1. Describe the problem(s) you intend to solve and/or the preferred state you intend to achieve. The proposal is to create the organization and infrastructure for granting Universal Research and Development Fellowships.Ê Inspired by the writings of R. Buckminster Fuller in the book Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth. The program will test Fuller's hypothesis that "For every 100,000 employed in research and development, or just plain thinking, one probably will make a breakthrough that will more than pay for the other 99,999 fellowships." The minimum goal is to offer 100,000 lifetime fellowships for Òclear thinking.Ó The ultimate desired result is for the re-investment contributions of the original 100,000 fellows plus the contributions of donors and subsequent fellows to make possible additional lifetime fellowships until the entire human population of Earth is assured a franchise to live.
2.Describe your solution and your plan to implement it.
The program suggested is to start by granting $50,000 annual salary to individual fellowship recipients.
Since startup funding is limited by existing know-how and industrial infrastructure the first 100,000 fellowships will be granted according to selection criteria of the organization (to be determined). For example:
10,000 college students,
10,000 college graduates,
10,000 scientists,
10,000 engineers,
10,000 mechanics, accountants and chefs.
10,000 college non-graduates,
10,000 poets, singers and actors,
10,000 painters, sculptors and photographers,
10,000 professors and teachers,
10,000 writers, journalists and filmmakers.
Fuller's suggestion is that we offer fellowships to anyone who is unemployed or who becomes unemployed because of automation.
Fellows could be selected from the pool of all applicants by a method similar to the selection of the winners of the Buckminster Fuller Challenge. This would require a large number of judges and selection criteria. The eventual goal is to offer fellowships to all who apply. A simple criteria for acceptance might be proof of age, identity and that the applicant is not incarcerated.
If the first fellowships were awarded by lottery in each category that might increase the number of applications received and therefore the number of people seriously considering what clear thinking on the part of a large number of humans might mean.
A board of directors for the Universal Research and Development Fellowships must be selected. The Board of Directors will oversee the hiring of the management team and the hiring of the selection committee. Importantly the board of directors must maintain the integrity and public credibility of the organization. The organization will succeed because the donors, the public and the fellows trust that Universal Research and Development Fellowships are regularly granted and that a ÒURDFÓ fellowship is indeed good for life.
Professional asset managers will insure income from the endowment.
A payroll processing company will insure payments to Fellows.
The database of applicants and fellows will be maintained via Internet web-interface. Fellows will be responsible for updating their contact information and keeping an open bank account for the quarterly deposit of fellowship funds.
The organization's internal accounting department will insure that funding from the money managers reaches the payroll processing department and that the database of active fellows is always up to date.
A number of requirements might be made of fellows: 1.Please keep your contact information current (so that we can send you your check). 2.Please create, maintain and update monthly a weblog of your activities. We would like to know what you are doing. 3.Please monitor the weblogs of your fellow fellows.
Fellowship will be discontinued in the case of: 1.Death. 2.Felony conviction. 3.Failure to maintain a weblog of activities. 4.Running for, election to, or holding a public office. (RBF said that you will never accomplish anything by politics as long as the last resort of the politicians is the guns.)
3. Describe how you will finance your solution and make it economically viable.
The funding of the fellowships will come from the income of a very large endowment. The size and growth of the endowment largely determine the annual income of the Universal Research and Development Fellowships organization and therefore the number and award amount of fellowships. The initial endowment goal is to have $60 billion earning ten percent annually. The income of $6 billion allows funding 100,000 fellows at $50,000 per year each and administrative overhead of 10%. Additional contributions to the endowment will be required to stay ahead of inflation and for the granting of additional fellowships.
For comparison: The Ford Foundation has $12 billion dollars, The MacArthur Foundation has $6 billion, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has $33 billion, Princeton University Endowment $14.8 billion. The U.S. Gross Domestic Product is approximately $13,500 billion (double-check this fact).
The prize money for winning the Buckminster Fuller Challenge can be the seed which starts the endowment fund. $60,000 should be available to open a professionally managed investment account after $20,000 is spent on software development for a web enabled database application (good for attracting and accepting donations as well as for accepting fellowship applications) and up to $20,000 spent on advertising, solicitation of donations and non-profit tax-exempt status setup.
This program is an investment in individual integrity and initiative. The growth of the Universal Research and Development Fellowships depends on the success of the program fellows and their subsequent re-investment contributions as well as the public perception of the good that comes out of this experiment. What seems sure is that a professionally managed endowment of $60 billion can certainly grant fellowships to individuals for some indefinite period. What the little individual granted permission to think for himself will accomplish is what this experiment seeks to find.
4. Describe who will take your solution to the next stage of development (include your qualifications and/or those of your team, and any strategic partners).
I have already spoken with database programmer Chris Reikert regarding the requirements of a web-enabled database for accepting and reviewing fellowship applications, and maintaining contact with fellowship recipients as well as for accepting donations to build the necessary endowment.
The Buckminster Fuller Institute may be an excellent vessel to contain the fellowship granting organization since it already has non-profit tax-exempt status, has a board of directors, has credibility in the community of people familiar with the work of Buckminster Fuller.

contact:Trip Hill, organizer P.O. Box 281 Makawao, HI 96768 U.S.A.
(808) 280-5212
info@UniversalResearchandDevelopmentFellowships.org