Second round of funding from the MIT Human Insight Collaborative (MITHIC)

Dear colleagues,

We are pleased to provide several updates about the MIT Human Insight Collaborative (MITHIC), a new initiative that aims to elevate human-centered research and teaching and bring together scholars in the humanities, arts, and social sciences with their colleagues across the Institute.

There was a strong response to the first call for MITHIC project proposals last fall. The selected projects will foster cross-school collaboration and highlight the unlimited potential of human-centered research at MIT.

The MITHIC team has spent time gathering feedback from faculty about how we can improve the process for the next round. The most common request was to provide more time for developing proposals. To that end, we are sharing updated RFPs for the next round of MITHIC funding. Additionally, people requested examples of successful proposals. Samples from the first round can be found on the MITHIC website.

As a reminder, there are three funds under MITHIC, which together provide $3 million in annual support:

• The SHASS+ Connectivity Fund is designed to support research that builds bridges between SHASS fields and other fields at MIT. Proposals require a project lead in SHASS and another project lead whose primary appointment is outside of SHASS. The fund awards $2 million per year across all projects. Find the updated RFP here.
• The Humanities Cultivation Fund funds projects in the humanities and arts in SHASS. The fund awards $500,000 per year across all projects. Find the updated RFP here.
• The SHASS Education Innovation Fund supports new educational approaches in SHASS fields. Proposals must be led by SHASS and group proposals are encouraged. The fund awards $500,000 per year across all projects. Find the updated RFP here.

The submission portal for all three funds will open in September, with a deadline for proposals of Thursday, October 23. There will be a second window for submitting SHASS+ proposals in spring 2026; specific dates have not been finalized. We’re providing the updated RFPs in advance, as we want you to have as much time as possible to look over the criteria and make connections.

We have scheduled a series of information sessions this spring for faculty to learn more about the funds:

SHASS+ Connectivity Fund info session:
Wednesday, April 23, 11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
https://mit.zoom.us/j/95457791502

Humanities Cultivation Fund info session:
Thursday April 24, 11 a.m.–12 p.m.
https://mit.zoom.us/j/95145030036

SHASS Education Innovation Fund info session:
Wednesday, April 23, 10 a.m.-11 a.m.
https://mit.zoom.us/j/95996813244

Like last fall, MITHIC will once again be organizing Meeting of the Minds events. These meetings are opportunities for MIT faculty and teaching staff to make connections around a specific topic or area of interest with colleagues they haven’t previously worked with. The hope is that these meetings will lead to joint proposals for MITHIC funds. If you are interested in organizing a Meeting of the Minds, please fill out this form.

We look forward to collaborating with you and seeing the transformative projects that will continue to emerge from this effort. For any information, please reach out to mithic@mit.edu.

Sincerely,

Anantha Chandrakasan
Chief Innovation and Strategy Officer
Dean, School of Engineering
Vannevar Bush Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

Agustín Rayo
Kenan Sahin Dean
School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences