Download the research grant guidelines and application form (MS Word)

The FELDENKRAIS® Educational Foundation of North America (FEFNA) is pleased to announce its first request for proposals for grants from the Esther Thelen Research and Education Fund, established in 2005. During this initial phase of the Thelen Fund, proposals for research only (see Objective 1 below) will be considered for maximum grants of $500. Awards will increase and requests for proposals will expand to include all three fund objectives as the Thelen Fund grows. Firm application deadlines for grant proposals are July 1 and December 31. Award announcements will be made approximately 2 months after the deadlines.

This fund is named in honor of Esther Thelen, Ph.D., G.C.F.P., developmental psychologist and director of the Infant Motor Development Laboratory at Indiana University from 1985 to 2004. Prior to coming to Bloomington, Esther attended Antioch College and the University of Wisconsin. She completed an extensive longitudinal observational study of infant behavior for her doctoral dissertation at the University of Missouri and subsequently joined the faculty. Since 1979, Dr. Thelen’s research was continuously funded by grants from the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health. She served as president of the International Society on Infant Studies and was president of the Society for Research in Child Development at the time of her death.

Dr. Thelen (1941-2004) was known worldwide for her contributions to the understanding of developmental processes from a dynamic systems theoretical perspective. However, she was not satisfied with sharing the results of her research within academic confines. Dr. Thelen was committed to dialogue across disciplines and with practitioners, policy makers, and the public in order to shape scientific inquiry and translate the resulting knowledge into practices that make positive changes for individuals and society. During the last decade of her life, the Feldenkrais community became an important vehicle for expressing this commitment. While Dr. Thelen significantly influenced many within the Feldenkrais community, she, in turn, integrated the Feldenkrais Method into her own life and completed her professional training in 2002. Dr. Thelen facilitated and contributed to several important exchanges among researchers and Feldenkrais practitioners that increased our profession’s interest in and understanding of the role of research. Her writings offer a theoretical framework that some have found to be applicable to the Feldenkrais Method. Her manner of interacting with students and colleagues was that of an exemplary Feldenkrais teacher. She catalyzed remarkable development within the Feldenkrais profession.

The three objectives of this fund reflect Esther Thelen’s commitments to principled scientific inquiry, professional and personal development, and translational actions that foster societal change:

1. To provide grants for theoretically grounded research that extends and advances the Feldenkrais Method.
2. To provide grants to Feldenkrais practitioners or students in professional training programs that promote development and training in conducting quality research.
3. To provide grants for events or actions that bring together scientists and scholars, Feldenkrais practitioners, other professionals, policy makers, and the public for dialogue that facilitates improvement in the function and quality of individual lives and society.

All members of the research community with interests compatible with the Thelen Fund are invited to submit proposals. All proposals that are complete, consistent with the research purpose of the Thelen Fund, and which demonstrate scientific merit will be considered. Because requests for funding may exceed the supply of grant funds available, proposals will be evaluated and prioritized according to the following criteria:

• Review and assessment of the scientific merit of the proposal and its methodology, including:
  
  
  
  • Consistency with Thelen Fund research purpose
  
  
  • Soundness of and rationale for project
  
  
  • Clarity of research purpose and question(s)
  
  
  • Adequacy of methods/activities to address purposes
  
  
  • Ability of applicant to successfully complete project and produce quality results
  
  
  
  
• Inclusion of Feldenkrais practitioners or students in Feldenkrais professional training programs on the research team.
• Funding history. Applicants who have not received a Thelen Fund research award during the previous year will be ranked higher on this criterion than applicants who have received funds in the past year.

Proposals that do not contain all required materials by the submission deadline will be returned without review.

Complete information about the 2006 FEFNA Thelen Fund Request for Proposals and Research Grant Guidelines are available via email from or from the internet at www.feldenkrais.com.

For further information, contact Carla Feinstein:

Email

Toll Free (866)333-6248

(503)221-6612

Fax (503)221-6616

Tax-deductible contributions to the Thelen Fund may be sent to:

FEFNA

3611 SW Hood Ave., Ste. 100

Portland, OR 97239

Download the research grant guidelines and application form (MS Word)