Grand Challenges 2024

Grand Challenges 2024 proposals due March 22, 2024

Information on the Grand Challenges Grants Program (2024) may be found on the Research and Creativity SharePoint hub site.

The request for proposals (RFP) includes the purpose of the program, award information, eligibility information, research symposium and letter of intent, proposal preparation and submission instructions, review information, award conditions, expectations for grant funding period, schedule, and FAQ.

As with prior funding cycles of the Grand Challenges initiative, a research symposium will serve as a kick off and research networking event. The research symposium is scheduled for February 2, 2024 (9:00am - 1:00pm) in Student Commons Room 1600. The deadline to register for the symposium, either as a presenter or attendee, is Tue Jan. 30, 12:00pm.

The grand challenges research proposals are due by March 22, 2024 (5:00pm). If you have any questions, please contact ResearchServices@ucdenver.edu.

Schedule

Program Opens: Dec. 1, 2023

Research Symposium Registration Deadline: Jan. 30, 2024 (12:00pm)

Research Symposium: Feb. 2, 2024

Letter of Intent (LOI) Due: Feb. 16, 2024 (5:00 PM)

Application Deadline: Mar. 22, 2024 (5:00 PM)

Award Announcement: May 17, 2024

Anticipated Start Date: Jun. 3, 2024

Spending Deadline: Jun. 30, 2025

About the Process

Our process consists of four phases to encourage an organic development of research areas. Each phase engages our community to solicit and refine ideas, kicking off with a symposium in the spring semester. The process will continue as we seek to grow convergence research.

This year’s research symposium will be held on Feb. 2, 2024 (deadline to register is Tue Jan. 30, 12:00pm). The objective of the research symposium is the presentation of ideas from faculty and interdisciplinary teams to inspire robust dialogue between attendees about potential Grand Challenge and convergence research topics. Individuals or teams of faculty will share 15 minute presentations. After each presentation, attendees will have the opportunity to respond by asking questions and challenging ideas as a tool for further refinement.

Presentations should describe the convergence research that a faculty or research team seeks to pursue. Each presentation should explain the extent of coverage the research area already has through the team members’ work and highlight any gaps that will need to be covered through collaborations with researchers both at CU Denver and from other institutions. Additionally, presenters should convey external partnerships the group intends to pursue in support of their work and possible funding sources to sustain and grow the research. Lastly, presentations may include a timeline for moving research and team formation forward towards clearly defined and tangible outcomes.

Teams intending to submit a convergence research grant proposal should also submit a Letter of Intent (LOI) to ResearchServices@ucdenver.edu (Subject: Letter of Intent and Cc: Carie.Carroll@ucdenver.edu and Phillip.DeLeon@ucdenver.edu) by Feb. 16, 2024 (5:00 PM). Please include the following in the body of the email:

Proposed title (this can be changed prior to submitting full proposal)
Name of PI and faculty team members including College/School and Department affiliation (can change before proposal submission)
Which Type, I or II, of proposal will be submitted
Abstract (500-word limit) describing work to be carried out

The final proposals will be due on Mar. 22, 2024 (5:00 PM). Please use the Grand Challenges Grants Program online submission form. In addition to information collected on this form, applicants will attach a single PDF consisting of a narrative, budget, budget justification and team CVs. For more information on proposal preparation and submission instructions, please see the Grand Challenges Grants Program (2024) page on the Research and Creativity SharePoint hub site.

Proposals will be selected for funding through a review process undertaken by a diverse cross-disciplinary group of external and internal experts that will evaluate proposals on their intellectual merit, potential for successful implementation, the likelihood of having a broad impact, and their sustainability. Awards Announcement will be made by May 17, 2024.

For more information on awards, please see the Grand Challenges Grants Program (2024) page on the Research and Creativity SharePoint hub site.

Frequently Asked Questions

In order to meet the strategic plan Goal 3, to become internationally known for its research and creative work, the university must generate more research funding in strategic areas where it can become a leader. The Grand Challenges encourages a grass-roots approach to identifying strategic areas where CU Denver can stand out. Projects will be selected and provided seed funding and targeted research support to lay the foundation for building CU Denver’s reputation as a leader in these identified strategic areas.

The funded research projects from round one of the Grand Challenges will be announced at Future Fest on Oct. 13, 2022. These faculty will also provide Ted-talk like presentations called Lynx Lectures involving their projects during the festivities which will run from 1-3 p.m. at the Lola and Rob Salazar Student Wellness Center.

Teams will be provided various levels of seed funding as well as other types of research support from the Office of Research Services (ORS) during Round 2. Round 1 awardees are being funded for a total of just over $1 million in grant support. It is anticipated that a similar level of support will be made available to selected research teams participating in the second round of the Grand Challenges Process.

We will follow the same process we used in the fall semester of 2021. Two symposiums were held to help researchers prepare proposals for potential funding. The first symposium held in October aimed to have individual faculty members pitch their ideas while others in the room listened. Then faculty were encouraged to network and find interdisciplinary partners to elevate their best pitches for the second symposium in November. During that session teams pitched more refined ideas.

Please save the date for this year’s second symposium on Nov. 18. More details about that event are forthcoming. From then, teams will have until December to submit Letters of Intent and until March 2022 to submit formal proposals. The final proposals will be reviewed and rated by a group of experts drawn from a wide range of disciplines from across the state of Colorado. The reviewers will rate the proposals for their clarity of purpose, and potential impact. The reviewers also will provide constructive comments to all the proposal teams who submit. The winning teams for Round 2 will be announced at Future Fest 2023.

The Grand Challenges are a major part of a multi-year investment by the campus to reach CU Denver's Strategic Plan’s Goal 3, to be internationally known for its research and creative activities. Over the next several years the campus will focus its research investments around collaborative research activities that can solve complex, global problems in an effort to grow its research enterprise to reach a new level of national and international prominence. The Grand Challenges are a significant step toward achieving the goal.

Research and creative works that impact the community are at the core of our mission and valued at CU Denver. Funding opportunities continue for all faculty working in these areas. The Grand Challenge funding is aimed at supplementing our research efforts and strategically positioning the university to increase its prominence in key areas.

In the quest to raise CU Denver’s reputation as a premier urban research institution, the Grand Challenges will serve as a vehicle to identify research and creative work areas where the institution has a strong pool of expertise. Once identified, the campus will then provide support for this expertise with the goal of becoming known nationally and internationally for these specific areas of research, while continuing to provide ORS support to faculty working in all disciplines.

If you were the Principal investigator (PI) or Co-principal Investigator (Co-PI) of a team that was fully funded, then you are not eligible for Round 2. If your team received partial funding, then the team is encouraged to apply again during Round 2 with an updated proposal. Anyone not funded can also reapply with a revised submission or can propose a new project for consideration.

Office of Research Services

CU Denver

Lawrence Street Center

1380 Lawrence Street

Suite 300

Denver, CO 80204

researchservices@ucdenver.edu

303-315-5826

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Grand Challenges 2024