Emergency Research Funding

The King Center recognizes that field work is unpredictable and that, in extraordinary cases, faculty may have emergency funding needs for ongoing field projects. The center has limited funds available for this purpose.

Emergency funding is intended for discrete needs for ongoing projects which, were it not for an unexpected roadblock, would be fully funded. Emergency funding may be available for the following needs:

• Bridge funding: This can be sought if a funder is delayed in honoring a commitment and a research partner needs a backstop funding confirmation to proceed with work. The expectation is that bridge funding will be returned to the center.
• Shocks: If, due to an unexpected change (e.g., a change in government regulations, a new tariff on a key input, etc.), additional funds are needed to complete or proceed with a research project for which all funding was in place, the center can provide limited funding to meet one-time project needs.

Funding is not available through this mechanism for additional or unfunded research needs identified in the course of an ongoing research study, to fund pilot work, or to launch time-sensitive work before funding is secured.  Funding cannot cover salary or stipend costs for faculty, postdocs, graduate students, or research collaborators. 

Request process

Please note that the primary applicants must be Stanford faculty members. Please submit your request by using the following form:

Apply Here

In your proposal request, please include:

• Brief explanation of the research project and existing funding;
• Description of the emergency need, including a summary of the timeline and events that led to the need;
• Explanation for why this need will not occur again;
• Budget for the funds sought to address the need, as well as a discussion of what other funding is being pursued for this need.

Decisions

Requests will be reviewed on a rolling basis by a committee appointed by the King Center’s Faculty Steering Committee. Committee members who submit a proposal will recuse themselves from discussions of their own submissions.

The committee will evaluate whether the need could have been reasonably anticipated, the likelihood that the funding sought will fully resolve the need, and the expected research impact of providing the funding. Funding decisions will be announced within two weeks of request submission.

Questions?

For questions or to discuss whether your situation might qualify for funding under this window, please contact King Center Executive Director Jessica Leino at jleino@stanford.edu.