KU Big Ideas Incubator

The Big Ideas Incubator supports interdisciplinary makerspaces that serve as campus-community hubs for nonprofit innovation, civic research, community-engaged scholarship, and public-impact partnerships. The aim is to move ideas into action by aiding KU faculty, staff, students, and community partners in supporting sustainable solutions through the development of nonprofit or community-based structures.

Big Ideas Incubator promotes community-university collaboration to positively impact communities through collaboration with faculty, staff, and/or students from the University of Kansas working with partners to address an issue in the community. Through collaborative teams, the Big Ideas Incubator harnesses the strengths of community-academic collaboration, including with KU faculty, graduate students, and/or undergraduates, to address complex community challenges by bringing together co-learning through research, innovation, and partnerships to generate meaningful public impact.

• Pilot (seed) or scale (bridge) innovative community partnerships or initiatives into nonprofits or community-based entities through consultations and training.
• Provide technical assistance and consultation through KU entities with expertise working with non-profits and community organizations (e.g., CPPR, IPSR, CCHD).
• Launch interdisciplinary civic design studios supporting nonprofit, research, and public-sector innovation.
• Embed student internships and service-learning pathways into all incubators.
• Establish Big Ideas Seed and Bridge Micro-Awards (up to $2,500-$5,000) to convert proven ideas to sustainable action (Bridge Awards) or to pilot new innovations (Seed Awards) through funds for faculty, researchers, and graduate students supporting innovative community-engaged scholarship aligned with local needs and KU’s mission.