Broadening Participation in Cognitive Science Initiative
The Cognitive Science Society promotes diverse participation in Cognitive Science through multiple initiatives. To further support this mission, the Society welcomes grant proposals for our new Broadening Participation in Cognitive Science initiative. For a limited time, the Cognitive Science Society will offer grants up to $5,000. Submissions should propose events, activities or programs that will increase accessibility and inclusion of under-represented communities in Cognitive Science.
Eligibility:
Must be a researcher (e.g., faculty member, postdoctoral researcher, graduate student) affiliated with a university or research institute.
Important dates:
Deadline for proposal, June 13th, 2025
Proposal selection criteria:
- Successful proposals will focus on engagement and outreach related to cognitive science
- THIS IS NOT A RESEARCH PROPOSAL, and we will not consider research-based projects for this award. Your initiative should focus on engagement and outreach related to cognitive science.
Proposals will be evaluated based on the following criteria:
- Multidisciplinary Approach
- Projects must be interdisciplinary and showcase more than one of the core disciplines of cognitive science (e.g., cannot be narrowly focused on psychology or neuroscience only)
- Priority will be given to proposals that represent more than two disciplines of Cognitive Science, including but not limited to Artificial Intelligence, Computer Science and Statistical Modeling, Linguistics, Anthropology, Psychology, Education, Neuroscience, and Philosophy
- Commitment to Diversity, Inclusion, Equity, and Accessibility in Cognitive Science
- Proposals should maximize the impact of their work by making publicly accessible materials
- Proposals must increase participation or retention of groups that are under-represented in cognitive science. Underrepresented groups could be defined by, but are not limited to, disciplinary expertise or educational experience, gender, race and ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, religion, disability status, and geographic location such as rural areas or internationally under-represented areas, such as from countries under-represented in cognitive science
- Project Feasibility and Need
- Proposals that describe a pathway for sustaining the activity beyond a single event will be prioritized
- This grant can be used to scale up an existing outreach program or start a new project or program. However, projects should not have been previously funded by the Cognitive Science Society.
- We will consider a wide variety of initiatives
- Your proposal could engage with students at any academic level and/or the general public, and/or groups nationally or internationally
- Your proposal could also engage with your audience at your institution, a public venue, or meet your audience where they are located (e.g. rural communities)
- Your proposal could engage your audience with cognitive science generally or could engage with them by getting them involved with cognitive science research
- Your proposal could be used to start or support a CogSci Hub in a new international location
- Your proposal could fund staff, travel, equipment/supplies, etc.
- Proposals can be for events occurring in the summer or during the school year but must be within one year of being awarded
- Winning projects will need to write an activities report within a year of being awarded (mid July 2026) and write a short blog post about the event for the CogSci blog due in February of 2026.
If you have any questions about this grant and/or how your ideas could fit its criteria, please contact the outreach coordinator at
How to apply:
Submit a PDF document addressing the following questions, as well as CVs (as PDFs) of all applicants, to the contact person listed below,
- Proposal description 2500 word limit (references cited in the proposal will not count towards the word limit)
- Name and contact information for applicant(s)
- Program/Initiative/Event Title
- General description of proposed initiative and main goals
- Detailed description of proposed events/activities/projects. In addition, your description must address the following three points.
- Describe the disciplines represented in your proposal (e.g., psychology, artificial intelligence, anthropology) and how your proposal fosters participation in more than one discipline of Cognitive Science
- Description of how your proposal engages with traditionally under-represented groups in science nationally or internationally and (if applicable) methods to encourage their involvement, including how your proposal would have a lasting or broader impact on Cognitive Science outreach. This should include what publicly available materials your proposal would produce.
- Describe the feasibility of your project. For example, what resources would be created to allow your proposal to be scaled up beyond a single event or repeated? Describe the author(s) previous experience conducting similar work or current support network that would help make the current proposal a reality. Include details for your planning process and description of how the Broadening Participation grant funds would be utilized.
- Please note: projects will be evaluated on fiscal need, and prioritized if the Cognitive Science Society’s monetary contribution will significantly increase the impact of the project.
- Provide a budget outline detailing specifically how you would allocate the $5,000 grant (e.g., supplies, travel, staffing, etc., with a timeline). Include information on the feasibility and necessity of budgeted items listed in the justifications section. It is required that you use this Budget Template to provide your budget line items and justifications.
- Please include other sources of funding for your event or proposal, if applicable.
Applicants will be notified of their status no later than mid-July.
PAST RECIPIENTS
2024
Promoting Science Participation in the Blind and Visually Impaired Worldwide
James Coughlan and Natela Shanidze, with Charity Pitcher-Cooper
The Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute, San Francisco, CA
The proposal provides opportunities for individuals within the Blind and Visually Impaired community to engage with cognitive science worldwide through an archive of virtual materials on a variety of cognitive science subdisciplines. This is accomplished through the development of a robust, inclusive online learning resource, with easily searchable and accessible audio, video, and text-based materials.
Nurturing Cognitive Science in Nigeria: Foundations for a new discipline
Adebunmi Oyebisi Oyekola, Chika Ezeugwu, and Adejumoke Idowu Ayede
University of Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria and Cambridge University
The proposal promotes interest in Cognitive Science among over 100 active participants across Nigeria in a cognitive science based workshop. Materials will be collated as resources for students and academics that attend the event with the goal of creating local cognitive science society chapters across institutions and organizations to foster deeper connections to cognitive science as a discipline in Nigeria.
The Cognitive Science Behind the Adventures of Junajpu and Xbalamke: Spreading Awareness of Cognitive Science Among Educators in Mayan and Mestizo Communities
Myron Alexander Socop Arango and Ming Yean Sia
National Taiwan Normal University
The proposal promotes interest in Cognitive Science among children in Mayan and Mestizo communities in Guatemala. Through an online workshop conducted in Spanish, children will engage with stories from the Popol Wuj, an ancient Mayan text, and hear how they relate to cognitive science content knowledge such as parts of the brain, executive function, animal cognition, and language acquisition.
2023
Launching Cognitive Science in Vietnam
K. David Harrison, Thuy Bui, Nidal Kamel, Daniel Ruelle, Jhon Sebastian Romero Meza, Hieu Pham
VinUniversity, Hanoi, Vietnam
The proposal promotes interest and collaboration in Cognitive Science throughout Vietnam by bringing together researchers and students across 10 Vietnam universities through multiple activities including a public lecture, podcasts, networking event, and curriculum design workshop.
In Your Hands: Promoting Early Diverse Deaf Engagement in the Cognitive Sciences
Misa Suzuki, Bonnie Barrett, Wadha Alshammari, Marjorie Bates:, Phoenix Cook:, Michaela Okosi, Joseph Palagano, Masashi Tamura
Gallaudet University, Washington D.C., USA
The proposal promotes interest in Cognitive Science among deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) students through the creation of multimodal (signed, spoken, English print) instructional materials, including publicly available YouTube videos, aimed at K-12 students.
