The Frontiers of Science Funding Initiative (FSFI) is a grants initiative in the making. Final approval from our main funding partner is still pending. However, if all goes according to plan, we will officially launch during the summer of 2010. In the meantime, we invite you to find out a bit more about our project. If you are interested and wish to be kept informed please send us your email address using the field to the right.

What is our objective with this project?

Our main aim is to support interdisciplinary research in the area of the cognitive and neurosciences in Asia. We are especially interested in encouraging various forms of scholarly dialogue between neuroscientists, on one hand, and researchers from a range of academic disciplines, on the other, including mathematics, theoretical physics, evolutionary biology, the philosophy and history of science, epistemology, bio-semiotics, applied linguistics, logic and/or the study of Asia’s spiritual traditions. In short, we hope to provide a new type of funding for a new type of research collaboration.

Research on Big Questions

In the spirit of venture philanthropy we will endeavor to support research groups that are seen as qualified to address - and potentially capable of revealing new insights into - some of the really ‘Big’ questions in the area of the cognitive and neuro-sciences.

Questions such as: "If all human experience is to be reduced to physical events in the brain, how do we deal with the problem of free will and moral responsibility?"; "Can the emergence theory satisfactorily account for the existence of reflective self-awareness in human consciousness?"; "Is conceptual perception possible at all in an uneducated mind?", "Is it language that presets cognitive patterns of perception?", "What is mind?". This is only a sample and there are, of course, are many other questions that may be addressed as part of this program.

How will the program work?

The FSFI will be a competitive grants scheme with a two-round application process. Once the program is launched prospective applicants will be invited to submit an online ‘expression of interest’ application briefly outlining their research proposal. Eligibility criteria and the online application form will be made available on this site. Not long after the deadline, short-listed applicants will be notified and invited to submit a full application. These will be sent for external evaluation and winning projects will be announced within a month. Grant amounts are expected to be in the range of $80,000 to $300,000 depending on the size of the project.

Who will be able to apply?

Established scholars from the cognitive and neuro-sciences and social scientists working in related fields with a substantial body of work to back up their applications and/or significant experience in the running of interdisciplinary research-based programs that have lead to notable results.

What countries will be covered?

The initiative will be largely targeted at Japan, China, India and South Korea. However, research teams from other Asian countries who feel they meet the eligibility criteria, are also strongly encouraged to apply.

Tentative timeline