Big Ideas are transformative and transdisciplinary solutions to society’s grand challenges. Faculty-led research teams comprised of colleagues and community members submit bold, interdisciplinary ideas that require university-wide collaboration. Big Ideas include areas where SDSU is emerging as a leader, distinguish SDSU and the San Diego region and link to the emerging Strategic Plan.
The Big Ideas initiative is faculty-focused and driven, harnessing the ambitions of SDSU researchers and scholars as they imagine, identify and initiate solutions with a focus on addressing our greatest societal problems. Out of this initiative, we may see new solutions related to global education, environmental sustainability, arts and culture, human health, food security and the preservation of natural resources such as water, and more. The Big Ideas Initiative formalizes a partnership across Academic Affairs, Graduate and Research Affairs, and University Relations and Development to evolve efforts seeking private support for faculty scholarship and research on a grand scale. Big Ideas Initiatives have been launched by a number of universities, including Purdue, Rutgers, Texas State, UC Davis, UC Irvine, and the University of Nebraska. These initiatives provide a structure for the university community to engage collectively in developing visionary ideas that draw upon distinct strengths and capabilities.
Big Ideas presents a new approach to supporting faculty researchers and scholars as our university sees significant growth in its research enterprise and philanthropy. Our faculty secured $148.5 million in grant funding in 2018-19, the second-highest amount in university history. Coupled with this important growth are increases in philanthropy. SDSU drew nearly $116 million in gifts that same year, a significant increase over the prior year. And this fall's Day of Giving resulted in a record $304,000 in donations in one day alone.
Big Ideas is closely aligned with SDSU’s strategic planning initiative, which includes a draft priority focused on the promotion of faculty research. The planning initiative will invigorate transformative solutions to improve the success of our students, faculty and staff, and our regional and global impact. Additional information, including descriptions of the five proposed strategic priorities, is available on the Reimagining the Future: A Strategic Plan for SDSU site. Accordingly, Big Ideas proposals are encouraged to be multidisciplinary, multi-organizational and/or multi-campus. Ideas should be transformative, and endeavor to change our understanding of an important concept or practice, address a major challenge, or create a new paradigm or area of inquiry.
Big Ideas Initiatives
Leverage faculty expertise widely to positively impact society’s grand challenges
Positions SDSU to be a world-renowned university
Transformational funding from private sources
Distinguish SDSU and San Diego region as a hub for addressing local and global societal problems
Large multi-disciplinary and diverse teams
Traditional Research Initiatives
Positions individual faculty for extramural funding
Enable pillars of research excellence across the campus
Well defined extramural funding opportunity
Distinguish SDSU and San Diego region as a hub for addressing local and global societal problems
Selected partners and collaborators
The university will provide all teams selected for the first round with support to prepare a poster and a short promotional video for the project. A Big Ideas virtual video showcase is planned for March 2021. Final round submissions will be due in Summer 2021 for the selection of the three to five Big Ideas that best distinguish SDSU and provide the greatest potential for impact. Support for the final Big Ideas teams will be available and can include grant-writing, travel, course buyout, research assistantships, training, marketing and communication. First round teams not selected will continue to receive support to pursue funding opportunities outside of the Big Ideas structure. The university will also foster opportunities to create direct connections between faculty teams and potential funders such as private foundations, philanthropists and government agencies.
Funding for Big Ideas will enable impactful scholarship for which SDSU will become a national exemplar. The Big Ideas initiative provides unique opportunities to weave multidisciplinary, multi-campus and multi-organizational teams together to address problems of great interest to private funders, both foundations and individuals. In 2017, private sources gave $410 billion for programs in education, health and human services, arts, culture, humanities, international affairs and other areas. The majority of the funded efforts reflect broad, interdisciplinary expertise and community engagement that requires institutional commitment for their cultivation. SDSU is well positioned to pursue large investments from private sources, but has limited institutional experience. Thus, SDSU must identify and coalesce areas of global and societal impact to compete for these resources and leverage strategic investments. The Big Ideas Initiative is envisioned to accomplish this purpose, and secure funding to overcome obstacles to impactful scholarship and realize our institutional potential. Finally, Big Ideas will inform our current Strategic Plan, enabling synergy between setting institutional priorities and integrating transformative scholarship.
Big Ideas begin with faculty-led teams who submit proposals that are evaluated for their potential to attract private funding. Teams selected in the first round will be provided support for developing promotional materials and encouraged to engage donors and other stakeholders to evolve their idea. Please refer to the Process and Timeline for more details.
Yes! As Big Ideas themes emerge and teams are formed, workshops and forums will be convened to explore different dimensions and expand the teams across the campuses, including the Imperial Valley campus. These events will be listed on the Big Ideas website.
Yes! As Big Ideas themes emerge and teams are formed, workshops and forums will be convened to explore different dimensions and expand the teams across the campuses, including the Imperial Valley campus. These events will be listed on the Big Ideas website.
There is no financial cost, we want your brain power!
The university will continue to support and grow all research initiatives, traditional and non-traditional. The Big Ideas Initiative complements these traditional efforts by providing a larger umbrella and a focus on private funding.
The President’s office will assist with scheduling, finding a room, and providing light refreshments for any group that wishes to hold a workshop. Please contact Karen May-Newman at [email protected].
No, the workshops were the first effort to bring together small groups of interested individuals that wanted to begin conversations around possible Big Ideas themes. The topics were selected to align with the strategic plan, but are only potential themes at this stage. There is no limit on the type of idea that can be submitted, and if a workshop would help to gather support then more workshops will be held.
This effort is a partnership among Academic Affairs, Graduate and Research Affairs, and University Relations and Development (URAD). Faculty will provide the ideas and URAD will develop them.
Transformative research involves ideas, discoveries or tools that radically change our understanding of an important existing concept or practice and leads to the creation of a new paradigm or field of study. Such research typically involves multidisciplinary teams collaborating to improve the lives of humankind.
