The McKnight Endowment Fund for Neuroscience

In 2009, the McKnight Endowment Fund for Neuroscience completed a comprehensive evaluation process which resulted in some important changes to the program's structure and strategies.

Conducted by Susan Fitzpatrick, Ph.D., adjunct associate professor of Neurobiology and Anatomy at Washington University School of Medicine and vice president of the James S. McDonnell Foundation, the evaluation consists of three discrete but interconnected parts: the grant proposal from the Endowment Fund, which serves as a summation of the evaluation as well as a plan for moving ahead; the executive summary of the evaluation itself; and finally a short response to the evaluation written by a separate team of neuroscientists.

Despite the fact that not all of the recommendations were implemented, final decisions made by McKnight and Endowment Fund board and staff were profoundly informed by the research and insights that the evaluation process generated.

Follow the links at right to learn more about the process and to download full PDF versions of the executive summary, grant proposal, and neuroscientists' response.

Related links

Program Spotlight: Evaluating the Endowment Fund

Endowment Fund Board of Directors proposal to McKnight

Fitzpatrick evaluation executive summary

Response from neuroscientists