Office of Research and Innovation Invites Input into Activation of Refreshed Research Themes

In October, Chancellor Khosla provided an update to the UC San Diego community on the Strategic Plan Refresh for the next decade and announced the refreshed Research Themes that are the product of considerable community input.

We now need your input. The next step is to identify strategic areas and approaches in which UC San Diego is ideally suited to lead as we advance our work as it relates to these themes. We are eager to hear your ideas about how to activate our work. We invite you to use this short survey to help us identify priority focus areas that can advance our work around these themes. The survey will close December 1, 2024.

For each theme, the survey asks:

What are the most important research questions and/or focus areas for solutions for UC San Diego to explore related to this theme?
Who are experts (at UCSD or external partners) who can help us answer these questions?
What resources would be necessary to advance UC San Diego’s work in this area?

Convene and Influence Awards Move to Rolling Applications

The Convene and Influence Awards are a great way to launch campus conversations related to the themes … in any way you want to approach them. In an update to our new initiative designed to spark campus-wide engagement and research leadership, the Convene and Influence Awards are shifting to a rolling application process.

We are now accepting applications on an ongoing basis for small grants (typically up to $25,000, but awards of up to $50,000 are possible) to support grassroots convenings focused on advancing UC San Diego’s refreshed research themes. This approach allows us to continuously engage interdisciplinary teams in driving innovative solutions, knowledge exchange, and thought leadership across campus.

As we move forward with the Strategic Plan Refresh, these grants are intended to activate and invigorate our community by facilitating impactful events that produce dissemination products like white papers or policy briefs. Our goal is to identify up to 15 awardees by early 2025, with future opportunities available.

We look forward to supporting a diverse range of ideas that help elevate UC San Diego as a national thought leader in areas including human health, technology, climate, education, and more.

Applications will be reviewed monthly or bi-monthly, depending on the volume of submissions. You can submit your proposal now through the Request for Applications.

The refreshed research themes are:

Advancing fundamental knowledge. Lead the conceptual, theoretical and experimental research that provides the foundation for furthering scientific, societal and creative discovery.
Understanding cultures and addressing disparities in society.Improve our understanding of diverse cultures, perspectives and belief systems; examine how organizing structures, policies and practices contribute to historical and current inequalities; facilitate collaborative approaches and respectful engagement to tackle societal problems; and amplify the voices of marginalized populations.
Shaping and engaging with technology.Build the future of digital work, life and education; advance technological systems and materials to secure the power of computational solutions like artificial intelligence; translate computing progress to provide solutions to pressing social problems; and prevent negative consequences of new technologies while ensuring equitable access.
Conserving the planet and exploring the universe.Understand the evolving causes and impacts of climate change; develop solutions that improve environmental conditions to sustain our world and enhance environmental justice; and better understand the larger universe.
Studying human knowledge, learning and creativity.Investigate the human brain; study the impact of history, arts, culture and technology on how we think and act; and advance new models of education, knowledge and creativity.
Producing breakthroughs in human health. Improve human health; reduce health disparities; and advance affordable health systems that promote physical and mental health at the individual, interpersonal and community levels.

If you have questions about the survey, please email vcri-initiatives@ucsd.edu.

Corinne Peek-Asa
Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation

University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA, 92093