Funding opportunity

Researchers are invited to submit proposals for investigator-led research to enhance military training through immersive technologies. These should specifically focus on the development and evaluation of virtual scenarios for personnel confronting moral-ethical dilemmas in military operations, aiming to improve readiness and moral resilience.

Anticipated timeline and budget

Background

It is crucial for Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) military personnel to effectively manage distress, particularly in situations involving moral challenges and conflicts among values and beliefs, as these can lead to moral injury and negatively impact mental health and mission effectiveness. While programs like the Road to Mental Readiness (R2MR) assist with general distress, there is a specific need to prepare soldiers for the unique ethical dilemmas encountered in operational settings. Traditional paper-and-pencil scenarios, focused on training personnel on the different stages of moral-ethical decision-making (MEDM), are being supplemented by advanced technologies like virtual reality (VR), but fundamental questions remain about creating effective, resonant scenarios that maximize instructional value, especially for deploying personnel facing diverse stressors and unique situations.

Systematic evaluation on how to best leverage and implement these new technologies is essential to ensure training objectives are met. Our previous Funding Opportunity titled "Environmental Scan and Evaluation of Key Attributes of Training Scenarios Involving Moral-Ethical Dilemmas for Military Personnel" has provided critical insights into creating effective moral-ethical decision-making training, identifying key attributes and experimental approaches to refine scenario elements. This foundational work is crucial for developing future interactive and adaptive digitally simulated environments (DSE).

VR-based training should be optimized to help military personnel prepare for moral-ethical decision-making in complex, high-pressure operational environments. Researchers are invited to investigate which scenario elements most influence training effectiveness, and how VR delivery methods impact learning outcomes. Findings are expected to contribute to public knowledge and support broader mental health and military training policy.

Research objectives

This funding opportunity is seeking submissions to conduct and report on two sets of experiments on military personnel (or analogous populations) to systematically evaluate the relative importance and training value of the dimensions/factors identified in the previous environmental scan of the academic literature, public documents, emerging trends, best practices, and challenges in moral-ethical dilemma scenarios.

Milestones/Phases of progress/Desired outputs

The proposed research plan is described in two phases below:

Phase 1: Prioritizing Key Attributes of Virtual Scenarios

• Identify and experimentally evaluate dimensions (i.e., attributes) such as urgency, leadership interaction, moral complexity, and participant demographics.
• Use methods such as conjoint analysis (or equivalent) to understand how different attributes influence perceived relevance and instructional value.
• Produce findings that guide the development of future DSEs.

Phase 2: Evaluating VR Scenario Training Impact

• Develop and test selected scenarios using immersive VR platforms.
• Assess training impact (e.g., decision quality, confidence, stress tolerance).
• Generate recommendations for integrating VR-based MEDM scenarios into military training programs.

Desired outputs

• Produce peer-reviewed publication and open-access reports.
• Methodological frameworks and design recommendations for future VR training tools.
• Integration strategies for operational military contexts.
• Gender-based analysis and end-user perspective considerations.

Applicant Qualifications and Requirements for Selection:

• Proposals must be led by a senior investigator with a PhD in psychology or neuroscience or, specifically in mental health studies.
• Previous experience and extensive knowledge of CAF training for moral ethical dilemmas and the impact of moral injury are required.
• Experience conducting and publishing systematic literature reviews and/or research reports on mental health, moral injury, and military training.
• At least one publication utilizing conjoint analysis methodology.
• At least one of the following: publications, research grants, awards, or projects, as a proven record of conducting research in the CAF in military ethics in operational settings and in mental health.
• Access to a variety of online databases.
• Strong expertise in experimental design, as demonstrated by peer-reviewed publications.

Selection Criteria:

• Scientific merits and innovation.
• Relevance to the challenge and public interest.
• Research feasibility and soundness of methodology.
• Qualifications and diversity of research team.
• Knowledge translation and dissemination plan.

Application deadline

Please download and submit the Research Funding Application form.

Enquiries

Questions about this funding opportunity can be sent to the VAC Research office.