(I drafted this comment earlier and feel like it’s largely redundant by now, but I thought I might as well post it.)
I agree with what Adam and Asya said. I think many of those points can be summarized as ‘there isn’t a compelling theory of change for this project to result in improvements in the long-term future.’
Many applicants have great credentials, impressive connections, and a track record of getting things done, but their ideas and plans seem optimized for some goal other than improving the long-term future, and it would be a suspicious convergence if they were excellent for the long-term future as well. (If grantseekers don’t try to make the case for this in their application, I try to find out myself if this is the case, and the answer is usually ‘no.’)
We’ve received applications from policy projects, experienced professionals, and professors (including one with tens of thousands of citations), but ended up declining largely for this reason. It’s worth noting that these applications aren’t bad – often, they’re excellent – but they’re only tangentially related to what the LTFF is trying to achieve.
(I drafted this comment earlier and feel like it’s largely redundant by now, but I thought I might as well post it.)
I agree with what Adam and Asya said. I think many of those points can be summarized as ‘there isn’t a compelling theory of change for this project to result in improvements in the long-term future.’
Many applicants have great credentials, impressive connections, and a track record of getting things done, but their ideas and plans seem optimized for some goal other than improving the long-term future, and it would be a suspicious convergence if they were excellent for the long-term future as well. (If grantseekers don’t try to make the case for this in their application, I try to find out myself if this is the case, and the answer is usually ‘no.’)
We’ve received applications from policy projects, experienced professionals, and professors (including one with tens of thousands of citations), but ended up declining largely for this reason. It’s worth noting that these applications aren’t bad – often, they’re excellent – but they’re only tangentially related to what the LTFF is trying to achieve.