Full Proposal Instructions

Preparing for External Review

All full proposals will undergo a double-blind external review. This means that the reviewers should not know the identity of the applicant, which we believe may help to reduce bias.

To prepare your proposal for a successful review, applicants should not include personally identifiable information in the questions that have “anonymize” written in brackets. Your answers from these questions will go to external reviewers. Your answers to the other questions will be reviewed internally by our team.

In this context, personally identifiable information can be anything that allows the reviewer to know who wrote the proposal. This includes information about the identity, institutional affiliation, and country of the applicant. You may still reference your own work where essential, but you should refer to it in the same way that you would refer to all other work. For example: instead of saying “my previous work showed…”, you can say “a previous study showed…”.

Applicants will be responsible for making sure they don’t include personally identifiable information as we don’t have the capacity to check all the proposals. We may screen proposals for identifying information and redact it at our discretion.

To help reviewers, we encourage applicants to focus their technical details in the Project Description section and to use lay language in the Executive Summary Section. However, if technical terms are introduced early on, you do not need to reintroduce them again later. Reviewers will see all the sections combined, so they do not have to be self contained.

Main Application Form / Project Description

Question Instruction Text
Project Title (Anonymize) Should be clear, concise, and easily understood by an educated non-specialist. A few tips for a strong project title are: (a) keep it short; (b) avoid generic words; (c) leave out unnecessary words; (d) use active verbs; and (e) focus on the outcome.
Fit with RFP Goals (Anonymize) Explain how this project relates to the goals of the RFP. If the project is successful, what tangible changes should we expect to see? See the RFP web page and the Perception Box page for reference. (200 words max)
Executive Summary (Anonymize) The Executive Summary is a brief statement written for educated non-specialists. It should include a very brief overview of each of the following: (a) The aim of the project. (b) The context / background information. (c) Why the project is needed. (d) The hypotheses to be tested, (e) Project activities that will take place. (f) Outputs to be produced by the project. (g) The anticipated impact of your findings. (500 words max)
Potential for Impact (Anonymize) What impact could this research have on mental or physical health for either patients or neurotypicals? In what way will it be transformative? How could this method be useful for people in diverse community settings over the next five to ten years? (200 words max)
Background (Anonymize) Present ideas and reasoning behind the proposed work; include relevant literature citations. Describe previous research most pertinent to this application. Unpublished results from the laboratory of the PI or collaborators should remain anonymous. (500 words max)
Aims and Hypotheses (Anonymize) List the aims of the project along with specific, concise, and testable hypotheses. Please state if the hypotheses are directional or non-directional. If directional, state the direction. A predicted effect is also appropriate here. If a specific interaction or moderation is important to your research, you can list that as a separate hypothesis. (300 words max)
Study Design (Anonymize) Describe your study design for each experiment that you will conduct. The key is to be as detailed as is necessary given the specific parameters of the design. Include specific information to answer the following questions:

BACKGROUND: If you are able to share or mention any preliminary data whilst maintaining anonymity, then please include it here.

RANDOMIZATION:Will test subjects be randomized? If so, how will this be done?

BLINDING: Will there be any blinding or double-blinding? Please pay particular attention to de-blinding and expectancy effects for psychedelic trials (Muthukumaraswamy, S. D., Forsyth, A., & Lumley, T. (2021). Blinding and expectancy confounds in psychedelic randomized controlled trials. Expert review of clinical pharmacology, 14(9), 1133-1152.)

SAMPLE SIZE: How many subjects will you include in the study? If you don’t know exactly, then how will you decide when to stop collecting data? (Include your power calculations.)

INCLUSION / EXCLUSION CRITERIA: How will you decide which subjects to include or exclude in the study?

VARIABLES: What variables will you manipulate? How will they be manipulated?

MEASUREMENT: What variables will you measure? How will they be measured?

DATA STORAGE: How will you store and share your data?

DATA ANALYSIS: How will you decide what data to be included in (or excluded from) the analysis? How will you process, transform, or center your data?

STATISTICS: What statistical models will you use to test each hypothesis? What controls will you use? What criteria (e.g. p-values, Bayes factors etc.) will you use to decide whether the data supports your hypothesis?

EXPECTATIONS, PITFALLS, AND SOLUTIONS: Summarize the expected outcomes of the project. Identify the potential pitfalls or problems that might hinder progress, and highlight alternative approaches or solutions.

(2500 words max)
Data Management (Anonymize) Use this section to outline the processes and tools that you will use to store, curate, and share your data. This can include data collection protocol, metadata, data analysis protocol, and code files. We expect all grantees to share their data according to the FAIR Principles. (500 words max)
References (Anonymize) Any references used in the application form can be inserted here. APA style is preferred.
Appendices or Diagrams (Anonymize) Upload all appendices or diagrams in a single PDF or Word Doc file.
Budget Please download the spreadsheet from the link in the application portal, complete it following the instructions in the file, and upload it again in an .xls and .xlsx format. The budget instructions are in the next table and repeated in the spreadsheet for convenience.
Total Direct Costs Use the automatic calculation in your budget spreadsheet to find this amount.
Total Overhead Use the automatic calculation in your budget spreadsheet to find this amount. This is automatically calculated based on the total direct costs. This can be used to verify whether the Overhead cost amount is compliant. Should not exceed 15%
Project Start Date Enter the ideal start date of your project. This date should be between June to October 2024.
Project Duration How many months do you expect your project to last? The maximum time period is 36 months.

Budget

Please download the spreadsheet here or from the link in the application portal, complete it following the instructions in the file, and upload it again in an .xls and .xlsx format. The instructions below are also available in the budget spreadsheet for your convenience.

This spreadsheet contains two tabs for budget calculations. Use the Budget (Applicant Organization) tab for money paid directly through the Applicant Organization (that intends to enter into a contract with Tiny Blue Dot Foundation). This can include costs paid by the Applicant Organization to employees, consultants, and service providers. Use the Budget (Collaborating Organizations) tab for subawards or other collaborating organizations. This can include collaborating universities. All Collaborating Organization information can be combined into the one spreadsheet provided. 

Enter all budget items in the relevant lines and the expected year that the costs would occur. We aspire to have costs spread evenly over the grant duration, but applicants may request more funds in some years than others if necessary. Expenses not incurred in any previous year may move over to the following year if the contract is still active. 

Enter all costs to the nearest US dollar.  Amounts entered with a decimal point will be automatically rounded up or down, depending on the amount: e.g. < .49 is rounded down and anything ≥ .50 is rounded up.  Leave lines blank that do not apply to your project. 

You may mention additional funding (funding not required from TBD) in the narrative section. This can include pro-bono contributions or in-kind support. Please do not include this funding in the number fields. The number and calculation fields should only include the budget requested from TBD.

Please note that the following costs are not allowed: advertising and public relations; construction, alterations, or renovations; artistic productions; intellectual property costs; rental or lease of facilities; website costs that are not crucial for the project, such as a general lab or institution website.

Principal Investigator and Co-Investigator Include Salary Request Amount for supporting the Principal Investigator and Co-Investigator (if there is one). Include in the narrative the % of time each known team member will be dedicating to the project.
Other Known Team Members Include the cost of all team members other than the Principal Investigator and Co-Investigator employed by the applicant organization. Include in the narrative the % of time each known team member will be dedicating to the project. Unless the person is a consultant, please only name them in the budget narrative if they commit more than 5% of their time to the project.
Roles to be Filled Include the cost of all other roles other than the Principal Investigator and Co-Investigator that have not yet been filled, but will be employed by the applicant organization. Include in the narrative the % of time each role to be filled will be dedicated to the project.
Personnel Benefits If applicable, include the expenses associated with employer contributions to medical insurance, retirement or pension plans, and social security payments for the personnel listed above.
Data Collection, Analysis & Open Access Publishing Fees Include all costs related to collecting and analyzing data and open access publishing fees. For example, materials and supplies costs, payments to participants or subjects in research studies, scanner time, costs associated with fielding a survey, costs associated with outsourced preparation or analysis of data.
Equipment/IT/Software This includes all equipment, IT costs, software licenses, or maintenance that will be purchased for the primary purpose of your project’s activities. Please itemize the costs for items that exceed $5,000 and have a life expectancy of more than five years.
Travel Meals, and Lodging Includes all reasonable and customary air or rail fares and auto allowances and approved overnight accommodations required for Project Personnel. Includes food and beverage expenses for the research related activities for all individuals.
Other Include costs for any expenses not so far described, such as a website, translation services, or storage. Please note that we will only cover website costs that are essential to the success of a project.
Overhead The Foundation will approve an added component for overhead within the budget, which is no more than (fifteen) 15%. Overhead costs are general overhead and administrative expenses that support the entire operations of a grantee and are incurred for common or joint objectives. Expenses that would be incurred regardless of whether the grant is funded are often indicative of overhead costs. This additional component can be applied to all direct costs. Any overheads which are a part of sub-contracts should be included in the Overhead section of the budget. The Foundation welcomes proposals that request a lower percentage for overhead costs.

Deliverables

Question Instruction Text
Category of deliverable Select from categories provided.
Quantity How many of these deliverables will you produce in total? This can be a number of physical products or digital files.
Description Explain what will be delivered as proof of completion and how it relates to the goal of the project.
Open Access? Indicate whether this output will be freely accessible in the public domain. We encourage applicants to make all outputs open access wherever possible.

Project Team

Question Instruction Text
Role Please enter the details for the key roles. This should be a single Principal Investigator. During the full proposal stage, please include all known roles for people who commit more than 5% of their time to the project.
Team Member Identified? Indicate whether this person has been identified. This determines how much further information will be required.
Prefix  
First Name  
Last Name  
Time Commitment Percentage Indicate how much time on average this person is expected to commit to the project. This should be based on a normal working week. For example, one day a week would be 20% or four months a year would be 25%.
Time Commitment Hours For a consultant role, you will be asked to estimate the number of hours that this person will commit to the project.
Job Title Choose from the dropdown which job category is most accurate.
Employment Choose from the dropdown which category most accurately indicates this person’s relationship with the organization intended to receive the grant funds.
Collaborating Organization If this person is employed by a collaborating organization, then please include their name here.
Email address  
Street Address Should ideally be the address at the place of employment.
City  
Region  
Country  
Post Code If post codes are not used in your country, please enter "00000".
CV, Resume, or Biosketch Upload relevant files as a single PDF. For the Principal Investigator, this document should confirm that they have a PhD, MDPhD or equally valid degree. CVs should be a maximum of two pages and should feature all the relevant experience and publication record of the team member. This may include the following:

Key qualifications relevant to this project, including degree title, institution, and year of graduation.

Most relevant experiences including your position, the name of the organization, and the start and end dates of that position.

Most relevant grants you have been involved in as a key contributor. This could include grants on similar topics or high-impact grants to demonstrate your track record. Include the start and end dates, your role in the grant, the name of the grantor, and the amount awarded.

Most relevant articles you have authored in this space. Ideally use the APA reference style.
Letter of support Upload relevant files in PDF form. This is required if the known team member is not employed by the applicant organization, or if a letter is otherwise requested by foundation staff.

Please note: the fields below do not apply to each role. Depending on the options that you select, you may not see all of these fields in the application form.

Organizations

Question Instruction Text
Role There should be only one Applicant Organization. This is the organization that intends to enter into a contract with Tiny Blue Dot Foundation. Other organizations, or subcontractors are categorized as Collaborating Organizations. Please note, we do not need the applicant to enter any organizations for team members listed as Consultants.
Legal Name of the Organization The name must match the governing documents of the organization.
Other names If the Organization operates under any other names, please list them here.
Street Address  
City  
Region  
Country Applications will be considered from any country except for those on the US’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctions list. For more information, see:

https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/office-of-foreign-assets-control-sanctions-programs-and-information
Post Code If post codes are not used in your country, please enter "00000".
Website  
Organization Structure Select from the dropdown menu which category is most accurate. The value selected here must match that of the Tax ID that will be listed below.
Tax ID This is your organization's tax identification number. For example, in the United States, this is the organization's EIN. If this question does not apply in your jurisdiction, please enter "00000".
Registration Number Distinct from a "Tax ID", this is your organization's legal registration number. It is normally provided when the organization is registered within its local jurisdiction. If this does not apply in your jurisdiction, please enter "00000".
Parent Organization If the organization is owned by a parent organization then enter its name here.
Confirmation of Status Use this box to include any information that can confirm the veracity of the organization or add valuable information not included elsewhere. Accredited Colleges and Universities with a public profile typically require no additional documentation. If any documents are requested by TBD later in the application process, you may upload them here. We reserve the right to request additional documents to satisfy our due diligence requirements. This may include Memorandum and Articles of Association, or Equivalent or other documents to confirm Evidence of Charitable Status.
Confirmation of Status Upload Use this feature to upload any PDF files that may be required.

Please note: the fields below do not apply to each organization. Depending on the options that you select, you may not see all of these fields in the application form.

Changes After Submission

Please note, once you have submitted your Full Proposal, you will not be able to make changes unless there are extenuating circumstances. To make changes, you would have to contact the TBD helpdesk. Proposals cannot be changed after the submission deadline.


If the proposal has been submitted by accident, then you may contact the helpdesk to have the submission reversed. You will not lose any data if you do this.