Launch Grand Challenge Initiatives to Attract Large-Scale Research Investments

In response to stagnating federal funding growth, universities have been diversifying support for research by pursuing funding from donors, foundations, and corporations who are interested in funding large-scale initiatives focused on solving problems with clear societal benefits. For this reason, many universities have built out (and self-funded) grand challenges, which focus on a big problem with a clear and compelling goal, in the hope that strong teams will eventually attract the levels of external funding necessary to keep these projects going.