Gilbert Roller Fund

UPDATE (September 29, 2020): Due to the COVID-19 situation negatively impacting on PA funds, all research awards have been suspended until further notice. 

The Parapsychological Association (PA) received a generous donation to establish a new endowment for research. The Gilbert Roller Fund supports scientific field investigations into macroscopic psychokinetic phenomena such as those reported in sitter-groups, séances, and poltergeist activity, and/or theoretical approaches to help explain the nature of such large-scale effects. The awards are administered by the Board of the PA through a committee that evaluates the grant requests. One or more grants may be given each year, with a maximum total disbursement of $10,000 per year until the full amount of the donation is exhausted. Applicants should demonstrate that they are qualified to conduct such research and have a good knowledge of past investigations of this type.

Awardees will initially be provided with 90% of the funds. A final report detailing the results of the project and how the money was spent must be received by the grant review committee before the final 10% of the grant is disbursed. Under exceptional circumstance the committee may disburse the entire amount before the final report is submitted, but a report will still be required.

The committee will accept brief, formal proposals (less than 3,000 words) in either plain text or as a Word document, preferably submitted electronically. The proposal should have a cover page with the Title and a Brief Abstract of the research, contact information for the applicant, and a short statement of personal qualifications. The latter should include indication of student status or a degree from an accredited university. The body of the proposal should describe the proposed research with a clear statement of the hypothesis or other focus of the work, a short summary of the relevant literature, some information about methodology, a statement of the resources needed along with a budget, an expected time-line for completion, and plans for formal presentation and/or publication of the work. Letters of support from people who will be involved in supervising or helping with the work, or other documentation, will assist the committee in its deliberations.

Judgments will be made based on the quality of the proposal and its prospects for completion as a useful contribution to the field. Applications should follow the guidelines below and must be submitted using this template, and must be submitted by June 30th. 

Please send all materials and inquiries to: Dr. David Vernon at grants@parapsych.org

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Gilber Roller Fund 2014 Awardee

This year’s Gilbert Roller Fund grant will support the continuing efforts of an established sitter group in Argentina to replicate previously documented anomalous phenomena and further investigate the apparent psychokinetic nature of their efforts. More

Gilbert Roller Fund 2013 Awardees

This year’s Gilbert Roller Fund grants will support the continuing investigation of the Felix Experimental Group and the potential application of digital imaging to investigate physical mediumistic phenomena. More

Roller Fund 2012 Awardees

No Gilbert Roller Fund Grants were awarded in 2012. More

Roller Fund 2011 Awardees

No Gilbert Roller Fund Grants were awarded in 2011. More

Roller Fund 2010 Awardees

Stephen Braude and  Peter Mulacz were awarded follow-up funding for their 2009 proposal titled "Investigation of alleged seance room phenomena at the 'Felix Circle', Germany."   More

Roller Fund 2009 Awardees

Rachel Browning received funding for a proposal titled: "A study of the relationship between digital audio phenomena and visible phenomena, reported in séances with the Furzey Hill Physical Circle." Peter Mulacz and Stephen Braude ... More

Application Guidelines for the Gilbert Roller Grants

Last Updated: Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Applications for a Gilbert Roller Grant should show explicit attention to the matters listed below. These points may usefully be implemented as headings within the application (perhaps supplemented by other headings according to the nature of the ... More
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