Application Instructions

Instructions for Integrated Philosophy and Science Proposals: Applicants seeking support for scientific projects may request up to $310,000 for projects not to exceed two years in duration. The total available payout for these awards is $2.5 million.  Letters of Intent are due by August 1, 2014. Notification will be made by September 15, 2014, with submission of full proposals no later than December 15, 2014. Final award decisions will be issued by February 28, 2015, for research to begin no later than August 1, 2015. All teams must have at least one philosopher and at least one scientist as members.

Letter of Intent (LOI) Stage

Applicants are required to submit:

• A complete CV for the project leader and all other team members (if applicable).
• A letter of intent that includes the central questions of the project, the background and significance of the questions, identification of which of the questions in the “Overview” section the project addresses, and a summary of the methodology and hypotheses. The letter should not exceed 2,500 words (references do not count toward this total).
• The amount of funding requested (one sentence is fine for this). No budget narrative or justification is needed at this stage. The amount can be revised at the full proposal stage.

Application materials should be submitted by e-mail attachment, if possible, to pssc@fsu.edu. The phrase “Science of Self-control” should appear in the e-mail subject line. The only acceptable file formats are .doc and PDF. Questions about the application process can be sent to the same address.  For LOI deadlines, see the instructions above.

Full Proposal Stage for integrated proposals

Those applicants who are invited to submit full proposals must include:

• A cover letter with the title, amount requested, duration of the project, and team members (if applicable).
• A description of the work to be carried out, not to exceed 6,000 words (references do not count toward this total). The description should include the central questions of the project, the background and significance of the questions, identification of which of the questions in the “Overview” section  the project addresses, and a summary of the methodology and hypotheses.
• A project abstract of up to 500 words which explains the project and its significance to non-academics, and which would be published on project website and possibly in Templeton materials, and included in publicity materials if the proposal is funded.
• A timeline.
• A detailed budget with accompanying narrative explaining line items. Overhead is limited to 15%, and funds cannot be used for major equipment purchases.
• Approval of the department chair and the institution’s signing officials and a completed “Full Proposal” form (available as a PDF and as a Word document).

Full proposals should be submitted by e-mail attachment, if possible, to pssc@fsu.edu (questions about full proposals can be sent to the same address). The phrase “Science of Self-control” should appear in the e-mail subject line. The only acceptable file formats are .doc and PDF. Full proposals will be accepted only from applicants who have been invited to submit by the project director, on the basis of the LOI phase. For full proposal deadlines, see the instructions above.

Grant Eligibility

The PI must have a Ph.D. and be in or contracted to a faculty position at an accredited college or university at the time the LOI is submitted and prior to the beginning of the supported research. All teams must have at least one philosopher and at least one scientist as members. Applicants can have their name on only one empirical proposal and only one philosophical proposal for this competition. The judging panels will consist of philosophers and scientists with appropriate specializations. Selection criteria will include: feasibility of the project in the specified timeframe, prior research accomplishments of the project leader and other team members, originality, innovation, and significance of the intended project, relevance of the project to the themes of the PSSC project (see “Overview” section), quality of the budget justification, and coherence of the intended research plan. While additional funding from other sources is not required, applicants are encouraged to seek such funding and to list the amount and sources of additional funds in their proposals. All applications must be submitted in English and all payments will be made in US dollars.

Projects that are primarily historical in focus will not be funded.

Funded projects must have their PI commit to the following:

• Submit interim and final reports, as well as interim and final expenditure reports. The interim and final reports should not exceed 2 pages, and should detail the outcomes of the funded project.
• Attend and present conclusions at our two conferences (expenses covered).
• Consent to have their presentation at the capstone conference videotaped for the project website.
• Notify the project at pssc@fsu.edu of all conference presentations, papers, and books that arise from the funded research.
• Follow stipulations of grant award as communicated by Florida State University.

All questions should be directed to:

The Science & Philosophy of Self-control

Email address: pssc@fsu.edu

Physical address (email preferred):

Karen Foulke

Department of Philosophy

Florida State University

151 Dodd Hall

641 University Way

Tallahassee, FL 32306-1500 USA

Timetable

DATE	EVENT
August 1, 2014	Deadline for LOI submission
September 15, 2014	Invitations for full proposals issued
December 15, 2014	Deadline for invited full proposals
February 28, 2015	Award announcements issued

Frequently Asked Questions

If you have a question that is not answered below, please contact us at pssc@fsu.edu.

What kinds of research project may I work on?

See the “Overview” section for examples.

May grant funds be used to purchase equipment and for travel?

Only modest requests for equipment and travel will be considered.

Are there rules about overhead?

Yes, overhead cannot be more than 15%.

May I be a member of more than one grant proposal team?

No. Applicants may be a member of only one such team.

By what date must applicants have a Ph.D. and an affiliation with an accredited college or university?

Applicants must have both by the time they submit a LOI.

In my LOI or my full proposal, should I request funds for travel to the two conferences?

No. Should you be a grant winner, your reasonable travel expenses for attendance of the two conferences (including accommodations and some meals), will be reimbursed by the project.

Under “Full Proposal Stage,” I see various requirements — a cover letter, a 500 word project summary, a detailed description, and so on. Do all of these things have to fit into 6000 words?

No, the 6000 word limit is specifically for the detailed description of the proposed research.

Do all elements of the full proposal need to be parts of a single document?

No. For example, if you have any difficulty putting your budget or full proposal form into the same document as the rest of your material, you can send the budget, the full proposal form, or both as separate documents.