GFI research grant program adds new funding opportunities
Today, the alternative protein industry faces specific technological challenges that can be best solved via open-access research. This research can’t wait. Solving these challenges as quickly as possible will catapult the entire field forward.
A growing community of scientists is poised to address critical alternative protein research needs. But they can only do this with adequate research funding. They need dedicated pools of funding and more flexible grant cycles to conduct the right research when it needs to happen: now.
To help solve this problem, GFI is releasing two new funding opportunities for scientific research on alternative proteins.
Thanks to gifts from visionary donors, GFI is now able to fund research proposals throughout the year. In addition to our flagship Annual Competitive Research Grant Program (next accepting proposals in early 2021), we are now accepting proposals year-round via two additional funding mechanisms. This increased flexibility allows us to fund the highest impact research and address identified research white spaces as quickly as possible.
What are these funding opportunities?
Our first new funding mechanism is for White Space Collaborations. These are targeted funding opportunities tied to the white space research ideas identified by GFI. We will release new requests for proposals for White Space Collaborations several times each year.
Our second new funding mechanism is for Exploratory Grants. These are smaller research projects that need funding now for experimental ideas and exploratory work that could lead to big breakthroughs. Proposals for Exploratory Grants are accepted year-round and are reviewed and awarded on a rolling basis.
GFI’s philanthropy-driven Research Grant Program answers fundamental questions that can spin off entire industries, inspiring additional research and creating new opportunities to feed the world. By empowering high-quality research that will produce open-access data designed to benefit the plant-based and cultivated meat industries, we are helping build the scientific foundation of a healthy, sustainable, and just global food system.
Click here to learn more about the projects that GFI has funded to date.
Looking to fund your alternative protein research?
To view these new funding opportunities and to submit your research proposal for funding consideration, please visit gfi.org/researchgrants. If these funding opportunities are not a good fit for your research, you can also explore our Research Funding Database. This database features all funding opportunities of which we are aware for alternative protein research.
If you have any specific questions about funding your research, reach out to our Grants Management team directly at research_grants@gfi.org.
