SFU Climate Innovation Seed Funds
Advancing Community-centred Climate Action & Innovation Research
SFU Climate Innovation Seed Funds aim to catalyze community-centred climate action and innovation research-for-impact. Building on SFU鈥檚 research priority 鈥 community-centred climate innovation 鈥 the seed funds are part of an integrated SFU Climate Innovation platform that is elevating interdisciplinary research by further enabling faculty and graduate students to co-create high-impact research with community partners. Together with a suite of services and supports, the seed funds are building a collaborative funding runway to advance transformative research and access higher-order funding with the goal of accelerating low carbon, resilient, and sustainable communities across Canada, and beyond.
Key Dates
- Applications Open: March 25, 2025 to May 19, 2025
- Final results announced: June 30, 2025
Enabling Collaborative Research-for-Impact
SFU Climate Innovation Seed Funds aim to build a transdisciplinary cohort of researchers and community-centred collaborators committed to working together to identify, plan, implement, and evaluate innovative climate action-research that advances low carbon, resilient and sustainable communities.
The first goal is to strengthen and support a cohort of interdisciplinary researchers and emerging professionals who have the capacities and skills to address complex challenges using transdisciplinary methods and approaches. We aim to support the development of capacities needed to strengthen and grow an emerging cohort of systems thinkers, interdisciplinary communicators and community-engaged collaborators.
The second goal is to build a 鈥榗ollaborative funding runway鈥. We aim to provide initial funds to encourage transdisciplinary research. This funding will be used to effectively engage with community-centred partners to co-design and co-create effective and impactful climate action and innovation research.
Key transdisciplinary research-for-impact supports and services are included for grant awardees. These include convening and facilitation supports to ensure meaningful engagement between cross-disciplinary researchers and community-centred partners, and training to enable effective co-creation research approaches and knowledge mobilization strategies. These supports are designed to:
- grow and strengthen interdisciplinary and cross-sector partnerships and collaborations through research co-design;
- support training and development in community-engaged and impact research, advancing research approaches and knowledge mobilization strategies;
- support with grant writing to help awardees build a 'collaborative funding pathway' toward higher-order grants and awards; and
- encourage longevity with high-impact collaborators and partners to advance and accelerate climate action and innovation in communities across Canada and beyond.
The Application Process
Learn more about each SFU Climate Innovation Seed Funds offering and how to apply. Applications for the Pollinator Awards, the Catalyst Grants and Amplification Grants 2025 will be open from March 25 until May 19, 2025. Applications will be reviewed by our Advisory Group. Results will be announced June, 30 2025.
Download the application form template for the Pollinator Award, Catalyst Grant or Amplification Grant and send your completed submission to climate_innovation@sfu.ca by May 19, 2025.
The SFU Climate Innovation Advisory Group will adjudicate and is comprised of:
- Two faculty representatives (e.g. SFU Climate Innovation鈥檚 network)
- Two community representatives (e.g. First Nations, non-profits, private sector)
- Two student representatives (e.g. SFU Climate Innovation鈥檚 network)
Watch the . If you have any questions regarding the application, please reach out to Skye Vallance skye_vallance@sfu.ca for assistance.
What is SFU Climate Innovation?
SFU Climate Innovation operationalizes SFU鈥檚 critical research priority to deliver community-centred climate innovation. We leverage SFU鈥檚 capacities and reputation as a leading research university to accelerate climate action and innovation research with and for communities across Canada and beyond.
Our mandate is to co-create research-for-impact with and for community partners, mobilizing knowledges and scaling innovations that accelerate low carbon, resilient and sustainable solutions in communities across Canada and beyond. Learn more about the ways SFU Climate Innovation is enabling climate research-for-impact.
Who will adjudicate the grant applications?
The SFU Climate Innovation Advisory Group will adjudicate and is comprised of:
- Two faculty representatives (from SFU Climate Innovation鈥檚 network)
- Two community representatives (comprised of First Nations, non-profits, private sector)
- Two student representatives (drawn from SFU Climate Innovation鈥檚 network)
What are examples of the SFU Climate Innovation 鈥榗ollaborative funding runway鈥?
A successful SFU Climate Innovation Catalyst Grant could, for example, lead to a SSHRC Partnership Development project ($100k), or a CIHR Catalyst Grant ($100k).
An Amplification Grant may take a project further to a SSHRC Partnership Grant ($2.5M) or a CIHR Team Grant ($1M+).
The three streams of SFU Climate Innovation Seed Funding are intended to model this 鈥榬atcheting-up鈥 effect; i.e., the Pollinator Award working at the ideation stage, the Catalyst Grant working at the co-design stage, and the Amplification Grant working at the co-creation, implementation, and/or evaluation stages.
Where can I find details of previously successful SFU Climate Innovation research projects?
This funding is new starting early 2025. We will post all details of successful applicants on the SFU Climate Innovation webpage.
How will applications be assessed or advanced?
SFU Climate Innovation is looking for high-impact projects, that are transdisciplinary in nature, and that have the potential to advance transformative climate actions and innovation for communities, locally and globally. The following criteria will be used to assess those projects that are likely to have the highest impact:
- Inter & transdisciplinary 鈥 the project includes faculty from across disciplines aligned with community-centred partners to generate new insights and solutions that transcend traditional disciplinary and sectoral boundaries
- Appropriate partners to meet objectives 鈥 the project has been co-designed with relevant partners (except for Pollinator where this is not a requirement)
- Community-centred 鈥 the project scope and objectives have community engagement and co-creation research approaches at its core
- Goals for impact 鈥 the project integrates knowledge mobilization strategies and anticipated benefits for reducing risk, emissions and advancing sustainability outcomes
- Higher-order funding plan 鈥 the project identifies and seeks to pursue higher-order funding (e.g. Tri-Council, philanthropy)
- SFU-aligned research principles and values 鈥 the project elevates Indigenous Knowledges and Rights, and weaves Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion into research design and practice wherever possible
- Scholarly excellence 鈥 the project identifies the scholarly strengths of individual team members and demonstrates how these strengths are essential to tackling the research question
- Knowledge Mobilization outputs and strategy - the project has a plan for accessibility and elevated visibility ensuring research outcomes are shared across diverse channels with relevant audiences (e.g. academic publications, plus external facing artifacts such as policy briefs, op-eds, social media, podcasts)
Note these are the highest aspirations of SFU Climate Innovation; not all research projects will be able to meet all criteria.
Note regarding unsuccessful projects: The SFU Climate Innovation team will keep an updated database of relevant projects we have received applications for and will look for appropriate partners and funding to support the development of these projects wherever possible.
How does SFU Climate Innovation define community?
Community is defined as a collectivity in a local geography, and/or with shared place-based identities, that has the capacity to express itself as a collective. Community-centred partners work in a place-based way and may include local governments, First Nations, non-profit organizations, intermediary organizations (e.g. community-oriented associations and networks), health authorities, corporate sector and/or small business partners, etc.
Why is SFU Climate Innovation incentivising community-centred, inter and transdisciplinary research?
SFU Climate Innovation is offering this seed funding to address both the sources (emissions) and impacts (hazards and vulnerabilities) of climate change, and to advance the social, economic, environmental and cultural responses needed to support communities as they climate-proof for the future.
Priority will be given to projects that have the potential to move to implementation and co-create impact that can be transferred to other communities across Canada and beyond. This involves including community-centred co-creation partners in research inquiry and design, and advancing potential solutions that minimize community risk, reduce emissions, and/or advance sustainability transitions (e.g. streamlining policies, technologies, planning, and/or limited resources, addressing multiple challenges, and testing and de-risking innovative ideas, technologies, policies, communications and engagements).
Funders 鈥 from government (e.g. Tri-Council) to philanthropy - are increasingly demanding that research is interdisciplinary 鈥 addressing problems in a more systemic manner; is co-created 鈥 including relevant community-based partners to effectively address problems and move toward implementation; and is mobilized and scaled 鈥 solutions are communicated across relevant networks and channels to help to advance and accelerate climate action and innovation in other communities and organizations.
Community-centred research-for-impact requires shifting toward co-creation research methodologies 鈥 inviting us to expand ideas of power and knowledge and to include implementation partners and impacted and interested groups into research design and delivery. The assumption is that community-centred research is strengthened by upholding Indigenous Knowledges and rights, and embedding JEDI principles. Communities 鈥 defined by SFU Climate Innovation as a collectivity residing in a local geography, sharing place-based and/or other identities capable of expressing as a collective 鈥 need to be engaged in relevant, evidence-based research accelerates climate action and innovation and policy and impact.
What are examples of grants agencies asking for inter/transdisciplinary approaches?
- Social Science and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Partnership Grants: provide support for new and existing formal partnerships over four to seven years to advance research, research training and/or knowledge mobilization in the social sciences and humanities. Explicitly they call for 鈥淒isciplinary and interdisciplinary research partnerships鈥 and 鈥淐ross-sector co-creation of knowledge and understanding鈥. Stage 1 grants are for up to $20,000, Stage 2 grants go up to $2.5 million.
- New Frontiers in Research Fund (NFRF): supports world-leading interdisciplinary, international, high-risk / high-reward, transformative and rapid-response Canadian-led research. One stream offers grants up to $100,000 per year for direct costs, plus an additional 25% for indirect costs, for up to two years. Another stream offers grants between $2 million and $4 million per year, including indirect costs, for up to six years.
- Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Discovery Horizons - Pilot Program: NSERC support investigator-initiated individual and team projects that broadly integrate or transcend disciplines to advance knowledge in the natural sciences and engineering (NSE). Discovery Horizons grants ranged from $50,000 to $100,000 per year depending on the size of the research team, with 10 to 20 grants awarded in the pilot year.
- Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR) Team Grant: CIHR are designed to support larger research teams conducting health-related research across CIHR's mandate. Teams are required to be interdisciplinary. Funding typically ranges from $500k to $2 million per project, with a duration up to five years.
Where can I find resources to support my application and budget development?
Incase you missed it, watch the hosted on April 7, 2025.
Tips and resources to help get you started:
- Factors to consider when developing your research proposal
- Developing a research budget
- Find an SFU research expert to collaborate with
- Looking for a community partner? Join the SFU Climate Innovation community for access to networking events and connections
Questions? Please reach out to our team for further information or support: climate_innovation@sfu.ca