Tiny Blue Dot Foundation (TBD) seeks to fund rigorous, empirical, statistically valid, and sound research on neural, experiential, and psychological factors related to a concept called Perception Box. Our grant funds will support research to develop relevant techniques and interventions to expand the walls of people’s Perception Box, to measure the effectiveness of such techniques and interventions for clinical or non-clinical populations, and to track their basis in the brain using appropriate tools. This Request for Proposal (RFP) relates directly to the Expanding the Walls of Our Perception Box programmatic statement.

We seek to support broad neuroscience-based research to allow children, teenagers, and adults to understand that the reality they experience is a construct of their mind, amenable to change. That is, they can learn to expand their Perception Box to reduce the anxieties that come with living in the modern world, minimize strife and to be more mindful and compassionate with others and themselves. We fund innovative research involving mindfulness, breathwork, high-quality listening, psychedelics, neuromodulation and other techniques. For this RFP, we are particularly, but not exclusively, interested in research related to mental health and wellness in pediatric populations aged 5-18.

 Key Features

• The Request for Proposal (RFP) will involve a two-stage process to help minimize work for both principal investigators (PIs) and TBD.

• In the first stage, applicants must submit a letter of intent (LOI). All LOIs will be reviewed by TBD staff and evaluated for relevance toward meeting the overall goals of the RFP.

• During the second stage, up to 30 applicants who submit a suitable LOI will be invited to submit a Full Proposal, which will undergo a double-blind external review.

• In recognition that external review scores are an essential but imperfect predictor of project quality, we will include a partial lottery-style selection among the top ranked full proposals (in which proposals will be randomly selected before being presented for final approval). Some projects, however, may be selected because of their direct relevance to the foundation’s mission.

• Applicants can seek funding for up to three consecutive years with funding of up to a total of US$900,000. This sum includes a maximum amount of 15% overhead.

• To help applicants throughout the process, we will host webinars at key stages. Webinars will be recorded to accommodate applicants from different time zones.