Submit a Proposal
Pioneer team members are always looking for innovative ideas with the potential to solve major problems in health and health care. We accept unsolicited proposals and issue awards throughout the year, with no deadlines. Read our FAQs, then follow the steps below.
Step 1: Learn More About What We Support—and Why
Step 2: Complete the Proposal Checklist
Step 3: Submit a Brief Proposal
Complete the Proposal Checklist
Here’s the checklist we use when we review proposals. It’s okay if your answer to some of these questions is “no,” but generally speaking, the more “yeses,” the more likely your idea is one we’ll want to fund.
1. Original
Is your idea fresh and new, or does it represent a novel application of an established idea?
2. Unconventional
Does your idea challenge traditional thought and practice by seeing the problem—and/or the solution—through a different lens?
3. Transformational
Does your idea have the potential to radically—not incrementally—improve health or health care?
4. Interdisciplinary
Does your project propose to bring in perspectives from other industries or draw together uncommon partners?
5. Sizeable and Transferable
Does your idea address a large-scale problem?
Could your idea be adapted to other contexts and address a wider range of issues?
6. Sustainable
Does your project have the potential to produce outcomes that would be valuable enough to be continued, supported, and adopted by others?
- If you aren’t sure whether Pioneer is the best fit for your idea, please be sure to review current calls for proposals from the Foundation’s other teams.
To streamline the review process for both applicants and staff, all applicants who are interested in applying for a Pioneer Portfolio grant must initiate the process of applying for a grant by submitting a brief proposal using the Foundation’s online system. To get started, create a MyRWJF profile and sign in to your account.