Solution Areas and research funding
A message from school leadership announcing solutions-oriented and scale-focused research funding opportunities to address pressing sustainability challenges.
Dear Colleagues,
We are writing to announce the launch by the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability (SDSS) of a broad suite of solutions-oriented and scale-focused research funding opportunities to address pressing sustainability challenges where Stanford has the expertise to make a meaningful impact in the world. This is complementary to the Discovery grants in SDSS that focus on knowledge-driven research.
Solution Areas
Based on faculty input over several workshops and discussions, SDSS has identified eight Solution Areas in sustainability, which are listed below. Over the course of the next year, we will be announcing all-campus, faculty-led strategy workshops followed by requests for proposals (RFPs) in these Solution Areas:
Integrative Projects & Flagship Destinations
Two types of research initiatives will be launched for each Solution Area.
Integrative Projects will be managed by the Institutes (Woods, Precourt, and Sustainable Societies [under planning]), which will identify, nurture, and fund solutions-oriented, partner-engaged, interdisciplinary research to address significant knowledge gaps necessary to create impactful sustainability solutions. The Institutes will launch new funding mechanisms targeting decadal thrusts to develop a strong portfolio of integrative projects in each of the solution areas.
The Sustainability Accelerator, launched in 2022, was created to fill a gap at Stanford to help our faculty, postdocs, and students launch scalable solutions. It achieves this in two ways:
Help identify Flagship Destinations, which are quantitative stretch goals for scale and speed in solution areas. Working backward from these targets, in consultation with faculty and external domain experts, the Accelerator will determine key gaps in technology and policy with scale and speed in mind, which if addressed through research and partner engagement, will help accelerate the development and de-risking of solutions to demonstrate the proof of scalability needed to launch innovative solutions out of Stanford.
In some cases, there will be innovative solutions that have demonstrated proof-of-concept and require additional resources, mentoring, and stewardship to have a successful launch for scalability out of Stanford. These projects could emerge from extramural funding (e.g., federal or state government, philanthropy, etc.) or from internal funding via the Institutes (e.g., Integrative Projects and other mechanisms) and need not be associated with Flagship Destinations.
For both Integrative Projects and Flagship Destinations, strategy workshops with faculty help identify key gaps and research opportunities, shape a strategic vision, and inform RFPs. Workshops and RFPs are open to all faculty at Stanford. Funding decisions will be made via a competition of ideas in response to the RFPs and a thorough review process conducted by the Institutes and the Accelerator involving internal and external domain experts.
Coordinated Process
There is significant potential for synergy between research funded and managed by the Institutes and the Accelerator. Therefore, the Institutes and the Accelerator will develop a well-coordinated stewardship process to work with our faculty and ensure that their innovative ideas for solutions receive the necessary support at various stages of development. For example, based on their interests and understanding of the stage of their ideas, individual or small teams of faculty can participate in strategic planning and the development of a targeted group of Integrative Projects, respond to RFPs for Flagship Destinations, or both. The SDSS Dean’s office will ensure effective coordination and strategy to make the whole (Institutes+Accelerator) bigger than the sum of our parts for maximum impact. It will also provide seed funding and conduct necessary fundraising to catalyze research in these Solution Areas and help launch scalable solutions out of Stanford.
What’s Next
This week you will see an announcement outlining the Flagship Destinations and the release of two Sustainability Accelerator RFPs. Be on the lookout for information later this week on the Accelerator website. Also stay tuned for the schedule of workshops and RFPs for integrative projects early in the fall term.
Thank you for your partnership as we look to create a world where humans and nature can thrive in concert and in perpetuity with one another.
In partnership,
Will Chueh, Director, Precourt Institute for Energy
Yi Cui, Faculty Director of the Sustainability Accelerator
Jenna Davis, Associate Dean
Scott Fendorf, Senior Associate Dean
Chris Field, Director, Woods Institute for the Environment
Arun Majumdar, Dean
Charlotte Pera, Executive Director of the Sustainability Accelerator
Explore More
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With abundant data on plants, large animals and their activity, and carbon soil levels in the Amazon, Stanford research suggests that large animal diversity influences carbon stocks and contributes to climate change mitigation.
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The energy resources engineering professor is collaborating with the Geosciences Department at the University of Montpellier to study how newly developed subsurface temperature experiments can improve our ability to identify major fractures and estimate their properties.
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A survey of more than 350 firms finds that resilience is an important byproduct of sustainability. (Source: Insights by Stanford Business)
