Evaluation Process & Rubric

Expressions of Interest will be evaluated according to the four core criteria listed below, then a selection of candidates will be invited to apply.

1. Expertise and Influence: Is the applicant at the right stage of their professional career to benefit from a residency?
2. Clarity: Does the applicant have a clear objective for what they aim to accomplish through a 4-week residency?
3. Thematic and Strategic Alignment with The Rockefeller Foundation: Does this project broadly align with The Rockefeller Foundation’s mission to promote the well-being of humanity?
4. Impact: Is the project poised to drive a breakthrough?

Following the application deadline of Thursday, June 5, 2025, all submissions will go through multiple stages of review. During Administrative Review, all submissions will be screened to confirm completeness and adherence to the application requirements of the program. Submissions that pass Administrative Review will proceed to the Expert Panel, where each application will be evaluated using the Evaluation Rubric below. Based on the results of the Expert Panel, a subset of applicants will be invited to an interview with The Rockefeller Foundation staff.

Application Evaluation Rubric

The Expert Panel will use the following rubric to score applications on four dimensions: Impact, Clarity, Expertise, and Influence. For each dimension, applications will be scored on a scale of 0-5 (note that if you drag the slider along each of the scales below, you will see descriptions that correspond to each score on the 5-point scale).