May 17, 2007 | Read Time: 1 minute
The Rockefeller Foundation has been testing something it calls an ideas portal on its Web site, which provides visitors with an online form through which they can share thoughts about problems they would like to see the foundation tackle and specific projects it should support.
More than 1,700 submissions have been sent in so far, including one that came within an hour of the portal’s start in November from a scientist in Arizona who had ideas about the use of scarce water resources.
The submissions are initially screened by program and research assistants at the foundation, with worthy ideas passed on to the foundation’s program officers for a more detailed review. About 250 submissions have been examined by program officers, and 19 of those are under active consideration by the foundation.
Richard J. Tofel, a Rockefeller vice president, declined to offer details on the 19 ideas, but he says most of them focus on either global health, African agriculture, climate change, or reconstruction in New Orleans.
Mr. Tofel says the ideas portal exemplifies Rockefeller’s commitment to overhauling ts work. “We are using the power of this technology to say we really are looking for new ideas,” he says, “and if you have any, we’d really like to know what they are.”
To get there: Go to http://www.rockfound.org/grants/grants.shtml.
