The phrase "a substantive idea of" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used when discussing a significant or meaningful concept or understanding of a particular subject.
Example: "In our discussion, we aim to develop a substantive idea of the impact of climate change on global economies."
Alternatives: "a meaningful concept of" or "a significant understanding of".
This is, in a different setting, also defended by Thomasson, who in her characterization of what she in general calls an artifactual kind says that such a kind is defined by the designer's intention to make something of that kind, by a substantive idea that the designer has of how this can be achieved, and by his or her largely successful achievement of it (Thomasson 2003, 2007).
If your political philosophy is directly contrary to your faith and equally dismissive of the best substantive ideas of governance that conservative thinkers have offered, is it little surprise that the Romney, and now Romney/Ryan, are seen as a ticket without substantive idea.
But there is little evidence that he acquired those interests until it became expedient to have them... Gore may be a bit of a drone and he has been known to pander, but he is also a rare phenomenon — a politician who formulated a series of substantive ideas about a difficult subject and then put them down in a book without the aid of a ghostwriter.
Even though Foucault's critical ethos will continue to operate without a 'substantive idea of the "good life"', our shared existential horizon means that such anti-foundational critique is never, purely, 'an individual option' (ibid.: 38).
The critiques echoed those offered by others in the Democratic Party, including several members of the House, who hosted a pre-buttal conference call mocking Boehner for a lack of substantive ideas for economic recovery.
As Carpenter notes, he "articulated the substantive idea that sexual intimacy among gay Americans was a good thing, not merely a tolerable thing".
"He has brought a lot of creative and substantive ideas to the table, and I'm eagerly waiting to see them come to fruition," he said.
They have little in the way of substantive ideas except for vengeful anger, and nationalist delusions.
Many of these films have substantive ideas along with their popcorn thrills and can serve as a cracked-mirror reflection of real-life issues.
Jimmy Carter brought smiling populism to the White House, and Ronald Reagan was derided as a Hollywood cowboy, but both of them had governing experience and substantive ideas that they'd worked out during lengthy public careers.
The challenge for Democrats is to show (not tell) Americans that they have a coherent and cohesive set of substantive ideas (policies).
