Frequently Asked Questions

The Foundation primarily funds bioethics research through two grant programs: the Faculty Scholars Program and the Making a Difference program. The Foundation’s Faculty Scholars Program makes career development awards to enable junior faculty members to carry out innovative bioethics research. Through this program, the Foundation supports research that goes beyond current work in bioethics to help resolve pressing ethical issues and creates a community that enhances future bioethics research by Scholars and Alumni/ae.

The Making a Difference program supports specific research projects to help resolve an important emerging or unanswered bioethics problem. The Foundation’s aim through this program is to fund projects that promote the Foundation’s vision and mission through forward-looking bioethics research that will have a real-world, practical impact.

The Foundation announces open requests for proposals (RFPs) for the Faculty Scholars Program and Making a Difference program on its website. Faculty Scholars Program grants are awarded once a year; the RFP is typically posted in July. Making a Difference grants are awarded twice a year; RFPs are typically posted in December and June. Please check the Faculty Scholars Program and Making a Difference Grants pages to review open RFPs and find additional instructions on how to apply.

In order to be fair to all applicants, the Foundation cannot give feedback or technical advice on specific proposals or drafts before a letter of intent is submitted and reviewed.

Because the Foundation is supported by a relatively small staff, job opportunities with the Foundation are very infrequent. Job opportunities will be posted in the News section of the Foundation’s website.

William C. Stubing served as President of The Greenwall Foundation for 21 years. In 2016, the Foundation established the William C. Stubing Memorial Lecture in honor of its beloved former President, who guided the Foundation to its current focus on bioethics. Information about prior and future Lectures is available in the News section of the Foundation’s website.

Endowed by the Foundation, the Greenwall Fellowship in Bioethics enables young investigators to participate actively in the work of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, and to further their careers as future leaders addressing bioethics issues in clinical care, biomedical research, and public policy. The Greenwall Fellowship in Bioethics is wholly managed by the National Academy of Medicine; additional information can be found here. It should not be confused with the Greenwall Fellowship Program in Bioethics and Health Policy, which sunset in 2012.

The Greenwall Fellowship Program was a Foundation-funded joint post-doctoral fellowship program in bioethics and health policy at Johns Hopkins and Georgetown Universities. Established in 1995, the Fellowship was active through 2012. Additional information about the Greenwall Fellowship Program in Bioethics and Health Policy can be found here.

Faculty Scholars Program grants are awarded once a year; the RFP is typically posted in July. Please check the Faculty Scholars Program page to review the current or previous RFP and find additional instructions on how to apply.

Only one applicant from a university or non-profit research institute will be considered in each Faculty Scholars Program application cycle. The Foundation does not require specific institutional processes, but does require an institutional letter briefly describing the applicant selection process. Institutions often employ processes such as: institution-wide advertisement of the funding opportunity; establishment of transparent selection criteria; and committee review of Letter of Intent and/or other relevant materials.

Yes, you are eligible. However, the Program Committee will look at evidence of long-term institutional commitment to you when considering your application. For example: If your extramural funding runs out, what will happen to your position? Are you required to get additional extramural funding to do research? Is your position terminated if there are no extramural funds? If invited to submit a full application, your Department Chair and Dean will need to respond to these issues, as well as whether your institution has faculty positions that guarantee at least part of a faculty member’s salary.

Yes, you are eligible; however, there is a strong presumption in favor of applicants who have not yet had a tenure decision. Moreover, the Program Committee takes into account the applicant’s career stage, and those further along in their careers are expected to have stronger applications.

Yes, you are eligible. When a Scholar has other funding and does not require salary support for 50% effort on his/her project, the Foundation will consider a request to reallocate funds to purposes tightly related to the Scholar’s project. The Scholar is nonetheless expected to devote 50% effort to the project and the funds are intended to be used within three years.

Yes, but such institutions must have tax-exempt status in the United States. Applicant institutions must provide the Foundation with a letter of determination from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. Equivalency determinations will not be accepted.

In order to be fair to all applicants, the Foundation cannot give feedback or technical advice on specific proposals or drafts before a letter of intent is submitted and reviewed.

Making a Difference grants are awarded twice a year; RFPs are typically posted in December and June. Please check the About Making a Difference Grants page to review the current or previous RFP and find additional instructions on how to apply.

There is no formal limit on the budget or duration of a Making a Difference grant, and the Foundation’s budget and duration constraints may vary among application cycles. You can get a sense of the budget and duration of Making a Difference grants on the Making a Difference Grants page.

Yes, but such institutions must have tax-exempt status in the United States. Applicant institutions must provide the Foundation with a letter of determination from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. Equivalency determinations will not be accepted.

No, the Foundation only makes awards to institutions with tax-exempt status in the United States.

In order to be fair to all applicants, the Foundation cannot give feedback or technical advice on specific proposals or drafts before a letter of intent is submitted and reviewed.

BBRP is a relatively new initiative and RFPs have typically been posted in early summer. This might change in future years, so please sign up for the Foundation’s newsletter and follow us on Twitter @Greenwallfdn for the latest information. Click here to find the current or most recent RFP and additional details on applying.

Yes. The Foundation welcomes proposals from stakeholders well positioned to translate bioethics research results to policymaking, including those who are not bioethics researchers. Applications from or partnerships with policymakers and others outside of academia are encouraged. When submitting an application, project teams should demonstrate a clear understanding of the relevant bioethics scholarship (which does not need to have been conducted by the team). Please keep in mind, though, that the Foundation only makes awards to affiliated individuals at institutions with tax-exempt status in the United States.

No, this initiative is open-ended. It does not fund bioethics research but, rather, supports bioethics researchers, policymakers, and others to take the next step and bridge the divide between research results and policymaking. We welcome proposals that build from various types of completed bioethics research and that propose creative and innovative mechanisms for bridging research results and policy. Proposals should illustrate clearly the relevance and importance of the underlying bioethics research, as well as any supporting evidence for the mechanism’s ability to impact policy.

The Bernard Lo, MD Award in Bioethics (Lo Award) is a $25,000 prize given annually to recognize significant contributions to bioethics. This Award honors Dr. Lo’s service to The Greenwall Foundation as its President & CEO (2012-2020) and founding Director of the Faculty Scholars Program. Read more about the award and the nomination process.

The Lo Award will recognize one area of accomplishment in bioethics each year. The 2022 Award will be presented for excellence in bioethics mentorship and will be given to a recipient who stands out as a bioethics mentor that goes above and beyond to support and guide rising bioethics professionals in academic, clinical, policy, law, research, public health, or other bioethics-related careers. The Foundation encourages nominees from academic, non-profit, government, industry, and other sectors.

Please contact us so we can put you in touch with key experts and resources in the areas you are interested in. A full Bioethics Expert Directory is available upon request.