FAPESP, the University of São Paulo (USP), the Federal University of São Paulo (Unifesp), and Natura will launch a research center focused on well-being.
The investment in the establishment and operation of the Applied Research Center for Well-Being and Human Behavior is R$ 20 million over ten years, equally divided between Natura and FAPESP, with an equivalent contribution from the universities. The center, to be launched in 2015, will be located at USP.
The selected scientific proposal, announced by FAPESP, was submitted by Professor Emma Otta, from the Institute of Psychology at USP. The project brings together the technical excellence of a renowned group of over 40 scientists and their teams, working in complementary fields of knowledge at institutions across Brazil, such as USP, Unifesp, and the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), as well as international institutions like New York University and Washington State University.
The main objective of the research will be to establish a solid knowledge base for the assessment and promotion of well-being through the integration of different fields of knowledge, such as neuroscience, positive psychology, social psychology, health sciences, and applied humanities and social sciences.
“This is a unique model of an integrated center involving a Brazilian company to investigate a theme that is also unprecedented in academia. The project is at the forefront of open innovation and demonstrates the long-term commitment of the company and the involved institutions,” said Gerson Pinto, vice president of innovation at Natura.
“Multidisciplinary and at the frontier of knowledge, the new center will combine the best practices from the Research, Innovation, and Diffusion Centers (CEPIDs) and Support for Research in Partnership for Technological Innovation (PITE) programs of FAPESP, to connect scientific research with innovation and technology transfer,” stated Carlos Henrique de Brito Cruz, scientific director of FAPESP.
The call for proposals FAPESP-Natura can be viewed at http://www.fapesp.br/8309. The results of the call can be seen at http://fapesp.br/9340.
