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Tiny Blue Dot Foundation to Fund up to 10 Neuroscientific Research Projects Related to Concept Called "The Science Of Perception Box"

Applicants Can Seek Funding For Up to Three Consecutive Years With Funding of Up to $900,000

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 5, 2022 -- Up to 10 major neuroscientific research projects related to a concept called "The Science of Perception Box" are being funded by the Tiny Blue Dot Foundation, with each project receiving three consecutive years of funding for up to $900,000. The application process officially kicked off this week, with the first stage an open call for Letters of Intent, and the second an invitation for up to 30 applicants to submit a full proposal, which will, to the extent possible, undergo a double-blind external review of the science proposed. The project was announced by Elizabeth R. Koch, the Founder of Tiny Blue Dot Foundation, and Christof Koch, the Chief Scientist at Tiny Blue Dot Foundation. More information about this research project can be found on the Tiny Blue Dot website.

Over the past decade, Elizabeth Koch has helped found companies in the fields of publishing, media, neuroscience, and transformational experiences. They include: Tiny Blue Dot Foundation, a research foundation that seeks to understand and measure the quantity and quality of consciousness; Catapult, an award-winning publishing company that celebrates extraordinary storytelling; and, most recently, Unlikely Collaborators which creates unlikely collaborations through four areas: Experiences, Storytelling, Investments and Impact. All of Koch's companies and activities share the same goal of bringing people's awareness of their Perception Box™, a powerful metaphor that was created by, and is trademarked, by Koch.

"We all live inside an invisible but ever-present mental box—a Perception Box," she explains. "Built from the material of your beliefs, the Perception Box has the power to distort your reality and leave you feeling isolated, disconnected, and fearful. By asking sometimes contradictory but always consequential questions, our goal is to show people how to understand and work with their Perception Box—how to overcome the limiting beliefs that hold them back, expand the possibilities of perception, and invite in new ways of seeing and being seen."

"We are seeking to fund rigorous, empirical, statistically valid, and sound neuroscientific research," said Christof Koch. "Our grant funds will be used by recipients to 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 neurotypicals and/or clinically defined populations and to track their basis in the brain using appropriate tools."

"Remember, the ultimate aim of all of this research is to help improve the well-being and the physical and mental health of as many people everywhere as possible," said Elizabeth Koch.

Grants can only be awarded to a recognized Internal Revenue Code section 501(c)(3) medical schools, colleges, universities, or not-for-profit research organizations and, to the extent permissible pursuant to the Internal Revenue Code, to similar organizations located within or outside the United States (collectively referred to as "Applicant Institution"). The Principal Investigator should be a clinical, applied, or basic science researcher at the Applicant Institution with a MD, PhD, or an equivalent degree. The research should be focused on the discovery or development of tools and interventions to help expand the walls of people's Perception Box, to measure and track the effects of these tools and interventions on the minds, behaviors, and brains of subjects. Please also see the Detailed Criteria section.

To help applicants throughout the process, we will host webinars at key stages. Webinars will be recorded to accommodate applicants from different time zones, with the first one taking place on Oct 10.

A full timeline of project is as follows:

Oct 3, 2022: LOI opens
Oct 10, 2022 (0800 PDT): Application Guidance Webinar
Nov 7, 2022 (1800 PST): LOI closes
Nov 30, 2022 (approx.): Selected LOIs are notified
Dec 5, 2022 (0800 PST): Save the date for Full Application Guidance Webinar 2
Feb 1, 2023 (1800 PST): Deadline for submitting Full Proposals
May, 2023: Funding decision

About Tiny Blue Dot Foundation

Tiny Blue Dot Foundation strives to help people understand that they live in their own unique Perception Box whose walls can be expanded to minimize suffering, increase acceptance of self and others, and view trauma/other challenges as opportunities for growth. Our mission is to develop Perception Box modification techniques that are safe, effective, reliable, measurable, widely accessible, and easy to use.