Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, it focuses on improving people’s health and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty. In the United States, it seeks to ensure that all people—especially those with the fewest resources—have access to the opportunities they need to succeed in school and life.

Description: The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announces the second round of its Reinvent the Toilet Challenge designed to prototype a means of dealing effectively and cost-efficiently with human waste for the 2 billion people on earth who currently lack access to safe and affordable sanitation.

Request for letters of inquiry:

The Water, Sanitation & Hygiene Program will be disbursing a set of new grants to support its Reinvent the Toilet Challenge.  These grants are intended for exceptionally highly-qualified research groups interested in contributing to major advances in sanitation and hygiene in the developing world.

Successful applicants will participate in the next phase of the Reinvent the Toilet Challenge: designing, prototyping and testing  entirely stand-alone, self-contained, practical sanitation modules which intake bodily wastes and swiftly dispose of them  without any incoming water piping, outgoing sewer piping or electric or gas utility services.  These modules must intake all outputs of the serviced population – ultimately at single-residence scales – with minimal module footprints and assured biosafety. Thus, chemical and mechanical engineering approaches are preferred.

Procedure to apply:

A single-page typed-or-printed letter of inquiry and capability declaration should be submitted no later than May 10th 2012 in order to be assured of consideration.  This should concisely declare the nature of interest, relevant backgrounds and salient qualifications of Principal Investigator(s) and key group members, cite pertinent publications and the date by which a grant-supported effort could commence (after August 31, 2012 and before January 1, 2013), and the basic architecture, scale and key milestones of the contemplated effort to be proposed for grant consideration.  Please note that submission of a letter of inquiry or capability declaration does not imply, directly or indirectly, that any such submission will result in an award of a grant or any other funding. 

Non-Confidential Application Process. The Foundation does not guarantee that any information submitted will be maintained as confidential.

Last date for submission: May 10, 2012

Click here for more details and to upload the letter of inquiry

Contact details:

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
PO Box 23350
Seattle, WA 98102