for COVID-19 Science
Science funding mechanisms are too slow in normal times and may be much too slow during the COVID-19 pandemic. Fast Grants are an effort to correct this.
If you are a scientist at an academic institution currently working on a COVID-19 related project and in need of funding, we invite you to apply for a Fast Grant. Fast Grants are $10k to $500k and decisions are made in under 48 hours. If we approve the grant, you'll receive payment as quickly as your university can receive it.
The grants are currently supported by: John Collison, Patrick Collison, the Crankstart Foundation, Kim and Scott Farquhar, Paul Graham, Reid Hoffman, Fiona McKean and Tobias Lütke, Yuri and Julia Milner, and Chris and Crystal Sacca. AWS has contributed compute credits.
These funders have committed over $12M to funding Fast Grant awardees. If you are an interested funder, please reach out: fund@fastgrants.org.
Who is eligible to apply for a Fast Grant?
You must be:
- A PI at an academic institution;
- Already working on a project that could help with the COVID-19 pandemic within the next six months;
- In need of additional funding to complete the project.
Researchers outside the US are eligible for funding.
Why the six month constraint?
Most existing funding bodies focus on supporting longer-term work. Given COVID-19's human costs, speed is of paramount importance.
Who will make grant decisions?
A panel of biomedical scientists will make funding recommendations to Emergent Ventures.
What can a Fast Grant be used for?
We require that a Fast Grant be used solely to expedite COVID-19-related science. Beyond that, the grant recipient has complete discretion over how it is spent.
What criteria will panelists use?
We'll prefer projects that are cheap (so that our fund dollars go further) and that will yield results quickly (during COVID-19, days matter).
Does the grant go to the PI or to the university?
This is at the discretion of the applicant.
When can I apply?
Fast Grants open at 12:00 Pacific Time on Tuesday, April 7, 2020. We will wait until Sunday, April 12 before we award our first grants in order to give our reviewers time to calibrate. Subsequent decisions will be made within 48 hours. (That is: applications submitted before April 12 will be reviewed within the 48 hours following April 12.)
What conditions apply?
- You must use the grant to work on COVID-19-related science.
- For six months, you must send us monthly updates, summarizing your progress. These updates can be as simple as a single-paragraph email.
- You must upload all manuscripts reporting work supported by the grant to a preprint server such as bioRxiv or arXiv upon submission to a peer-reviewed journal.
- In line with Gates Foundation policy, will pay at most 10% in overhead costs to the university.
For more information click "LINK TO ORIGINAL" below.