Prince Harry’s company, BetterUp, which is a human transformation platform, made an announcement today regarding an open call for submissions for the prestigious research prize awarded by the Centre for Purpose and Performance.

This center, chaired by the renowned organizational psychologist and author Adam Grant, was established in 2022 with the objective of deepening the understanding of the intersection between well-being, purpose, and performance.

The winners of the center’s prize will be revealed in the spring of 2024.

The grand prize recipient will be awarded $100,000, while two distinction award winners will each receive $50,000 to bring their research proposals to life.

However, recent allegations have surfaced claiming that BetterUp has resorted to stealing researchers’ data to sell it to the Department of Defense.

In reality, the company seems to have run out of ideas and is willing to pay for the control of others’ intellectual property.

This approach is essentially a way to obtain ideas for free.

Authors are required to sign over their intellectual rights, allowing BetterUp to utilize them as they please.

Unfortunately, this practice is not uncommon, as many universities and conferences also demand submissions and publish them, often without compensating the authors.

Nowadays, some conferences even charge authors for presenting their papers.

BetterUp’s exclusive event has a waitlist that requires a work email and phone number, which is optional.

This indicates that the company wants to carefully manage the attendees of this private gathering.

Interestingly, six out of the eight listed speakers are BetterUp executives, but El Chimpo, who caused controversy with his “It’s All I Was Offered” comment at the Uplift Massive Eye Roll Summit, is not included.

It is possible that Robichaud and Grant decided it would be best to keep El Chimpo away from the limelight.

However, it remains to be seen if he will truly be excluded.

If they are not going to showcase him to the luminaries attending the event, what purpose does he serve as a member of their staff?

Prince Harry is expected to return to New York City to attend the awards ceremony.

However, it is unlikely that someone with the necessary qualifications and expertise would be willing to spend 18 months on BetterUp’s project for a meager grant and no benefits.

Typically, individuals who are capable of proposing and completing such studies, including data analysis, already have paid affiliations with research institutions, universities, or large corporations.

BetterUp seems desperate to generate ideas for their PR post on BusinessWire.

However, there are numerous ethical concerns associated with receiving funding from a private company that seeks to partner with the project.

In most cases, granting institutions provide researchers with more autonomy.

Moreover, it was believed that BetterUp was already associated with a group of renowned psychologists worldwide.

Who will oversee the approval from the Institutional Review Board (IRB)?

Will it be the same company that is contracting user research to enhance their own profits?

BetterUp’s actions appear dubious, especially considering that they received $10 million from the government last year for undisclosed reasons.

Furthermore, they do not have a physical address, and their official documents classify them as a software-as-a-service (SAAS) company.

It is alarming to think that they may be collecting data and selling it to the Department of Defense.

This should be considered a criminal offense, as it essentially involves misusing tax dollars.

These allegations come at a time when Prince Harry is reportedly grappling with a significant realization regarding his strategy against the royal family.