Aligning Consciousness Research with US Funding Mechanisms

Consciousness is a complex concept, and writing a compelling proposal to study it can be challenging. Moreover, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and National Science Foundation (NSF) funding priorities can often appear misaligned with the goals of consciousness researchers. This project will align U.S.-based consciousness science with these funding programs to help consciousness scientists in the U.S. compete for funding and accelerate their research. Specifically, the project will hold a two-day workshop and make sub-awards available for the production of pilot data for an NIH R01 proposal or similar submission.

Twenty early-career U.S.-based consciousness scientists will convene with program officers, as well as expert panelists, to present their work. Together, workshop participants will identify points of overlap between the agencies’ priorities and the research presented.

After the two-day workshop, the consciousness scientists will submit formal project proposals to the parent project. The project will evaluate each proposal for scientific merit, feasibility, and potential for future funding and select five proposals for subawards. The recipients may use the award to produce pilot data for future proposals to the NIH or NSF.

To measure the effectiveness of the workshop, the project will compare the research production and general grant proposal success of the consciousness scientists who attended the workshop with comparable scientists who did not.