Big Ideas is not, in itself, a funding opportunity, because there is no dedicated funding aligned to this activity. Instead, the aim is to develop a bank of ideas to draw from that will help:
- drive forward existing priorities
- shape our future priorities and the wider research landscape
If the idea you submit is prioritised, colleagues from EPSRC, and potentially other parts of UKRI, will be on hand to offer advice and input to help you develop it further. It is an opportunity to work with us to bring major science opportunities to the attention of EPSRC, disrupt the research landscape and inform our future plans.
Professor Iain Todd, Director of the MAPP EPSRC Future Manufacturing Hub at the University of Sheffield, submitted the ‘Internet of Materials’ Big Idea to the initiative. He said:
For me, leading the development of this idea was not about the funding; it was simply that if the materials community did not become better-connected and more coherent, we risked being left behind.
Read more about Iain’s involvement with Big Ideas, and how this idea has not only influenced the direction of his own work, but has also helped inform EPSRC’s thinking about advanced materials.
As well as submitting ideas to us, you can also find out more about the existing ideas in our Ideas Bank, and get involved with those undergoing active development.
Find out more about EPSRC’s Ideas Bank and ideas that are being developed.