Initiatives
The King Center on Global Development invites proposals from Stanford faculty for ambitious new initiatives that harness and expand the university’s distinctive strengths in research on global development and poverty alleviation.
King Center initiatives are research endeavors, typically led by multiple faculty members, that generate academic outputs and provide research infrastructure and other “public goods” that benefit the broader Stanford community and beyond. Initiatives articulate a credible pathway through which their work will contribute to improvements in poverty and global development outcomes.
To support a vibrant multidisciplinary community, the King Center can provide space for initiative-affiliated postdoctoral scholars, predoctoral fellows, and technical staff, and can host initiative-related events, including conferences, seminars, and workshops.
Faculty may apply either for seed funding to develop a future initiative or for support for a full initiative.
AY2026–27 Funding Levels
- Seed funding: Up to $100,000 for a one-year period
- Full initiatives: Up to $250,000 for a three-year period
Successful seed funding and full initiatives may reapply in future years as they grow in scope and scale.
Eligibility
Primary Principal Investigators (PIs) must be Stanford faculty members and be eligible to serve as PIs under Stanford policy.
AY2026–27 Deadlines and Application Link
Funding decisions will be announced approximately two months after full proposals are submitted.
What We're Looking for in Initiatives
King Center initiatives are designed to support ambitious collaborative efforts that would be difficult to launch through traditional project-based funding mechanisms.
Initiatives emerge organically from faculty interests and are developed and led by faculty teams. Proposals that bring together faculty in new ways are encouraged. Proposals led by a single faculty investigator should include a substantial training and community-building component, such as meaningful engagement with collaborators based in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
The proposed work may involve the broad range of disciplines involved in global development, individually or in combination, including but not limited to earth sciences, economics, engineering, medicine, political science, and policy.
Proposed work should focus on LMICs.
Competitive proposals will:
- Address important challenges related to global poverty and development
- Bring together faculty in novel and productive ways
- Build durable research communities that will persist beyond the initial funding period
- Create meaningful opportunities for student training and engagement
- Generate “public goods” that benefit the broader Stanford community and beyond
- Demonstrate a credible pathway to broader social impact
- Articulate a sustainable long-term vision
Less competitive proposals typically:
- Simply supplement existing funding streams
- Support work that is already sufficiently developed to compete for external funding
- Function primarily as stand-alone research projects rather than broader community-building efforts
What We're Looking for in Seed Funding Proposals
Seed funding is intended to incubate future initiatives rather than support stand-alone research projects.
Seed funding may support activities such as:
- Faculty workshops
- Data acquisition needed to establish proof of concept
- Support for a predoctoral research fellow
- Support for postdoctoral scholars
- Background research and initiative development activities
The expectation is that seed funding will culminate in a future full initiative proposal within one to two years. Receipt of seed funding does not guarantee future initiative funding.
Seed proposals will be evaluated using the same criteria as full initiatives, listed above.
Proposal Requirements
A. Proposals of up to five pages should include:
- Statement of significance
- A brief explanation of the academic and policy context of the proposed initiative
- Concrete objectives (including concrete outputs and deliverables)
- Activities that will be undertaken to achieve these objectives
- Metrics for evaluating success, including policy impact
- A description of how the proposed initiative addresses the evaluation criteria, including a description of how the proposed initiative will build community at Stanford
- Any requests for office space or other facilities needs
- A description of the roles and anticipated time commitments of faculty, postdocs, students, and/or staff
- A concrete description of faculty leadership for the initiative
- Longer-term goals, including the broader vision for a future full initiative (seed proposal) and a path toward sustaining the initiative’s work (full proposal).
B. In an additional two pages, provide a budget and budget justification, as well as information on other funding sources. Please use the King Center budget template.
- Do not include indirect costs (IDC) in the budget.
- Budgets do not need to be routed through OSR for this internally-funded initiative.
- Budgets that include faculty salary support or support for existing staff or postdoctoral scholars are unlikely to be competitive unless a compelling justification is provided.
C. Please also include a CV for each Principal Investigator.
Presentation
Leadership teams may be invited to make a brief presentation to the selection committee and answer questions on their proposals. Presentations will be scheduled for the morning of Friday, November 13, 2026.
Review Process and Selection Criteria
The King Center Faculty Steering Committee will review proposals. Faculty Steering Committee members involved in a proposal will recuse themselves from deliberations. Additional subject-matter experts from Stanford or other institutions may be invited to review proposals. All reviewers are required to maintain proposal confidentiality.
After applying a general filter for alignment with global poverty and development priorities, the Faculty Steering Committee will use the following criteria to evaluate proposals:
- Innovation
- Academic rigor
- Potential for broader social impact
- Creation/provision of “public goods” that benefit the broader Stanford community and beyond
- Whether the proposed initiative would create a truly new effort that would not otherwise be possible
- Value for money
The Faculty Steering Committee may recommend that proposals be:
- Funded
- Returned with a recommendation to revise and resubmit
- Rejected
Funding decisions will be announced approximately two months after full proposals are submitted.
Post-Award Requirements
Initiative PIs will:
- Submit interim progress reports at the end of the winter and summer quarters each year
- Meet with King Center leadership once or twice annually to discuss progress
- Participate in technical review sessions, workshops, or other initiative-related activities, as appropriate
- Submit a final summary report and presentation materials at the conclusion of the funding period
- Grant the King Center permission to use papers, abstracts, and summaries of initiative-supported work on its website and in other materials
Continued funding is contingent upon satisfactory completion of all required post-award obligations.
Acknowledgment of King Center Support
If you receive funding, you are required to acknowledge King Center support in professional materials and communications. This includes working papers, publications, interviews, media appearances, social media, and other public communications, as well as identifying yourself as a King Center funding recipient where appropriate.
Questions?
Please contact the King Center Executive Director, Jessica Leino, at jleino@stanford.edu with any questions.