Funding Proposals

CMEP provides academic leadership for research and policy related to nonhuman consciousness, sentience, agency, moral status, legal status, and political status—with special focus on animals and AI systems.

Proposal eligibility

CMEP currently considers only solicited proposals. CMEP can provide awards to individuals or to institutions, but does not pay indirect costs or institutional overhead.

The bar for approval is higher for more expensive projects, and since this program is intended primarily for small or seed funding, we are unlikely to approve proposals from external researchers for projects exceeding $30,000 USD.

For funding requests of $5,000 and under, CMEP will likely make a decision on the basis of this proposal. For larger requests, CMEP will likely treat this proposal as a letter of intent and request a longer, more detailed proposal for round 2.

Proposal template

If invited to submit a proposal, please send a short proposal to nonhumanminds@nyu.edu that includes the following information in the following order:

1. A short (~500 word) description of the project. Please note that the project should address an important issue at the intersection of environmental and animal protection.
2. A list of all participants of the project, with a short (~50 word) bio and attached CV for each participant. If the project includes a PI or supervisor, please identify this individual.
3. A list of all expected outputs, with a short description and timeline for each output. Please note that the expected outputs should include an academic publication.
4. A detailed budget for the project and the requested award. Please note that since our budget is limited, we prioritize funding research expenses over funding PI salary.
5. An explanation of how the project is aligned with our mission of supporting research about the nature and intrinsic value of nonhuman minds.
6. A statement that the project will not involve invasive research on animals or treatment of animals that can reasonably be expected to result in their suffering or death.
7. A statement that commits to acknowledging CMEP funding in all publications.
8. A statement that commits to reporting on your progress, outputs, and impact upon request.

Permits and Approvals

Award recipients must provide documentation of all necessary approvals, permits, and certifications before funds will be disbursed. This includes but is not limited to:

• Institutional review board (IRB) approval for human subjects research
• Animal care and use committee (IACUC) approval for nonhuman subjects research
• Local government research permits and authorizations
• Import/export permits for materials or equipment

Recipients should begin the permitting process immediately upon award notification. Recipients are responsible for maintaining compliance throughout the project period.

Funding Process

When a funding proposal is approved and signed by the CMEP team and research team, the award is processed as follows for all external (that is, non-NYU) recipients:

• The recipient creates a supplier profile in i-Buy, NYU’s vendor management system, including banking and tax information.
• A legally binding Research Agreement is signed by both NYU Fiscal and the recipient’s designated authority.
• The recipient sends an itemized invoice to CMEP for the sum of the award, which is processed and paid out accordingly.

Contact information

If you have any questions about this process, please contact us at nonhumanminds@nyu.edu or call +1 (212) 998-1444.