Examples
Worked examples
- Is an instance
A new lecturer spends six months in the idea phase: reviewing literature, identifying collaborators, and exploring three potential funding routes.
- Is an instance
A research-development team meets with a PI to refine an early-stage idea and recommend the most fitting call.
Counter-examples
Looks similar, but isn't
- Not an instance
Submitted proposal preparation is in the proposal phase.
- Not an instance
Active project execution is not the idea phase.
Editorial commentary
The idea phase is informal and exploratory. Activities include literature review, brainstorming with collaborators, attending relevant conferences, seeking early advice from a research-development office, and informal sponsor-engagement conversations (e.g., NIH programme officer outreach, ERC information days). The phase may last weeks to years before a decision to commit to a specific funding call. Ideas may be parked or evolve significantly before reaching proposal stage.
References
- Research development office best practices; NCURA proposal development training.
Also known as
Concept phase · Idea stage · Pre-proposal phase · Concept development
Machine-readable encodings
Use in your systems
<role vocab="credit"
vocab-identifier="https://casrai.org/dictionary/"
vocab-term="Idea phase"
vocab-term-identifier="https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/idea-phase" />{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "DefinedTerm",
"name": "Idea phase",
"identifier": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/idea-phase",
"description": "The earliest phase of the research project lifecycle, in which a researcher identifies a question, surveys the literature, drafts a research concept, and explores potential funders and collaborators before committing to proposal preparation.",
"inDefinedTermSet": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/domain/research-lifecycle-stages-and-project-metadata/",
"url": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/idea-phase",
"sameAs": [
"Concept phase",
"Idea stage",
"Pre-proposal phase",
"Concept development"
],
"license": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"
}
