2023 FAQs

BIG Idea program staff will respond to questions presented by eligible students and faculty from accredited colleges and universities in the United States. Questions may be emailed to bigidea@nianet.org.


A Q&A Session was held for the 2023 BIG Idea Challenge on October 20th, 2022. Click on the buttons below to review files from the 2023 BIG Idea Q&A Session.
(Slides do not include questions asked on call. For questions asked on call, listen to the Q&A Session Recording, and advance to time stamp at approximately 1:16 to the slide "Additional Questions?".)

2023 BIG Idea Q&A Session Recording:


Review frequently asked questions below:

Does the faculty advisor count towards the 25-person team limit for attending the forum?

No, faculty advisor does not count toward the team limit.

May a single faculty member advise multiple teams?

Yes, a single faculty member may advise multiple teams, though advise from diverse faculty may be beneficial to students.

Can a Civil Servant serve as a team advisor?

Civil Servants are not permitted. The team's primary advisor must be from a space grant affiliated school (the lead institution). Any additional advisors can be from academia or industry.

Who judges the competition?

The BIG Idea Challenge is judged by a subset of the Steering Committee, comprised of NASA and industry experts who will evaluate and score the competition between participating teams. You can view this year's challenge judges here.

Does my NOI concept description need to match the proposal submission? What if we decide to change our idea after the NOI? Do we have to submit a proposal if we submit an NOI?

We understand that NOI’s are due early in the development process and teams will still be in the process of fleshing out many of the details of their concepts. We fully expect that teams’ concepts will change and evolve between the NOI and Proposal submissions, as in-depth research and analysis is conducted. Teams have the flexibility to change ideas as they work over the course of the semester, and the idea submitted in the NOI does not need to match the proposal submission.

NOIs are non-binding. If a team submits an NOI and then later decides not to participate in the competition, no further action is required.

Can multiple teams from the same university submit different proposals to compete in the BIG Idea challenge?

Yes, multiple teams from the same university can submit separate proposals, and multiple teams from the same university may move on to the next round of the competition if their proposals merit selection.

Can students from multiple universities form a BIG Idea team?

Yes, you can form multi-university teams for the BIG Idea Challenge! There are a few important factors regarding faculty advisers:

  • One space grant-affiliated university will need to be the "lead" university on your project, and provide a faculty advisor for the team
  • If your team is one of the finalists chosen to attend the forum, the faculty advisor from the lead institution would be responsible for handling the financial piece; we would send the development stipend to the “lead” university, and the faculty advisor would be in charge of distributing it and ensuring as many team members as possible could participate.
  • A faculty advisor from one of the universities would also need to go to the forum with the team. However, the multi-university team would only require one advisor, not one for each university.
Is it possible to bring in additional team members, after the Proposal is accepted?

Yes, absolutely. We understand that sometimes things change between the time proposals were submitted and the time the written report is due. We just ask that you list every person who contributed to your project in the technical paper.

Note: Eligibility requirements still apply to any additional students or faculty brought into the team.

  • Foreign universities are not eligible to participate in the BIG Idea Challenge.
  • Up to 5 participating team members may be foreign nationals if they are attending the U.S.-based university submitting a proposal. BIG Idea Challenge funding cannot be used to directly support any non-U.S. citizen.
  • BIG Idea Challenge funding may not be used to directly support travel or stipends for federal employees acting within the scope of employment (this includes co-op students with civil servant status).
Is industry collaboration, either formally or informally, allowed?

Yes, industry collaboration is certainly acceptable! We encourage your team to utilize all of the resources you have at your disposal to submit a top-notch concept.

Can international students participate?

Because this is a NASA-sponsored competition, eligibility is limited to students from universities in the United States. Please see the Eligibility Requirements.

Foreign universities are not eligible to participate in the BIG Idea Challenge. However, up to 5 foreign students who are attending a U.S.-based university are eligible to participate with their team. It is important to note that BIG Idea Challenge Funding cannot be used to directly support any non-U.S. citizen.

Please note that due to prohibitive restrictions and ever-changing NASA security regulations, foreign nationals will not be able to attend the BIG Idea Forum if it is held onsite at a NASA Center. There will be no exceptions to this policy.

Can high school students participate in the challenge?

High school students are allowed to participate in the challenge as EXTRA members of the team (they do not count towards the minimum university team members), but students currently in high school at the time of the Forum will be unable to attend the on-site Forum at NASA if your team is selected as a finalist. They should be clearly identified and listed as extra team members on your proposal submission.

If a high school team member graduates and is attending college in the at the time of the forum, they may be able to join your team at the Forum. The lead institution would be responsible for determining their travel plans.

We cannot support students under the age of 18 years old.

I attend a university outside of the United States. Can I compete in the BIG Idea Challenge?

Because this is a NASA-sponsored competition, eligibility is limited to students from universities in the United States. Please see the Eligibility Requirements.

Foreign universities are not eligible to participate in the BIG Idea Challenge.

I have a green card. Do I count as a U.S.-citizen for this challenge?

Yes. For the purposes of the BIG Idea Challenge, legal permanent residents ("Green Card" holders) count as U.S. citizens.

When and where will this year's Forum be held?

Please see the Forum Information page for the most up-to-date information on Forum dates and location.

Do I have to cover the costs of participating in the BIG Idea Forum?

Each of the finalist teams will receive a monetary award to facilitate full participation in the Forum. Costs of Forum participation (travel, lodging, Registration for the BIG Idea Forum, etc.) should be included in the team's submitted Phase 2 Budget. Teams are responsible for making their own plans, including travel and lodging. Some meals may be included in the BIG Idea Challenge Forum registration fee.

See the Budget Instructions under the Proposal tab on the Deliverables page.

Why does my advisor have to attend the Forum?

One Faculty Advisor is required to attend the Forum with each team, and is a condition for acceptance into the BIG Idea competition. Advisors can provide guidance and insight into the team's decisions, as well as acting as a primary contact point between the BIG Idea coordinators and the universities.

Teams who do not have a faculty advisor present at the BIG Idea Forum will be disqualified from competing and participation awards will be subject to return to NIA.

To what extent does production value of the video affect whether or not your team is selected to continue or is the value of your concepts for heavily weighted?

The production value of the video does not affect your score/evaluation at all. The video is simply a tool you can take advantage of to help augment or further explain your concepts to the judges. There are a wide variety of video examples under the Resources tab on the Challenge Details from past finalists.

Does a table of contents count toward the total page count?

A table of contents is not needed, but if you choose to include one, it will not count towards the total page count.

Are there any conflicts if we submit elements of our BIG Idea research paper to an AIAA conference?

No, there are no conflicts with submitting your concept and any analysis work to any conference.

Can my team use copyrighted music or photos in our papers/presentation/poster?

It is the responsibility of each team to appropriately handle copyright issues related to anything you choose to use in your presentation (including, but not limited to: music, images, graphics, and photos). Neither NASA nor NIA can grant permission for you to use copyrighted material.

Do we need a W9, University Letter of Support, or Space Grant Letter of Support from a partnering university?

The required forms for the BIG Idea Challenge Proposal Package should only be filled out by and submitted from the Lead Institution.

Partnering universities are not required to fill out the W9 or have a letter from their Space Grant. However, you will need to include a Letter of Support from the partnering university, indicating they are aware of and support the partnership.

When are the Letters of Support due? When is the W9/Vendor Form due?

The BIG Idea Letter of Support and the W9 are both due on the proposal due date. There will be a place to upload those documents on the proposal submission form.

Do the team Letters of Support from expert-collaborators need to be included in the budget? Or is applicable only to those not being financially compensated?

Letters of Support only need to be included for anyone that is offering to support your project in a meaningful way.  This could include expert collaborators. The letter should include a high-level overview of any and all support they are providing your proposed project (i.e., mentorship, access to testing facilities, in-kind materials and supplies, sponsorship, donations, etc.).

Can we use BIG Idea funds to make purchases from China?

You can proceed with the procurement as long as it is NOT communications equipment. There is a policy that prohibits the purchase of communication equipment from Chinese sources with government funds. For this policy, and for information on purchasing from other foreign entities, please read the Grant Information Circular.

Can our student organization/club fill out the W9/Vendor form?

The university must fill out the W9, as we are only able to issue stipend checks directly to universities (not to individual student organizations).

However, if you are selected as a finalist, we can mail the check to any specific mailing address at the university, including a student club address (eg. SEDS).

There is a section on the bottom of the online proposal submission form that allows you to enter in a specific mailing address of your choosing, to ensure the stipend check reaches the correct point of contact that can deposit the stipend into the correct university account.

I know we cannot use any part of our budget to pay the salary of any federal employee. However, can we pay the salary of a contract worker who is working at a NASA center?

Paying the salary of a NASA contractor is an unallowable expense for the BIG Idea Challenge for several reasons.  Using BIG Idea funds to support the work of a NASA contractor would present a conflict of interest.  Additionally,  one of the goals of the BIG Idea Challenge is for students and universities to actively participate in NASA’s work by providing hands-on, relevant research that will provide them with unparalleled real-world experience.

Can NASA civil servants or contractors be compensated for their time in our phase 1 or phase 2 budgets? Or does their involvement fall more along the lines of "voluntary" work/participation? Specifically, can we pay NASA JPL employees?

See answer above. To clarify, there are three categories of individuals to address for this response:

  1. Federal employees/civil servants: NASA civil servants are not permitted to serve as official BIG Idea Challenge collaborators in any capacity (either paid or unpaid).
    • The one exception is that teams selected as finalists may work with NASA civil servants on securing access to relevant testing facilities (i.e., vacuum chambers, etc.), and those testing costs could be included as a part of the team’s budget. However, it is important to note that the team would need to work directly with the NASA center for access to testing facilities; access to these facilities is not guaranteed; and access may be delayed, rescinded, or denied if other pressing NASA testing takes priority over the BIG Idea project work and/or if COVID-19 restrictions remain in place.
  2. JPL and other NASA contractors: NASA contractors may participate as volunteer collaborators or mentors. Although it is acceptable to pay industry consultants who work outside of NASA, paying the salary of a NASA contractor (even as a consultant) is an unallowable expense for the BIG Idea Challenge. Using BIG Idea funds to support the work of a NASA contractor would present a conflict of interest. This also applies to NASA JPL employees who are not civil servants.
  3. Retired and former NASA civil servants or contractors, and non-NASA industry subject-matter experts: Individuals who are not currently employed by  NASA as a civil servant or contractor may participate as collaborators or mentors for a BIG Idea team, and may be paid for their time using phase 1 and/or phase 2 funding. However, we encourage you to limit the amount of budget used for consultants. NASA wants the bulk of the funding to go to the university – and have students and faculty doing the majority of the work on these projects. Additionally, teams will be competing against proposals that are utilizing consultants who are volunteering their time to the effort as an in-kind donation.
For monetary reasons, is there a limit to the number of people we can write into the budget as going to the forum next November?

There is not a limit to the number of people that you can write into the budget as going to the Forum next November.  However, we encourage you to balance your budget appropriately to ensure that there are enough funds to cover the necessary research, work, materials and testing to successfully demonstrate the system.

The solicitation refers to POP between January 1 and November 30. Is it OK for us to use a different start date or period of performance (POP)?

You are welcome to use whatever start date makes sense to your university. We asked teams to use January 1 as the start date so that they could get reimbursed for work they may have conducted prior to the anticipated award dates in March.

It is also ok to use December 31 as an end date – although our culminating event date for the BIG Idea Challenge will be mid-November.

After we submit our proposal, will the judges work with the proposers if they don't like some minor detail, or will they refuse that proposal even though they liked the rest?

In general, the judges will evaluate teams' proposals as submitted.  However, for the teams that are selected as finalists, the judges will schedule a call with the teams to provide feedback on which areas they would like teams to focus on (or steer away from).

So, if they liked most of your solution but were concerned about the complexity or functionality of one aspect of it, they could still select your team as a finalist but tell you not to waste time on the particular aspect that concerned them.

A Q&A Session for the 2023 BIG Idea Challenge will be held October 20, 2022. Interested teams who submit an NOI received an invitation to participate in the Q&A Session.

Revisit this page following the Q&A to review files from the session.