Frontiers of Science Funding Initiative

Financial Report

Tom Mackenzie — 2010-01-03T17:28:37Z

New article

Tom Mackenzie — 2010-01-03T14:50:22Z

Terms and Conditions

Alexandra — 2009-02-12T12:53:32Z

Soon in line...

Interested in becoming a donor?

Alexandra — 2009-02-12T10:24:37Z

We are currently in discussions with our main funding partner regarding substantial grant to cover the attribution of between 5 and 10 major research grants. If you are a foundation or an individual interested in supporting research in this area, in any one country or all the countries covered by the project, we would very much like to hear from you. Please use the form below to contact us and we will call you back without delay to discuss the modalities of becoming an official co-funding partner.

Contact us

Tom Mackenzie — 2009-02-04T14:50:20Z

About us

Tom Mackenzie — 2009-02-03T21:05:08Z

The Frontiers of Science Funding Initiative is hosted by Philantrust, a non-profit organization specialized in the setting up, funding and management of academic research projects. The project will be implemented by an interdisciplinary team including distinguished scholars and experienced program managers.

Stephen M. Kosslyn, Principal Investigator

Stephen M. Kosslyn is Dean of Social Science and John Lindsley Professor of Psychology at Harvard University and Associate Psychologist in the Department of Neurology at the Massachusetts General Hospital. He received a B.A. from UCLA and a Ph.D. from Stanford University, both in psychology. His original graduate training was in Cognitive Science, which focused on the intersection of cognitive psychology and Artificial Intelligence. Faced with limitations in those approaches, he eventually turned to study the brain, and is one of the founders of the field of Cognitive Neuroscience. His research has focused primarily on the nature of visual mental imagery, visual perception, and visual communication, and he has authored or coauthored 11 books and over 300 papers on these topics. Kosslyn has received the American Psychological Association's Boyd R. McCandless Young Scientist Award, the National Academy of Sciences Initiatives in Research Award, the Cattell Award, a Guggenheim Fellowship, the J-L. Signoret Prize (France), an honorary Doctorate of Science from the University of Caen (France), and election to Academia Rodinensis pro Remediatione (Switzerland), the Society of Experimental Psychologists, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Philip Clayton, Co-Principal Investigator

Philip Clayton holds PhDs in philosophy and theology from Yale University. He has taught at Haverford College, Williams College, California State University and Harvard University. In the 1990s he was Humboldt Professor then Senior Fulbright Professor at the University of Munich.

Philip Clayton was the Principal Investigator of the “Science and the Spiritual Quest” project (SSQ) at the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences in Berkeley, California. The SSQ brought together over 100 top scientists from around the world to explore the connections between science, ethics, philosophy and theology.

Tom Mackenzie, Program Manager

Tom Mackenzie is a venture philanthropy consultant. From 2001 to 2007 he worked at the Interdisciplinary University of Paris where he took part in the setting up and running of numerous research initiatives, the organization of several academic conferences and the running of two international grants initiatives.

After his postgraduate studies in Economic Development and Environmental Issues (MSc., University of London), he spent a year working at UNESCO in Paris. He maintains close contacts with the organization, notably regarding the preparation of partnerships.

A grants initiative in the making...

Tom Mackenzie — 2009-02-03T20:40:13Z

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

April 2010	Launch of communications campaign
September 2010	Deadline for online funding proposals
September 2010	Announcement of shortlisted applicants
December 2010	Deadline for full proposals
January 2011	Announcement of grant winners
Spring 2011	Start of projects
Summer 2013	End of projects