For Scholar Awards the program's emphasis is furthering the science of complex systems via the continued development of the theory and tools used in the study of complex research questions and not on particular fields of research per se. JSMF is particularly interested in projects attempting to apply complex systems approaches to coherently articulated questions.
For Postdoctoral Fellowships and Collaborative Activity Awards, proposals furthering the science of complex systems and/or proposals intending to apply complex system tools and models to problems where such approaches are not yet considered usual or mainstream are appropriate.
JSMF supports research in the brain sciences through its topical program Understanding Human Cognition. The Foundation recommends that researchers in the neurosciences not submit proposals to the Complex Systems RFA. Typically, such proposals are unsuccessful.
