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SFU Climate Innovation Catalyst Grants are designed for faculty from at least two SFU disciplines to convene and co-develop transdisciplinary climate action and innovation research. This grant should be used to advance research co-design with relevant community-centred collaborators.

• The research must include faculty from at least two SFU disciplines.
• The project must seek to advance low-carbon, resilient, and sustainable solutions with and for communities. 
• The project must include at least one community partner (e.g. a local government, First Nation, non-profit organization, intermediary organization, private sector partner, etc.).

The grant recipient will deliver to SFU Climate Innovation a competitive proposal for a research or philanthropic funding opportunity (approx. $100-$250K) that seeks to co-design a research proposal that supports the advancement of low-carbon, resilient, and sustainable solutions with and for communities.

Grantees will gain access to grant facilitation and grant writing support in partnership with SFU's Institutional Strategic Awards Office and advisory services in convening and facilitation in partnership with SFU's Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue.

Participate in a workshop with SFU's Knowledge Mobilization Hub to learn about how to integrate research-for-impact strategies into funding proposals.

Learn about community-engaged research through webinars and workshops delivered by SFU's Community Engaged Research Initiative (CERi).

Optional: Get certified in knowledge mobilization through the MobilizeU@SFU program (eight sessions from January-March), in partnership with SFU's Knowledge Mobilization Hub.

A total of three (3) grants are available per calendar year to catalyze high-impact community-centred climate action and innovation research with and for communities.

Monies should be spent within one year. 50% payment will be made up front, with the remaining 50% to be paid on receipt of deliverable (as specified above).

• Examples of eligible expenses include convening expenses (e.g. co-design workshops, catering), travel, community needs-based stipends.
  
• Ineligible expenses include administration or personnel costs of existing projects or initiatives, gifts and/or entertainment costs.

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:

1. Inter & transdisciplinary – 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
2. Appropriate partners to meet objectives – the project has been co-designed with relevant partners (except for Pollinator where this is not a requirement)
3. Community-centred – the project scope and objectives have community engagement and co-creation research approaches at its core
4. Goals for impact – the project integrates knowledge mobilization strategies and anticipated benefits for reducing risk, emissions and advancing sustainability outcomes
   
5. Higher-order funding plan – the project identifies and seeks to pursue higher-order funding (e.g. Tri-Council, philanthropy)
6. SFU-aligned research principles and values – the project elevates Indigenous Knowledges and Rights, and weaves Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion into research design and practice wherever possible
7. Scholarly excellence – the project identifies the scholarly strengths of individual team members and demonstrates how these strengths are essential to tackling the research question
8. 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.

Catalyst Grant recipients will co-design a research plan with community-centred partners in preparation for next-level funding opportunities. These opportunities could include: 

• for new research partnerships (up to $200k/3 years); expected deadline in November 2025.
  
• for student and ECR training (up to $1.65M/6 years); expected deadline May 1 2025 and full proposal in September 2025
  
• (up to $250k/2 years) expected deadline in August 2025 and full application in November 2025 
• (up to $400K over 15 years); expected September 2025
  
• to make transformative advances in knowledge or technology (up to $1M for operations; $1M for grants); expected May 2025