The University of Oklahoma is at the forefront of addressing global challenges and is launching the 2nd OU Big Idea Challenge. BIC 2.0 is intended to incentivize the formation of transdisciplinary, convergent research teams focused on global grand challenges and will provide seed funding to incubate ideas with the potential for future extramural support and significant societal impact.
As a flagship public institution keenly focused on societal impact through research and creative activity, the University of Oklahoma is uniquely positioned to bring a diverse set of academic disciplines together to foster innovative, comprehensive solutions to global challenges. Pillar 5 of the Lead On, University Strategic Plan defines four strategic verticals that focus on grand challenges in:
In addition, OU’s research framework recognizes the importance of various academic areas of research and creative activity that serve as foundational elements of our research strategy. In our vision for research and creative activity, researchers move beyond and across traditional academic boundaries, collaborating across disciplines and globally with other universities, policymakers, economists, humanists, artists and designers, and business leaders to create solutions for a better world. Our goal is to transcend academic disciplines and bring all of OU’s institutional strengths together to tackle global challenges and accelerate the delivery of practical solutions that impact society in direct and tangible ways.
To address global grand challenges and positively impact society at the global, national, and regional scales, innovative approaches and new methodologies that converge the perspectives from science, engineering, business, social sciences, arts, design, and the humanities are needed. Transdisciplinarity occurs when two or more discipline perspectives combine to transcend traditional boundaries and form a new holistic approach. The outcome will be completely different from what one would expect from the addition of the parts. Transdisciplinary research is defined as research efforts conducted by investigators from different disciplines working jointly to create new conceptual, theoretical, methodological, and translational innovations that integrate and move beyond discipline-specific approaches to address a common problem.
The BIC 2.0 program builds on the tremendous success of our recently concluded first Big Idea Challenge initiative[JCE1] , launched in 2021 and provided resources to transdisciplinary teams of OU faculty, students, postdocs and research staff pursuing bold projects that go well beyond traditional inter- and multidisciplinary efforts. BIC 2.0 is intended to disrupt our current research frameworks and approaches, which are often siloed and too dependent upon department- and college-centric thinking. These projects will position OU as a leader in generating new insights and game-changing contributions to solving regional, national and global challenges in security, sustainability, health and communities.
The transdisciplinary teams supported by BIC 2.0 will pursue system-level projects that integrate social, political, ethical, legal, humanistic, design and creative arts considerations with advanced science and engineering ideas to generate new holistic impacts and outcomes. Integrating science, engineering and design and creative arts thinking with the deepest analysis of societal impacts and risks while keeping the "big picture" in mind will ensure that the great idea your team will bring to life will be truly transformative. We welcome proposals for projects that advance social justice goals in research and public impact.
The BIC 2.0 program will fund three to four teams. Project periods will last up to two years (depending on the scope of the proposal). BIC 2.0 is not intended to provide all the resources required to create the ultimate solution to a global challenge, nor to fund a center or an institute. Rather, the purpose of the program is to help nucleate teams and ideas that will create opportunities for new and significant external funding—both public and private. The creation of these opportunities will position OU as a national and global leader in the selected areas and thus grow the scope, scale and impact on society of OU’s research and creative activity. At the same time, it will chart new pathways to discoveries, innovations, and social and policy solutions, while training the next generation of future transdisciplinary talent.
The themes for the BIC 2.0 program align with OU’s Lead On, University Strategic Plan, and with the OU research strategic framework[JCE1] . In addressing these themes, successful proposals will be cross-cutting and multi-faceted, involving integrated equal contributions to the overall project from faculty in the arts, humanities, professional programs, and STEM disciplines, as appropriate.
Listed below are five BIC 2.0 thematic focus areas where teams of OU researchers could address global grand challenges. Proposals that cut across these topics (within or even preferably across themes) and bring multiple areas together to pursue a big idea are highly encouraged and will be given priority.
Climate Change is accelerating, and its impacts are being felt increasingly around the world. The scientific consensus expressed via the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 2023 6th assessment [JCE1] report states with “High Confidence” that “Human-induced climate change, including more frequent and intense extreme events, has caused widespread adverse impacts and related losses and damages to nature and people, beyond climate variability”; “Widespread, pervasive impacts to ecosystems, people, settlements, and infrastructure have resulted from observed increases in the frequency and intensity of climate and weather extremes, including hot extremes on land and in the ocean, heavy precipitation events, drought and fire weather.” These impacts include severe threats to human health and security as well as growing geopolitical instability, particularly in non-resilient, highly vulnerable geographies around the world. A noted climate policy expert argues further that engaging "the social sciences are central for understanding how people and societies comprehend and respond to environmental changes." We wish to explore and support areas of investigation such as:
Some representative example themes of interest include, but are not limited to topics such as:
It is understood that these topics often overlap and do not exist as isolated silos, and as such should only be interpreted as examples and a guide. For example, emerging diseases related to climate change, global security, and the future of health can greatly affect the dynamics of communities. As another example, MIT’s center for arts, science, and technology (CAST) brings together faculty from multiple disciplines and connects the worlds of art, science, and technology to thrive as interrelated, mutually informing modes of exploration, knowledge, and discovery. Additionally, exponential advances in digital technologies are, today more than ever, impacting the ways in which we live, learn, and work in ways that are not fully understood; the ethical, legal, and societal implications of this digital transformation are complex and in need of deep scholarly thought and innovative approaches and solutions. Other examples of successful projects along these lines can found at Purdue Discovery Park Big Idea Challenge.
Faculty are encouraged to be broad in their approach and to create transdisciplinary teams that truly cut across these boundaries and tackle grand challenges holistically.
Written proposals shall not exceed three pages (single spaced, 12-point font, Times Roman) and will be evaluated to select projects for an oral presentation. The written proposal should include:
A detailed budget request aligned with the milestones should also be included but will not count toward the three-page limit. It is expected that a typical project will have a budget of up to $75,000 per year for up to two years. However, final budget determinations will be made after selection based on final scope and schedule. Budget resources will be provided by the OU Office of the Vice President for Research and Partnerships.
Cost share that reduces the overall cost to the VPRP office of a project (and therefore allows for more projects to be funded) from colleges or elsewhere is not required but is highly encouraged and valued.
Continued budget allocation to a winning project will be contingent on satisfactory progress in meeting the bi-annual milestones. Projects that do not show sufficient progress against their milestones will be terminated prior to the two-year nominal performance term. No cost extensions beyond two years will be allowed.
Proposals should be submitted to Ann West (awest@ou.edu) who is the Point of Contact for the BIC program in the OVPRP. West can facilitate pre- or post-award consultation of applicants with Lewis-Burke Associates or OU's Office of University Advancement and will coordinate with the Center for Faculty Excellence as appropriate.
2021 awards window is closed
Proposals are evaluated by a team of selected OU academic leaders and external advisors representing the broad interests and capabilities of the campus. Care will be exercised to ensure intellectual diversity, in the evaluation team and that there is no conflict of interest in the proposal evaluation process. The proposals will be scored based on the following weighed criteria:
Teams whose written proposals are selected for oral presentation will be invited to pitch their Big Idea in an oral presentation to the evaluation committee. The teams will compete in a public process akin to an entrepreneur’s pitch to venture capitalists. Presentations will be strictly limited to 8 minutes, with an additional 7 minutes for questions, and are expected to address all elements of the project succinctly but clearly, as well as describe the project team leadership qualifications, milestones, and the budget. Details on presentation framework will be shared with the selected teams.
