Slots: One proposal from each lead institution.
Deadlines
Internal Deadline: Monday, March 24th, 2025, 5pm PT Under review.
LOI: N/A
External Deadline: May 23rd, 2025 by 23.59 (UK time), 18.59 (Eastern), 15.59 (Pacific)
Award Information
Award Type: Grant
Anticipated Award Amount: Up to $1,560,000 over 4 years
Who May Serve as PI: The applicant(s) must hold a PhD or equivalent degree in a relevant field, which may include but is not limited to neuroscience, psychology, psychiatry, epidemiology, public health, computer science, social science, economics.
The applicant(s) must be based at colleges, universities and research institutes in the UK or the US. The college, university or research institute should have charitable status or a nonprofit status such as 501(c)(3).
The applicant(s) should have a permanent, open-ended or long-term rolling contract, or the guarantee of one. The contract should not be conditional on receiving this award.
The salaries of all applicants must be covered by their respective employing organisation(s) for the duration of the award.
Co-applicants are possible on this application, particularly if the proposal crosses discipline boundaries, and the co-applicants bring critical and complementary expertise. Collaborators can be included in this application and award.
Link to Award: https://huofamilyfoundation.org/our-grants/special-projects/
Process for Limited Submissions
PIs must submit their application as a Limited Submission through the Research Initiatives and Infrastructure (RII) Application Portal: https://rii.usc.edu/oor-portal/. Use the template provided here: RII Limited Submission Applicant Template
Materials to submit include:
- (1) Two-Page Proposal Summary (1” margins; single-spaced; standard font type, e.g. Arial, Helvetica, Times New Roman, or Georgia typeface; font size: 11 pt). Page limit includes references and illustrations. Pages that exceed the 2-page limit will be excluded from review. You must use the template linked above.
- (2) CV – (5 pages maximum)
Note: The portal requires information about the PIs in addition to department and contact information, including the 10-digit USC ID#. Please have this material prepared before beginning this application.
Purpose
A long-standing interest of HFF has been the effect and impact of usage of digital technology on young people. The rapid rise and use of this technology has permeated much of society and transformed the way many humans interact.
There has been a broad array of research efforts that mostly have involved relatively crude measures of the amount of usage of digital technology (e.g. total screen time) and the observed effects and impact on health. Despite these efforts, the full implications – both positive and negative – on human physiology, psychology, behaviour, well-being and mental health remain unclear.
We believe there is an opportunity to help advance the research and the field of knowledge in this area, both by strengthening existing as well as creating new methods and approaches to better model and unpick the complexities of this topic.
HFF is establishing a research portfolio on the Effects of the Usage of Digital Technology on Brain Development, Social Behaviours and Mental Health in Children and Young People.
Visit our Institutionally Limited Submission webpage for more updates and other announcements.