Research and Creative Work Grand Challenges

GC 02 FULL PROPOSALS DUE | March 17, 2023

The grand challenges research proposals are due by 5 PM, March 17th, 2023.

If you have further questions, please contact michael.jenson@ucdenver.edu.

New Process Schedules:

Research Symposium: ~~November 18, 2022~~ January 27, 2023
Letter of Intent (LOI) Due Date: January 27, 2023 February 13, 2023 at 5:00 PM
Full Proposal Due Date: March 17, 2023 at 5:00PM
Announcement of Awards and Negotiation of Terms: May 15, 2023
Anticipated Start Date: June 1, 2023

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 fall semester. The process will repeat as we seek to develop additional grand challenge initiatives.

Faculty will be invited to deliver 3-minute pitches attracting interdisciplinary team members around potential grand challenge initiatives.
Date: January 27th, 2023

Letters of intent will be used to connect budding teams with support to further develop their proposals. LOIs should include: proposed title; list of faculty leaders and participants, including their affiliation; and an abstract/synopsis (500-word limit), and Identify which level of funding that will be sought in the full proposal (Type 01 or Type 02)

Due Date: February 13th, 2023

Interdisciplinary teams will respond to a request for proposal outlining a vision and needs for seed funding and support.

Due Date: March 17th, 2023 at 5:00 PM

A representative committee reviews proposals and selects the first 2-3 grand challenges for CU Denver to pursue.

Date: May 15th, 2023

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.

Tools & Resources

Schools & Colleges

CU Denver

CU Anschutz Medical Campus

CU Campuses

Identifying Grand Challenges

GC 02 FULL PROPOSALS DUE | March 17, 2023

The grand challenges research proposals are due by 5 PM, March 17th, 2023.

If you have further questions, please contact michael.jenson@ucdenver.edu.

New Process Schedules:

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 fall semester. The process will repeat as we seek to develop additional grand challenge initiatives.

Faculty will be invited to deliver 3-minute pitches attracting interdisciplinary team members around potential grand challenge initiatives.
Date: January 27th, 2023

Due Date: February 13th, 2023

Interdisciplinary teams will respond to a request for proposal outlining a vision and needs for seed funding and support.

Due Date: March 17th, 2023 at 5:00 PM

A representative committee reviews proposals and selects the first 2-3 grand challenges for CU Denver to pursue.

Date: May 15th, 2023

Frequently Asked Questions

GC 02 FULL PROPOSALS DUE | March 17, 2023

The grand challenges research proposals are due by 5 PM, March 17th, 2023.

If you have further questions, please contact michael.jenson@ucdenver.edu.

New Process Schedules:

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 fall semester. The process will repeat as we seek to develop additional grand challenge initiatives.

Faculty will be invited to deliver 3-minute pitches attracting interdisciplinary team members around potential grand challenge initiatives. Date: January 27th, 2023

Due Date: February 13th, 2023

Interdisciplinary teams will respond to a request for proposal outlining a vision and needs for seed funding and support.

Due Date: March 17th, 2023 at 5:00 PM

A representative committee reviews proposals and selects the first 2-3 grand challenges for CU Denver to pursue.

Date: May 15th, 2023

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the goal of the research grand challenges process?

What was the outcome of last year’s process?

What kind of funding and/or support is available to teams who are selected?

How are teams selected for funding?

How do grand challenge initiatives fit into the larger research enterprise at CU Denver?

Does the selection of a grand challenge initiative mean that my research and creative work is no longer supported?

What are the benefits of identifying grand challenge initiatives?

Can I participate in the process if I received funding last year?

Who can attend a grand challenge symposium?

Who can present at a grand challenge symposium?

Where can I learn more?

Faculty will be invited to deliver 3-minute pitches attracting interdisciplinary team members around potential grand challenge initiatives.
Date: January 27th, 2023