mind & life francisco j. varela grants for · pdf filemind & life francisco j. varela...
TRANSCRIPT
MIND&LIFEFRANCISCOJ.VARELAGRANTSFORCONTEMPLATIVESCIENCESRESEARCH–2017CYCLE
1
MIND&LIFEFRANCISCOJ.VARELAGRANTSFORCONTEMPLATIVESCIENCESRESEARCH
REQUESTFORPROPOSALSTheMind&LifeInstituteisseekingapplicationsfortheMind&LifeFranciscoJ.VarelaGrantsforContemplativeSciencesResearch(VarelaGrants).TheVarelaGrantsareanintegralcomponentofMind&Life’ssupportofcontemplativesciences—agrowingfieldthataimstoinvestigatecontemplativepracticesthroughresearchindiversedisciplinesrangingfrombasicandclinicalsciencestosocialsciencesandthehumanities.Beginningin2004andnamedforoneofMind&Life’sco-founders,neuroscientistFranciscoJ.Varela(1946–2001),thesegrantsofupto$15,000areawardedannuallytodevelopingscientistsandscholarswhohaverecentlyattendedtheMind&LifeSummerResearchInstitute.FranciscoJ.Varelabelievedthatcontemplativetrainingoffersusnovelmethodsforinvestigatinghumanexperience.Healsobelievedthattheembodied,phenomenologicalperspectivecanbestprovideinsightintothenatureofthehumanmind.Inhisvision,contemplativetrainingnotonlyprovidesanewdomainforscientificstudy,butmoreimportantlyoffersresourcesforadvancingscientifictheoriesandmodelsofconsciousness,emotionandcognitiveprocessing.Forexample,empiricalexaminationsofcontemplativetechniquescanbeappliedtoemotionregulation,attention,workingmemory,andassociatedneuralplasticity;suchresearchcangreatlycontributetoourunderstandingoftheneuralsubstratesunderlyingtheseprocessesandtheirdevelopment.Furthermore,whilecontemplativepracticesarebeingusedincreasinglyinmainstreamreal-worldsettings,muchremainstobelearnedregardingthephysiologicalandsubjectivecorrelatesofthesepractices,therelationshipbetweentheelementsofcontemplativeinterventionsanddesiredoutcomes,anddifferencesinoutcomesacrosspopulationsandcontexts.Inalloftheseareas,contributionsfromthehumanitiesandsocialsciencesareinvaluableinprovidingcontextualgroundingforthestudyofthesepractices.TheVarelaGrantsfundrigorousexaminationsofcontemplativetechniqueswiththeultimategoalthatfindingsderivedfromsuchinvestigationswillprovidegreaterinsightintocontemplativepracticesandtheirapplicationforreducinghumansufferingandpromotingflourishing.Mind&LifeviewstheVarelaGrantsasanessentialfeatureofitsoverallstrategyofbuildinganinterdisciplinaryunderstandingofthemindandhumanbehavior.Thesegrantsareakeyvehicleforincreasingthenumberofexemplaryscientists,scholarsandcliniciansinvolvedincontemplativesciences.Strongproposalswillmeetthehigheststandardsofrigorintheapplicant’sfieldofexpertise.Furthermore,preferencewillbegiventointerdisciplinarystudiesthat
MIND&LIFEFRANCISCOJ.VARELAGRANTSFORCONTEMPLATIVESCIENCESRESEARCH–2017CYCLE
2
incorporatefirst-personcontemplativemethods(e.g.,introspectiveinvestigationandreportsonsubjectiveexperience)intotraditionalcognitive,behavioral,physiological,clinical,orsocio-culturalresearch.Thisgrantsprogramalsoencouragestheactivecollaborationofresearcherswithcontemplativescholars/practitionersinallphasesofinvestigation.GRANTINFORMATIONGrantsofupto$15,000(USD)areawardedannuallythroughacompetitiveapplicationandselectionprocess.Proposedresearchshouldbecompletedwithina2-yearperiod,andannualprogressreportsarerequiredforgranteestoremainingoodstanding.Itisexpectedthatthecompletionofproposedresearchwillresultinapeer-reviewedpublication(scientificjournalarticleorbook/bookchapter)andscholarlypresentationatprofessionalconference.Applicationsarereviewedandselectedbasedonthefollowingcriteria:
• SignificanceandImpact:projectaddressesanimportantissuerelatedtomechanisms,outcomes,orassessmentofcontemplativepractices,andhaspotentialtoleadtoadvancementinthefieldofcontemplativeresearch
• Innovation/Novelty:projectofferssomethingneworchallengesexistingparadigms,eitherconceptuallyormethodologicallyorboth
• MethodologicalApproach/Design:design,methods,andanalysesareadequatelydeveloped,rigorous,well-integrated,andappropriatetotheaimsoftheproject
• Investigator(s):principalinvestigator(s)appropriatelytrainedandcapableofcoordinatingandmanagingtheproposedresearch,withhighlikelihoodofsuccessandfuturecontributiontothefield,appropriateresearchteamwithcomplementaryexpertise
• ResearchEnvironment:sufficientaccesstoresourcestocarryouttheresearchquestions,projectwillbesupportedandadvancedbyinstitutionalresearchcommunity
TransparencyandOpennessPromotion(TOP)PublishedinSciencein2015,theTOPguidelinesoutlinebestpracticesinscholarlyresearchtopromotetransparencyandopenness.Mind&Lifeiscommittedtosupportingthesegoalsfortheprojectswefund.Theguidelineshere(https://www.mindandlife.org/grants-overview/top-guidelines)representthepoliciesoftheMind&LifeInstituteforthevarioustopicslisted.Pleasereadthesepoliciescarefullyandconsiderhowyouwillintegratethemintoyourproposedwork.AllMind&LifeInstitutegranteesareexpectedtofollowtheseguidelinesintheirfundedresearchprojects.EligibilityTobeeligibleforaVarelaGrant,theapplicantmusthaveattendedtheMind&LifeSummerResearchInstitutewithinthelastfiveyears(i.e.,for2017applications,onemusthaveattendedaSummerResearchInstitutein2013orlater).Thisprogramisintendedasacareerdevelopmentgrant,andisopentograduatestudentsandpost-doctoralfellowscurrentlyaffiliatedwitharesearchinstitution,andjuniorfacultyuptotheirthirdyearofuniversityappointment.
MIND&LIFEFRANCISCOJ.VARELAGRANTSFORCONTEMPLATIVESCIENCESRESEARCH–2017CYCLE
3
ApplicantsmaynotbeactivelyfundedthroughanyMind&Liferesearchgrant.CurrentMind&Lifegranteesmustsubmitafinalreportandbudgetreconciliationforexistinggrantsbeforeapplyingforanewgrant.ThispolicyappliesbothwithinandacrossMind&Liferesearchgrantprograms(ThinkTanksdonotapply).Notethatwedonotallowtwoseparateproposalsforthesameprograminagivencyclefromthesameapplicant,orfromdifferentapplicantsfortwoaspectsofthesameproject.
ApplicationInformation
VarelaGrantfundsmaynotbeusedforPI(orCo-PI)salary/indirectcostsorinstitutionaladministrativefees.PleaseseetheFAQatthebottomoftheVarelaGrantswebpageforanswerstocommonapplicationquestions.Toapply,pleasesubmitthefollowingmaterialsbySeptember30,2017throughtheonlineapplication:
• ResearchProposal,including:o Titleo LaySummary(200wordsmaximum)o AimsandObjectives(250wordsmaximum)o BackgroundandSignificance(500wordsmaximum)o DesignandMethods(1000wordsmaximum)o ExpectedFindings/Hypotheses(150wordsmaximum)o References
• Otherprojectinformation,includingshortstatementson:o IRBapprovalstatuso TOPGuidelinesinformation(statementsondatasharingandpreregistration)o ProjectTimelineo Output(manuscript(s),book,etc.)o Relevancetogoalsofthegrantsprogramo Impacttofieldofcontemplativescienceso Noveltyo PotentialofPIo ResearchEnvironment/Resources
• Researchteam(optional)• Applicant’sandstudyteammembers’biosketches(NIHbiosketchstylepreferred,clickhere
forsample)• Detailedbudget(fundsmayonlybeusedfordirectresearchcosts;theymaynotbeused
forsalarysupportorindirectcostsincludingoverheadandadministration–seeFAQatbottomofVarelaGrantswebpagefordetails)
• Twolettersofrecommendation.Lettersshouldspeaktotheabilityoftheapplicanttoperformtheproposedresearch,andthepotentialoftheapplicanttocontributetothefieldofcontemplativescience.
GranteesarepubliclyannouncedeveryDecember.Formoredetails,pleasevisitwww.mindandlife.org/varela-grants,[email protected].