Letter of Intent (LOI) Instructions

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Step 3: Create a Profile.

Note: Application forms are accessible only by the profile under which they were first created. To collaborate, use shared team credentials, or use these instructions to draft your materials elsewhere, then post them in the portal.

Step 4: Complete the form to create your profile. If you would like any key updates to also be sent to a colleague (such as the Principal Investigator), then you can add their details to the CC Email Address line. You will receive a confirmation email after saving your profile.

Step 5: Click “Get Started” to begin working on your letter of intent. The rest of the document provides instructions for specific questions in this form.

The number in the top left is your application number.

Remember: Proposal forms are not fully submitted until “Submit LOI” is clicked. You will receive a “Confirmation of Receipt” email when submitted.

Preparing for Review

All LOIs will undergo a blind review. This means that the reviewers should not know the identity of the applicant, which we believe may help to reduce bias.

To prepare your proposal for a successful review, applicants should not include personally identifiable information in the questions that have “anonymize” written in brackets. Your answers to these questions will go to reviewers.

In this context, personally identifiable information can be anything that allows the reviewer to know who wrote the proposal. This includes information about the identity, institutional affiliation, and country of the applicant or collaborators. You may still reference your own work where essential, but you should refer to it in the same way that you would refer to all other work. For example: instead of saying “my previous work showed…”, you can say “a previous study showed…”.

Applicants will be responsible for making sure they don’t include personally identifiable information as we don’t have the capacity to screen all the proposals prior to the review process. We may reject proposals that include such information.

Changes After Submission

Please note, once you have submitted your LOI, you will not be able to make changes unless there are extenuating circumstances. To make changes, you would have to contact the TBD helpdesk. Proposals cannot be changed after the submission deadline.

If the proposal has been submitted by accident, then you may contact the helpdesk to have the submission reversed. You will not lose any data if you do this.

LOI versus Full Proposal

These instructions are for the LOI, which is a short form designed to be much easier to complete than a full proposal. We will use the LOIs to shortlist applicants who will be invited to complete a full proposal. The full proposal is longer (roughly 10 pages) and includes more details about the project activities, team, and budget.

When necessary, TBD shares feedback for some (but not all) LOIs being invited to the full proposal stage. This feedback may be used to strengthen the full proposal. While we would like to provide individual feedback on all applications, the volume makes it unfeasible, thus feedback is not offered to declined LOIs.

Project Description: Instructions

To prepare your proposal for a successful review, applicants should not include personally identifiable information in the questions that have (Anonymize). Your answers from these questions will go to reviewers.

Proposed Project Title (Anonymize)

Should be clear, concise, and easily understood by an educated non-specialist. A few tips for a strong project title are: (a) keep it short; (b) avoid generic words; (c) leave out unnecessary words; (d) use active verbs; and (e) focus on the outcome.

Project Description: Executive summary (Anonymize)

The Executive Summary is a brief statement written for educated non-specialists. We recommend Vancouver-Style numerical inline citations. It should include a very brief overview with each of the following headings (600 words max):

(a) Background: The context/background information.

(b) Justification: Why the project is needed.

(d) Aims: The aims of the project.

(e) Hypotheses: The hypotheses to be tested.

(f) Methods: A brief description of the sample and methods.

(g) Outputs: Outputs to be produced by the project.

Fit with RFP Goals (Anonymize)

What specific aspects of this project make it competitively well-suited for (a) Perception Box, (b) Tiny Blue Dot Foundation, and (c) a timely opportunity to invest in now? See the RFP web page for reference. (200 words max)

Significance and Impact (Anonymize)

What is the significance of the problem or set of problems that you are trying to solve? Which group of individuals is affected by these problems and how? If the project is successful, what transformative impact can we expect to see?

We are particularly interested in the significance and impact of this research over the next five to ten years for mental health in either clinical or non-clinical populations within diverse community settings. How scalable is the proposed intervention? Please describe its potential for implementation and impact beyond the study population and setting. (200 words max)

Core Activities (Anonymize)

Summarize the top 5 core activities that are critical to the success of the project. This should include essential research methodologies, tool development, or other activities related to key milestones.

State for each activity whether the required expertise is available at your institution or should be sought externally.

Do NOT include the names of the people assigned to these activities.

To save space in the application form, you can write “(A)” next to an activity where expertise is already available or “(E)” where external help is required. (200 words max)

References (Anonymize)

Any references used in the application form can be inserted here. Vancouver style is preferred.

Proposed Start Date

Enter the ideal start date of your project. This date should be between August to December 2027. Successful applicants will be asked to finalize this date during the contracting stage.

Duration in Months

How many months do you expect your project to last? The maximum time period is 36 months.

Total Amount Requested

Please write the full amount in US Dollars.

During the LOI stage, please use your best estimation. During the full proposal stage, you will be able to use an automatic calculation in a budget spreadsheet to find this amount. The total amount includes indirect/overhead costs, which should not exceed 15% of the direct costs.

Requests should not exceed US$900,000 in total over a maximum of 3 years. TBD reserves the right to reduce the request amount based on budgetary constraints or insufficient budget justification.

Categorization

Development Stage

Only one option can be selected. If you believe more than one option applies, then select whichever you anticipate to receive the largest portion of funding or consider submitting more than one application.

Conceptual Stage: Philosophical enquiry or exploratory research to better understand Perception Box or related concepts.

Discovery Stage: Research to discover innovations or formalize a new intervention. This includes research to develop or refine an innovation into an intervention ready for clinical trials.

Testing Stage: Efforts to validate an intervention in a particular context. This includes clinical trials.

Scaling Stage: Efforts to disseminate an intervention at scale. Only for interventions that have been validated through clinical trials.

Target Clinical Status

Clinical: To treat a recognized clinical condition or provide symptom relief.

Subclinical: Towards preventing clinical symptoms or reducing risk factors.

Wellbeing: Promoting positive states and protective factors.

Target Age Group

Please check all that apply. Proposals that cover more than one age group should provide a justification in the Potential for Impact section.

We have a particular interest in children ages 5–8 because this period offers an opportunity to study the Perception Box as it is being formed. That said, our focus is not limited to children. We also welcome research on adolescents and adults that can help us understand how the Perception Box evolves across the lifespan.

Projects aimed at children aged 0 - 5 are out of scope for this RFP.

Principal Investigator

The Principal Investigator (PI) is the person to take responsibility for the proposal and grant. There can be only one PI.

Prefix, First Name, Last Name

ORCID

This is a free persistent identifier available by registering at https://orcid.org.

We recommend that applicants claim all relevant works on their ORCID profile so we can verify their expertise.

Google Scholar ID

This is the URL shown when you visit your Google Scholar Profile.

Please include this ID if available. It will help reviewers better understand your track record in the field.

Job Title

Current title at your employer.

Employment

Please select whether you are a current or a prospective employee of the applicant organization.

Time Commitment Percentage

If this grant request is awarded, what percent of this team member’s time would be committed to project activities? This should be based on a normal working week. For example, one day a week would be 20% or four months a year would be 25%.

Education

List your key qualifications relevant to this project, including degree title, institution, and year of graduation. For the Principal Investigator, this field should confirm that they have a PhD, MD, or equally valid degree. (List all the most relevant information allowed within the word limit of 100 words)

Professional Experience

List the most relevant experiences including your position, the name of the organization, and the start and end dates of that position. (List all the most relevant information allowed within the word limit of 150 words)

Relevant Previous Grants

List the most relevant grants you have personally been involved in. This could include grants on similar topics or high-impact grants to demonstrate your track record. Include the start and end dates, your role in the grant, the name of the grantor, and the amount awarded. (List all the most relevant information allowed within the word limit of 150 words)

Relevant, Published Articles

List the most relevant articles you have authored in this space. Ideally use the APA reference style. (List all the most relevant information allowed within the word limit of 250 words)

Team Members

Refer to the Core Activities described previously and list the names of the proposed team members who will be responsible for each.

Please also include their ORCID and Google Scholar ID, and specify how many years of relevant experience they have. (200 words max)

Applicant Organization

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”).

Legal Name

The name must match the governing documents of the organization. This is the name that will be used to draft the grant agreement if your proposal is successful.

Other Names

If the Organization operates under any other names, please list them here.

ROR ID

Please enter your organization's ID from the Research Organization Registry. You can search for it at https://ror.org/search.

Country

Applications will be considered from any country except for those on the US’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctions list. For more information, see: US’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctions list.

Post Code

If post codes are not used in your country, please enter "00000".

Website / URL

Organization Structure

The value selected here must match that of the Tax ID that will be listed below.

Tax ID Number

This is your organization's tax identification number. For example, the United States, this is the organization's EIN. If this question does not apply in your jurisdiction, please enter "00000".

Registration Number

Distinct from a "Tax ID", this is your organization's legal registration number. It is normally provided when the organization is registered within its local jurisdiction. If you are unsure, then please enter your organization’s UEI or ask a senior administrator at your organization. If this does not apply in your jurisdiction, please submit a D-U-N-S Number or enter "00000".

Submission

Please note that your LOI remains un-submitted until you receive confirmation by email. Submission is a two-step process using the “Mark Complete” button, followed by the “Submit” button. If you believe that you have submitted your LOI, but have not received email confirmation, please contact TBD before the submission deadline.

Once submitted, you will no longer be able to edit your LOI, and TBD does not have capacity to make edits or corrections on your behalf. If you accidentally submit your LOI prematurely, please contact TBD directly. However, in the event that an LOI is retracted, it is the applicant's responsibility to resubmit before the deadline.

Letter of Intent (LOI) Instructions

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