Grand Challenges: The Christmas Story 2,000 Years Later…

As we approach the end of the year, it’s a good moment to reflect on what we’ve achieved through the Grand Challenges programme. Building on last year’s seasonal blog – 12 Days of Christmas – I wanted to share some striking parallels between the age-old Christmas story and tackling Grand Challenges. Perhaps this is part of the reason why the adoption of Grand Challenges is growing across sectors – from governments to universities and research funders.

Since August 2023, we’ve funded 204 projects, totalling £3.92m, across all 11 faculties and many VP offices. We’ve hosted 90+ events with over 6,000 attendees, and partnered with 285 organisations, including strategic institutional collaborations. We’ve launched 4 of 5 new themes, concluded 5 of 6 original themes, and published impact reports showcasing how challenge-led, interdisciplinary research makes a real-world difference. Applications for funding and governance roles continue to exceed available spaces – a great sign of momentum. We’re also building our educational offer for students and developing Living Labs to improve UCL’s operations. While ultimate impacts will take time, we’re well on the way to making a positive difference.

So, why do I think there are parallels with the Christmas story?

1. Follow that guiding star

Grand Challenges start with a clear mission – tackling real societal problems, not just collaborating for the sake of it. That sense of purpose keeps researchers motivated on the long journey and helps them push through challenges. This in turn boosts resilience and performance. 

2. No room in my discipline?

Just like the Christmas story, making space matters. Grand Challenges thrive on openness and hospitality across boundaries. Interdisciplinary collaboration sparks creativity and problem-solving, but it means overcoming cultural and communication barriers. That’s why we’re planning to launch an interdisciplinary training offer for early career researchers next year – to help make that welcome easier.

3. Wisdom often comes from afar

Just as the Christmas story tells of wise men travelling from distant lands, fresh insights often come from far outside our usual circles. Bringing together people from very different disciplines sparks new ideas and breakthroughs. Research shows that teams with diverse expertise produce more innovative and impactful work – even if it takes effort to make it all fit. Most of our Grand Challenges collaborations are between different schools rather than closely related faculties, showing that researchers are reaching out for fresh perspectives.

4. Making it work in unfavourable conditions

Interdisciplinary collaborations aren’t always easy, and wider systems don’t always help. Sometimes you have to ‘rough it’ and make do – just like in the Christmas story. But evidence shows this kind of research leads to bigger impacts and breakthroughs, which is why we’re investing in new physical and virtual spaces at UCL to make collaboration easier.

What other parallels do you see? Share your thoughts below – let’s keep the conversation going.