If you live in a municipality in the GTA you’ll be pleased to know that municipal employees will now have access to academic research and expertise to inform decisions that affect your life.
We previously told you about an exciting YorkU knowledge mobilization climate change project. In that post, Chandra Sharma of TRCA underscored the importance of these efforts by saying, « »Advancing climate research and knowledge is key to addressing municipal needs to address impacts of changing climate. » Even though we announced the project in June we are delighted to let you know that this project was funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). SSHRC has officially announced the results of its Public Outreach grant competition, awarding $138,700 to Karen Kraft Sloan (Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Environmental Studies) and David Phipps (Director, Research Services and Knowledge Exchange) for this Knowledge Mobilization for Climate Change project. This grant, details for which may be found on SSHRC’s website here, has enabled an innovative large-scale collaboration in the area of climate change research.
Thanks to this funding, York University’s Knowledge Mobilization Unit has been able to engage the municipalities of Toronto, York Region, Mississauga, Peel, and Durham, as well as the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority
(TRCA) and the Association for Canadian Educational Resources (The Gateway Project) to make York climate change research and expertise more accessible and policy relevant. York University’s Office of the Vice President Research and Innovation has generously contributed funding towards this project, which allowed the hiring of a project coordinator to work in the Knowledge Mobilization Unit.
« This grant gives us an unprecedented opportunity to apply York’s diverse body of climate change research and expertise to public policy and practice » said Karen Kraft Sloan, the Principal Investigator for the grant. « I am eager to see the results that emerge from this unique collaboration ».
This award comes as part of the exciting news that York University’s researchers, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows have been able to secure over $10 million through SSHRC grants this year. More details and the full listing of York SSHRC awards may be found in the Y-File story here.
