Program Overview

Our Science Program seeks to advance basic science through developing new technologies, supporting imaginative research scientists and creating new collaborations at the forefront of traditional scientific disciplines. Reflecting the beliefs of our founders, we focus on knowledge in emerging fields at a scale where our support can produce a significant and measurable impact.

Key Issues in Science

The Moore Foundation believes in the inherent value of science and treasures the child-like sense of wonder that comes from finding out how the world works. Basic scientific discovery and exploration also leads to benefits for society. So we take risks, and aim to advance understanding of emerging scientific fields by funding research to:

• Increase our understanding of the world by asking new questions of scientists and field experts
• Enable new science through advances in technology
• Break down barriers and cultivate collaborations
• Enhance society’s understanding of the joy of science

Program Overview

With our Environmental Conservation Program, our founders have asked us to find “pragmatic solutions that maintain the integrity of essential ecosystem functions while accommodating necessary development and other activity.” That pragmatism is manifest in our commitment to finding solutions that cultivate resilience and align conservation with social and economic incentives — often by bringing unlikely partners together. Across all the program’s different initiatives and approaches, our long-term goal is the conservation of Earth's most critical ecosystems.

Key issues in Environmental Conservation

With a charter to tackle large, important issues at the level needed to achieve significant and measurable impacts, we recognize that while healthy ecosystems are necessary to sustain us, they are also imperiled — especially in the face of burgeoning consumption from a growing human population. Our grantees and other partners have dedicated countless hours to establish indigenous lands and support their stewardship, create and manage protected areas, and address some of the most pervasive threats these areas face, including  exploitive resource extraction,  industrial-scale land-conversion,  unsustainable fish and shrimp-farming, and race-to-the-bottom fishing practices.

Program Overview

The Patient Care Program aims to improve the experience and outcomes people have with their care. Given the magnitude of challenges in health care, we seek opportunities where we can make a unique contribution that results in measurable improvements. In our first 15 years, we invested significantly in strategies to advance the nursing profession. Today, we are examining ways to improve the experience of serious illness care and continue to focus on improving patient safety.

Key Issues in Patient Care

Our work in the health sector originates from the interest and experiences of our co-founder, Betty Irene Moore. After personally experiencing the impact of medical errors, Betty saw an opportunity to improve the quality of care delivered in the San Francisco Bay Area. She wanted to focus on the training and education of nurses, who are on the front lines of care, and deliver 95 percent of the care patients receive. Our attention to quality improvement coincided with two critical reports issued by the Institute of Medicine, To Err is Human and Crossing the Quality Chasm, which called for a redesign of the nation’s health care system to improve the quality, safety and experience of patient care.

Program Overview

Gordon and Betty Moore have spent most of their lives in the Bay Area. It is the place the Moore family has called “home” for generations. The region is world-renowned for its golden hills, a sparkling coastline and awe-inspiring redwood forests, along with some of the world’s leading science and technology institutions. Our foundation aims to preserve and enhance the special character of the Bay Area through focused efforts on conservation and informal science learning.

Key Issues in the Bay Area

Spurred by the growth of the Silicon Valley, the Bay Area is now home to more than 7 million people. Residents cherish a largely conserved coastline and more than 1.4 million acres of open space. We are also fortunate to have access to innovative science and technology museums that educate and inspire residents and visitors of all ages.