Research Partnership Program

puck samples

Background

The field of mycology is relatively young and offers an almost boundless range of research topics that remain largely unexplored. The potential within the fungal kingdom is widely unrecognized and untapped. At North Spore, our core mission is making mycology accessible to everyone. Our aspiration is to witness increased connections, collaborations, and innovations in the field.

With this purpose in mind, we have established our Research Partners Program. This initiative entails providing materials to aspiring researchers, gardeners, farmers, and individuals at various points in their exploration, all of whom possess mycological inquiries they seek to address. Given the extensive array of unanswered questions within our field, we firmly believe in aiding the endeavors of citizen scientists, curious hobbyists, academics, and others.

We also firmly hold the belief that by fostering collaboration and the exchange of knowledge, we can propel the field of mycology forward, leading to a more promising future. We wholeheartedly encourage applications from individuals of all races, genders, sexualities, socio-economic backgrounds, religions, and cultural affiliations.

woman creating a mycelium block

How it works

Have an idea for a project that you would like to receive support for in the form of spawn, substrate, tincture, or tools from North Spore? Please fill out the fields below for your project. Projects of any size are welcome to apply, though the size of the request should match with the scale of the project and your methodology for answering your research questions. 

If you are requesting a significant amount of support, please take the time to provide a correspondingly large amount of detail about your project in the below fields. If you are looking to undertake a small, relatively simple project, don’t feel like you need to write too much verbage to describe it. We are looking for concise yet thorough answers, with a level of detail that matches the scale of the project.

finishing a mycelium block using a drum sander

Have an idea for a project that you would like to receive support for in the form of spawn, substrate, tincture, or tools from North Spore? Please fill out the fields below for your project. Projects of any size are welcome to apply, though the size of the request should match with the scale of the project and your methodology for answering your research questions.

If you are requesting a large amount of support, please take the time to provide a correspondingly large amount of detail about your project in the below fields. If you are looking to undertake a small, relatively simple project, don’t feel like you need to write too much verbage to describe it. We are looking for concise yet thorough answers, with a level of detail that matches the scale of the project.

Review process

We will review all submitted project proposals monthly and we will choose at least one project to support each month. If you are selected as a finalist for the month, we will reach out to you about your proposal and work with you on getting more details or making any adjustments as needed.

In the spirit of collaboration and sharing of knowledge, after your project is finished, a report from you of the methodology and results may be posted on our website, together with any other interesting documentation you are able to provide (photos, videos, etc). We look forward to sharing with the broader mycological world the great questions you ask and discoveries you make!

If your project is accepted, you will be contacted to set up a meeting with our team to discuss your process and how to best document it. Each project is different, so we will work together to craft a specific documentation process tailored to your project.

closeup of agar slant

REVIEW PROCESS

The first Monday of every month we will review all submitted project proposals. Each month we will choose at least one project to support. If you are selected as a finalist for the month, we will reach out to you about your proposal and work with you on getting more details or making any adjustments as needed.

In the spirit of collaboration and sharing of knowledge, after your project is finished, a report from you of the methodology and results may be posted on our website, together with any other interesting documentation you are able to provide (photos, videos, etc). We look forward to sharing with the broader mycological world the great questions you ask and discoveries you make!

finishing the mycelium shell with pneumatic sander

REQUIREMENTS

● Interesting mycological question or mycology-based project that will be of broad interest
● Demonstrated passion for mushrooms and skill set that matches your project
● Project design and methodology that fits the question being asked or project being planned
● Willingness to provide open access to project methodology and results and consent for North Spore to share these across platforms with proper credit attributed to applicant

dish made of mycelium

Requirements

● Your project must take place in the continental USA

● Interesting mycological question or mycology-based project that will be of broad interest

● Demonstrated passion for mushrooms and skill set that matches your project

● Project design and methodology that fits the question being asked or project being planned

● Proper documentation outlining your process and results

● Willingness to provide open access to project methodology and results and consent for North Spore to share these across platforms with proper credit attributed to applicant

PLEASE NOTE: We can only assist in research on legal edible and medicinal species of mushrooms. All applications proposing research on psilocybin or psychoactive species will be rejected.

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