THE MISSION
The Love Consortium is a digitally-connected community of researchers engaged in the advanced scientific study of high-quality social connections. Love Consortium members aspire to facilitate such research through collaborative opportunities that emerge from archived data. The Love Consortium Advisory Board, with support from members, facilitates the two core aspects of the mission: fostering connections among researchers and advancing the science.
Values
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Scientific innovation, rigor, and integrity
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Inclusion and open-mindedness
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Future-orientation
On Inclusion
Strategies
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Supporting rigorous research
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Training the next generation
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Outreach to foster and support collaborations
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Growth: evaluating processes, identifying lessons and opportunities, improving processes
We are committed to understanding human connection across all contexts and from the perspective of all identities. We aspire to facilitate collaborations among researchers from diverse backgrounds as well as advance the science of social relationships across race, ethnicity, gender, age, socio-economic status, religion, sexual orientation, identity, and experience. The Love Consortium is for everyone.
THE PEOPLE
BOARD OF ADVISORS
Sara Algoe, Ph.D., Director
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
Kristina Coop Gordon, Ph.D.
University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
Johan Karremans, Ph.D.
Radboud University
Nijmegen, Netherlands
Ayana Younge, Ph.D.
University of Virginia
Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
Belinda Campos, Ph.D.
University of California, Irvine
Irvine, California, USA
Julianne Holt-Lunstad, Ph.D.
Brigham Young University
Provo, Utah, USA
Jessica Stern, Ph.D.
Pomona College
Claremont, California, USA
Amie Gordon, Ph.D.
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
Emily Impett, Ph.D.
University of Toronto, Mississauga
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Amrisha Vaish, Ph.D.
University of Virginia
Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
FUNDING
TLC TIMELINE
The early seeds for The Love Consortium were planted around 2014. The Replicability Movement was putting the squeeze on junior investigators in relationship research, who required bigger sample sizes and more samples, yet had few resources to collect these expensive and time-consuming data; meanwhile, senior investigators had “extra” data on hand from prior studies and an interest in using it but no way to share that information. And more and more evidence was coming to light about the value of finding and maintaining high-quality, caring relationships (e.g., Holt-Lunstad, Smith, and Layton, 2010).
The Love Consortium capitalizes on technology to present a win-win-win solution for scholars interested in joining research in this area, for Principal Investigators, and for the field.
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2016: A survey of relationship researchers confirms an overwhelming interest in a centralized data sharing and collaboration platform
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2018:​
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TLC secures foundational funding to create The Love Consortium Dataverse (TLCDv) and build the TLC network
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TLC forms the Board of Directors and begins developing the mission, values, and planned activities of The Love Consortium
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2019:​​
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TLC hosts The Love Consortium Inaugural Meeting and holds the first in-person meeting of the Advisory Board in Chapel Hill, NC, USA
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TLC hosts 2 in-person events at the International Association for Relationship Research (IARR) Conference in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada:
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​3-Day Trainee Workshop on the Science of Love
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Pre-Conference Workshop
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2020:​​
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TLC hires our first staff member!
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TLC awards grants to the first cohort of 10 graduate student Love Fellows (2020-2021) to conduct research projects using data described on The Love Consortium Dataverse
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TLC hosts 3 virtual events:
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​TLC Community Event
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What Is Love?
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Harnessing Gratitude for Good
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2021:​​
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TLC awards grants to the second cohort of 10 graduate student Love Fellows (2021-2022) to conduct research projects using data described on The Love Consortium Dataverse
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TLC secures grant funding to launch interdisciplinary conversations around the measurement of love
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TLC hosts 3 virtual events:
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​Open Questions in Compassion Research
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Inaugural TLC Love Conference
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Cultural Considerations in the Science of Love
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2022:​​
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TLC secures grant funding to build a global gratitude dataverse and network
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TLC hosts the first in-person TLC Love Conference in Durham, NC, USA
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TLC awards travel funding to 7 junior scholars from underrepresented backgrounds with an interest in the science of love and social connection to attend the TLC Love Conference
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TLC hosts a virtual event: Love and Sex Virtual Symposium
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2023:​​
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TLC hosts the TLCDv Postathon at the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP) Annual Convention in Atlanta, GA, USA
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TLC awards travel funding to 10 junior scholars from underrepresented backgrounds with an interest in the science of love and social connection to attend the SPSP Annual Convention
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TLC officially launches the Global Gratitude Dataverse (GGDv)
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TLC hosts 2 GGDv networking events for global scholars at the International Convention of Psychological Science (ICPS) in Brussels, Belgium and the General Meeting of the European Association of Social Psychology (EASP) in Krakow, Poland
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TLC hosts a virtual event: Global Gratitude Summit
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2024:
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TLC awards grants to 3 early career researcher and 9 graduate student Gratitude Fellows (2024-2025) to conduct research projects using data described on the Global Gratitude Dataverse
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TLC hosts the second in-person TLC Love Conference in Chapel Hill, NC, USA
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TLC hosts a TLCDv/GGDv networking event for global scholars at the International Association for Relationship Research (IARR) Conference in Boston, MA, USA
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