Feb 10, Mind & Life Institute PEACE Grants Worldwide

Mind & Life Institute PEACE Grants Worldwide

Research on contemplation offers a rich opportunity for understanding the mind and its capacity for change, and programs delivering contemplative training in various settings have expanded globally.

Our knowledge of cognitive, physiological, and clinical effects of these practices has grown steadily, in large part due to the ongoing efforts of the Mind & Life Institute and our community of scholars. Expanding from awareness-based contemplative practices to the cultivation of virtuous, prosocial qualities and actions is clearly warranted to support not only individual well-being but also interpersonal well-being, societal flourishing, and human-earth connection.

To this end, Mind & Life is pleased to lead the development of this field through our PEACE Grants. This funding mechanism supports projects that advance our understanding of wholesome mental qualities and positive interpersonal and social action related to Prosociality, Empathy, Altruism, Compassion, and Ethics (PEACE).

Mind & Life PEACE grants will fund projects that advance our understanding of the mechanisms, implementation, and outcomes of contemplative approaches to promote well-being and prosocial behavior in individuals and communities. This grant program encourages the active collaboration of scientists with contemplative scholars/practitioners in all phases of research. Two levels of funding are offered—$25,000 and $100,000—for projects that can be completed in a two-year time frame.

With this program, we invite rigorous interdisciplinary research proposals that examine one or more of the following:

Practices, methods, or interventions that may cultivate PEACE qualities,

Basic mechanisms (psychological, physiological, social, developmental, etc.) underlying PEACE qualities and their growth, and

the development of measures to rigorously assess PEACE qualities in various contexts (both in the laboratory and in the real world).

While projects do not need to have an immediate applied component, applicants should make clear how the proposed research could support positive action in the world. Projects must also take a contemplative approach or be otherwise grounded in or relevant to contemplative science/studies.

In this context, “contemplative” approaches encompass a wide range of practices that involve introspection and awareness of mind-body states, including various forms of meditation, embodied or movement-based practices, contemplative prayer, and others.

Note that projects do not need to include an actual contemplative intervention, but the research must be able to inform the development of contemplative interventions, or increase our understanding of whether and how contemplative practice might promote PEACE qualities. We encourage research proposals that work across traditional disciplinary boundaries, and use methodological approaches that meet the highest standards of rigor.

Grant Information

Two levels of funding are available through this program: up to $25,000 and up to $100,000 (USD). Grants will be awarded through a competitive application and selection process. Proposed research should be completed within a 2-year period, and annual progress reports are required for grantees to remain in good standing. Applications are reviewed by an external committee of experienced contemplative researchers and selected based on the following criteria:

Significance and Impact: The project addresses an important issue related to mechanisms, cultivation, or assessment of PEACE qualities, and has potential to lead to advancement of contemplative research and positive action in the world (including raising questions relevant to understudied populations, see below);

Innovation: The project offers something new or challenges existing paradigms, either conceptually or methodologically, or both (including addressing gaps in research such as engaging practices or participants from understudied populations, see below);

Methodological Approach/Design: Design, methods, and analyses are adequately developed, rigorous, well integrated, and appropriate to the aims of the project (including sampling transparency & ethical research protocols, see below);

Investigator Qualifications: The principal investigator(s) are appropriately trained and capable of coordinating and managing the proposed research, supported by a research team with complementary expertise, with high likelihood of success and future contribution to the field (including consideration of team demographics, see below);

Research Environment: The team has documented access to sufficient resources to carry out the research, and the project is supported by the host institution and community (including community participatory design, see below).

Research Values and Ethics

Mind & Life is committed to building a rigorous community of interdisciplinary contemplatives, scholars, and scientists that integrates diverse perspectives and experiences. Historically, contemplative research has been dominated by a largely racially and ethnically homogenous group of scientists, scholars, and practitioners from a handful of academic institutions.

This homogeneity reinforces societal imbalances and biases, and diminishes the field’s capacity to adequately understand the human mind and investigate the mechanisms and impact of contemplative practices.

The PEACE Grants program is a natural extension of Mind & Life’s mission and reflects our commitment to leading the way in integrating rigorous investigation while also addressing larger societal issues with a focus in anti-racism. In line with our desire to expand the scope of our collective inquiry and begin to address existing imbalances, we encourage applicants to:

Practice sampling transparency by clearly describing participant demographics (including but not limited to age, gender, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and education level);

Consider demographics of research staff, those delivering interventions, as well as participant populations;

Design ethical research protocols that take into account accessibility, cultural norms, and values of all involved;

Investigate research questions relevant to understudied populations—when care is taken to do so in a culturally responsive manner, and preferably with a community participatory design;

Consider the limits of generalization to other populations, and interpret any conclusions within the specific context of the study.

Eligibility

To be eligible to a PEACE Grant, the Principal Investigator (and Co-Principal Investigator, if there is one) must have completed a research doctorate (e.g., PhD, EdD) and have sufficient training, experience and institutional resources to accomplish the proposed work.

Mind & Life is dedicated to supporting increased diversity and inclusion in the field of contemplative research. We warmly welcome applicants from all backgrounds and identities; we are especially committed to supporting applicants from groups that are underrepresented in contemplative research.

Applicants to a PEACE Grant may not be actively funded through any Mind & Life research grant. Current Mind & Life research grantees must submit a final report and budget reconciliation for existing grants before applying for a new grant. Note that we do not allow two separate proposals in a given cycle from the same applicant (whether as PI or co-PI), or from different applicants for two aspects of the same project.

How to Apply

For more information and job application details, see; Mind & Life Institute PEACE Grants Worldwide

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