‘Evolution and Christian Faith’ Grants Competition

‘Evolution and Christian Faith’ Grants Competition Moves Toward Final Decisions

Much has happened since we last reported on Evolution and Christian Faith (ECF), a new BioLogos grants program that aims to address theological and philosophical questions commonly voiced by Christians about evolutionary creation. One exciting development was the gift of nearly half a million dollars to augment the $3.5 million already provided by The John Templeton Foundation. BioLogos will now be able to fund even more excellent projects, and in so doing, significantly extend the reach of the ECF community.

After the pre-proposal round of judging by our panel of eight experts in the science-and-faith conversation, we invited the top 40 percent of applicants to submit a full application. The application process was thorough, requiring a project narrative, timeline, budget, budget justification, two letters of reference, and other documents and details. But that didn’t stop our competitive applicants! Almost all of them completed their applications by the deadline on October 1, 2012.

October and November were busy months as the BioLogos staff managed the proposal review process. Three or more reviewers, including at least one expert external to the ECF panel, examined each proposal and assessed the following: significance, project design, creativity and innovation, long-term impact potential, feasibility, and budget justification. Finally, the BioLogos staff and ECF panel convened on November 29–30 in Chicago to determine the priority of the projects. Final awards will be announced in January.

“It’s one thing to get a lot of applications,” said BioLogos Program Director Kathryn Applegate. “It’s quite another to receive so many interesting and relevant ones. I think the quality exceeded everyone’s expectations.” The need for new scholarship and resources for the Church is tremendous. BioLogos, through the ECF program, is well positioned to meet that need. Please pray with us that this program will produce abundant fruit!