2023 NFRF International Joint Initiative for Research in Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation

Eligibility

Project teams will comprise a minimum of three co-principal investigators (co-PIs), plus any number of co-applicants and collaborators. Teams must be interdisciplinary and multi-sectoral. Individuals may participate as a co-PI on only one application to this competition.

To be eligible for this call, project duration must be three years, and projects must:

• Be transnational, with a minimum of three countries represented among the co-PIs, and the team eligible to receive funds from at least one other consortium partner.
  • At least one co-PI must be eligible to apply to the NFRF program.
  • Each consortium partner may have additional eligibility rules for applicants and proposed projects.
• Be interdisciplinary (integrating information, data, techniques, tools, perspectives, concepts or theories from two or more disciplines or bodies of specialized knowledge), including expertise in the social sciences and/or humanities (SSH) to address enabling factors, such as effective governance, community capacity and geopolitical and economic security.
  • It is strongly recommended to include at least one expert in SSH among the co-principal investigators.
• Be trans-sectoral, involving the academic, research, economic (businesses), societal (governmental and nongovernmental organizations) and community sectors, as appropriate.
• Provide participatory contextually and culturally appropriate mitigation and adaptation responses to at least two of the eight representative key risks identified in the Sixth Assessment Report of the United Nations (UN) Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC):  
  • Risks to low-lying coastal socio-ecological systems
  • Risks to terrestrial and ocean ecosystems
  • Risks associated with critical physical infrastructure, networks and services
  • Risks to living standards
  • Risks to human health
  • Risks to food security
  • Risks to water security
  • Risks to peace and to human mobility
• Focus on responding to the needs of those most impacted by the effects of climate change, such as communities in low- and middle-income countries or Indigenous territories, or groups that are vulnerable due to their geographic, social and/or economic circumstances.
  • Integration of team members from vulnerable groups is required.
• Partner with participating community(-ies) in the co-creation, implementation and ownership of the research and outcomes, and to develop approaches related to policy implementation and knowledge mobilization.
  • Develop strategies related to policy, communication and community partnerships, to encourage acceptance, support and the behavioural changes required for implementation.

Summary

SUMMARY

Webinar presentations and links can be found in the Resources section below.

The 2023 International Joint Initiative for Research in Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation represents a collaboration among research funders from Brazil, Canada, Germany, Norway, South Africa, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States to leverage international expertise to tackle the global challenges caused by climate change. The call will be implemented through a co-ordinated funding approach by eight consortium partners from these countries, including NFRF.

This call aims to further the design and implementation of co-produced adaptation and mitigation strategies for vulnerable groups―those groups currently most impacted by the effects of climate change owing to both physical vulnerability (heightened exposure to events related to climate change and/or poor infrastructure) and socioeconomic vulnerability (limited resources to prepare for or respond to the impacts of climate change, including knowledge, technology or financial resources, or owing to conflict, security and fragility).

The Research Services team will work with partner units in the office of the Vice-President Research and across campus to provide resources and facilitate support services for applicant teams. Contact ipd@ucalgary.ca as soon as possible for more information on supports such as an optional strategy discussion with an advisory committee, as well as consultation with UCalgary staff supporting international research partnerships, knowledge engagement/knowledge mobilization, Indigenous research, and expertise related to equity, diversity and inclusion.

Competition parameters are complex; interested researchers should review detailed requirements on the competition web page.

SUBMISSION PROCESS

Institutional and agency milestones are listed below, additional instructions follow.

If interested, contact ipd@ucalgary.ca ASAP to ensure you receive updates about this funding opportunity and available resources as soon as they are available.

Timeline

     Optional funder webinar

• Activity: NFRF information session for applicants

          Deadline: Feb. 14, 2023 (French) and Feb. 16 (English), 8am-10am MST

     Optional strategy discussion

• Activity: Notify RSO if interested in strategy session at ipd@ucalgary.ca (first come, first served)

          Deadline: ASAP; no later than April 14, 2023

• Strategy sessions: April 2023

     Mandatory Notice of Intent (NOI)

• Activity: Submit Notice of Intent to RSO via Convergence Portal
  • Note: to create the NOI in the portal, under the Funding Opportunities tab click the Create Application link next to the funding opportunity name “New Frontiers in Research Fund – International”

          Deadline: By 9:00 am April 25, 2023

• Activity: Review of NOI by Research Services

          Deadline: April 25 – May 2, 2023

• Activity: Research Services submits NOI to agency via Convergence Portal

          Deadline: By May 2, 2023

      Full Application*

• Activity: Convergence Portal opens for full application May 7, 2023

     *Specific deadlines and information re: full application stage of this competition will be distributed to teams which submit an NOI.

Strategy discussions (optional)

Proposed strategy sessions are intended to support project leaders in planning how to best respond to the competition’s key criteria:

• Offering resources to identify necessary international partners and collaborators (if required),
• Support in meeting NFRF’s definition of interdisciplinarity, high risk, high reward, and that it reflects best practices for equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) appropriate to the project. These sessions allow for early feedback to applicants from researchers across the university on the SUPPORT committee who have experience with NFRF, experience with other similar complex funding programs, and/or other expertise valuable to this competition (e.g. in describing best practice approaches to EDI or in creating and managing interdisciplinary teams).

Notice of Intent (NOI)

The NOI submitted to the funder is a mandatory step in the application process. While not adjudicated, the following elements of the NOI cannot be changed following submission and will be shared with reviewers at the full application stage:

• Title
• Project Summary
• Key Risks
• Fields of Research and Keywords

International consortium partners must be identified within the NOI. It is strongly recommended that the project be well-defined, and include a strong international, interdisciplinary, trans-sectoral team for NOI submission.

Applicants must complete the NOI using the Convergence Portal and submit it for institutional review by 9am on Tuesday, April 25, 2023. All NOIs will be reviewed to ensure that they meet the program’s eligibility requirements and application guidelines.

No RMS Approvals are required at the NOI stage.

RESOURCES

Support for projects involving Indigenous Research:

Support with the development of your grant application is available internally through the Indigenous Research Support Team (IRST). Applicants can reach out by email to IRST at IRST@ucalgary.ca in advance of the RSO internal deadline. For more information about IRST, please visit the IRST webpage.

For assistance in identifying international partners, contact the International Research Team at UCIresearch@ucalgary.ca.

RMS: Creating a Pre-Award Application

NFRF information webinar presentations and recording links:

• NFRFI-2023_Information_Webinar_EN.pdf
• NFRFI-2023_Webinaire_d’information_FR.pdf
• English Recording: 2023 NFRFI - International Call Applicant Webinar      
• French Recording: 2023 NFRFI - Webinaire pour les demandeurs d'appels internationaux

OVERHEAD: N/A

Pre-application deadlines

RSO internal deadline

Pre-application program deadline

Application deadlines

RSO detailed review deadline

RSO final internal review deadline

Program application deadline

Application deadlines

NOTE: Consult your Faculty Associate Dean (Research) (ADR) regarding Faculty-specific deadlines and submission processes.

Principal Investigators: Complete a Research Management System (RMS) record, including a copy of your complete application, and submit this for approvals in RMS.

Approvals: The University of Calgary requires that all funding applications be approved prior to submission. Approval requires signatures via either RMS or the RFAA Trainee form, in the following order:

• Principal Investigator
• Department Head
• Faculty ADR/Dean
• Research Services (on behalf of the Vice-President Research)

Read the Meaning of Grant Signatures policy to understand what your approval means. Please see the agency guidelines for details about which signatures are required on your application, as it may differ from internal requirements.

Late submissions: Late submissions will only be accepted in cases of medical or family emergencies, or other exceptional circumstances. If you submit your RMS record to Research Services after the internal deadline has passed, you must secure additional approvals. Please read: Late Applications Process.

Webinars

NFRF will offer informational webinars on the 2023 International Joint Initiative for Research in Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation competition and application process on the following dates:

• French:                 February 14, 2023, 8–10am MST
• English:                February 16, 2023, 8–10am MST

Links to join the webinar will be provided on the competition website prior to the start of the session.

For UCalgary researchers participating on applications elsewhere: If you have been asked by the submitting institutions to confirm we are aware of your involvement, please notify Research Services via email to ipd@ucalgary.ca.  At the full application stage, completion of the Pre-Award record in RMS (follow the instructions under Submission Process below) is required. Once all approvals are obtained in RMS, our Director will email the RSO of the lead institution to confirm. 

RMS Training

As the full application will run through RMS, we encourage applicants to view the step sheets available at the RMS Training page. Select the funding opportunity “2023 NFRF International Joint Initiative for Research in Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation” in RMS.

For training or technical support, you can contact RMS at: rms@ucalgary.ca and 403.210.9309.

Selection criteria

The following criteria will be used to evaluate full applications:

• Fit-to-program (pass/fail) – research addresses at least two of the eight representative key risks and furthers the design and implementation of co-produced adaptation and mitigation strategies for vulnerable groups
• Equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in the research environment (pass/fail)
• Interdisciplinarity and trans-sectoral approach (pass/fail)
• High Risk (20%) – the novelty of the proposed approach to the challenge and the quality of the research proposed; addressing a rarely tackled challenge or an uncommon combination of risks may be considered higher risk
• High Reward (40%) – the potential to create a significant and real change or impact
• Feasibility (40%) – the plan and the ability to execute the activities

The elements considered under each criterion are outlined in more detail in the evaluation matrices.

The review process will consider diversity so that the portfolio of projects funded through the call is diverse in terms of topics, geography, research teams, as well as the groups/communities/individuals that will be impacted by the outcomes.