Community Biology

Challenge Aims

Community bio aims to enable people around the world to learn, innovate, and express themselves creatively using, and in collaboration with, living systems, and to do so safely and securely. Since its inception, Community Bio has focused on making the knowledge and tools of biology accessible via novel, open-source tools, technologies, systems, and programs, often leveraging a network of ‘Community Biology Labs’ located throughout the world. While many of these labs have thrived over the years, many have also faced challenges concerning sustainability and growing and maintaining capacity and resources.

Through this grant program, we aim to fund and support ideas, projects, and programs for Community Bio that will have the likelihood of enhancing the sustainability or growing the capacity or resources of a Community Lab or the larger Community Bio movement. These projects could be technical inventions, innovative programs, or other ideas that will help the Community Bio movement flourish.

Whether you're an experienced researcher or someone who's just fascinated by the potential of biology, our grant program is your opportunity to make a difference. We believe that great ideas can come from anywhere, and we're committed to making biotechnology accessible, understandable, and engaging for everyone.

This grant program is more than funding; it's a chance to be part of a vibrant, supportive network. We're here to help bring your ideas to life, whether it's a project that simplifies complex biological concepts or a tool that empowers others in our community to experiment and innovate. If you have a vision that can inspire and transform our approach to Community Bio, we invite you to apply with a project.

ROLLING SUBMISSIONS:  The goal of this small, fast grant program is to get these projects off the ground quickly. If selected, the grant (up to $10,000 with the average Science Engine grant being $4,000) will be applied towards an ongoing Experiment project. Project leads are encouraged to try to raise additional support from the crowdfunding process, as granted amounts may only cover part of the project funds. The sooner you fill out a project application the better (use the "start a project" link below). In addition to funding, we hope to stay engaged with the projects as mentors and supporters, helping to make the experiments a success.