If you’ve been reading recent RFPs and thinking, “Whoa. These feel different,” you’re not imagining it. And you’re not alone.
One of the things we do in the Global Futures Office of Research Development and Strategy is to track patterns and opportunities in the funding landscape. What we’re seeing lately is RFPs and RFIs that look more like those typically aimed at industry, rather than the kinds of calls we’ve traditionally pursued. There is a clear shift in how proposals will be evaluated.
Importantly, this shift is not about lowering your standards or changing the goals of your research. Instead, it reflects something we at ASU have known for a long time – that many of today’s most complex challenges require:
- Collaboration across disciplines
- Co-development with practitioners, communities, or other sectors
- Clear communication about the impact of our work
Scholars, including our own Stephanie Pfirman, have been pointing to this need for years, and this week the Harvard Business Review likewise argued that breakthrough solutions can’t flourish without bridgers who excel at collaborating across boundaries.
Watch: Bridging the Valley of Wasted Knowledge
This video by Stephanie Pfirman, Patricia J. Culligan and Elena G. Irwin highlights the critical issues addressed in the commentary linked above. The authors hope that this approach will be helpful in developing and fostering connections among academia, stakeholders and communities to co-produce innovative approaches to local and global problems.
The question isn’t whether academic research still matters – it does. The question is how to position it effectively in today’s funding environment. One thing is as true today as it ever was: Good ideas struggle to gain traction if they aren’t aligned with the sponsor’s priorities.
GFORDS is your partner in this work
Our office exists to help faculty make informed, strategic decisions about where and how to compete—by clarifying sponsor priorities, strengthening alignment, and positioning research for success in a changing funding environment.
We can help with:
- Sponsor fit analysis and funding strategy conversations
- Reframing impact and outcomes while preserving rigor
- Partner identification and engagement
- Early team and concept development
- Positioning work for both near-term and future opportunities
You don’t need a fully formed proposal to start a conversation. In fact, we are at our most effective when we have the opportunity to connect long before a funding opportunity opens.
The funding landscape is evolving. That can be challenging—but it’s also navigable. Our team is here to help.