Faculty planning to submit a proposal to the Grand Challenge Initiative must submit a Letter of Intent (LOI) by December 4, 2026. Please send the LOI to gci@gmu.edu and the Dean’s Office at aardis@gmu.edu, and copy jmcgwin@gmu.edu.
The LOI is intended to ensure that each College/School is aware of proposals under consideration for submission. Please note that teams that do not submit an LOI will not be eligible to submit a full proposal. The LOI should include the following information: project title; team contact lead/contact PI; team members; participating academic units; type of funding requested (large or small); and the Grand Challenge Solution(s) addressed.
If you are planning to apply, please contact Rashmi Pershad at rpershad@gmu.edu so budget discussions can start early, and cost-share expectations can be identified before winter break. This will allow adequate time for CHSS and other colleges to review the cost-share commitment requests and identify if they can support them.
