Date/Time
Date(s) - 31/03/2025
All Day

Call for Proposals – Planetary Health Seed Grant

Deans MacDonald, Sheardown, Hassanein and Planetary Health Academic Lead Elkafi Hassini are thrilled to announce the Planetary Health Initiative is issuing a call for applications. This call seeks to support research that addresses the McMaster Planetary Health priority areas including:

• Living Labs – Build, Test, Teach, Share
  • West campus, Carbon Sink Forest, Greenhouse
  • Within the natural environment that is unique to McMaster, we build and test new models of sustainable practices and ecological restoration
• Energy Pathways – From Energy Poverty to Abundance
  • Access to abundant clean energy can solve humanity’s most dire problems
  • We are developing pathways to net zero that will work for all communities
• Nuclear – Net Zero Nation
  • Capitalizing on McMaster unique history with nuclear
  • Nuclear Energy and Medicine (SMR, Medical Isotopes)
  • We will attract and train the next generation of nuclear specialists in energy and isotope production
• Centre of Excellence in Collaborative Energy Transition Management
  • Sustainable Supply Chain Management
  • Sustainable Financial Systems
  • Energy Transition Leadership and Management
  • Clean Technology Startup Ecosystem
• The Electric City – Movement Made Easy
  • A revolution in how people and goods move

Projects that are interdisciplinary in nature across a minimum of three faculties are welcome. Applicants are also encouraged to consider the establishment of external partnerships (private, public and nonprofit sectors).

It is anticipated that project teams will receive funding of up to $40,000 per year.  These projects are permitted for up to two years in duration.  Additionally, each recipient will be required to submit a progress report at the end of Year 1 & Year 2. They are also encouraged to apply for an external funding opportunity within 2 years of this award. Presentation of findings in upcoming planetary health or faculty-specific seminars and workshops is required in addition to traditional KM, white papers, reports and articles/stories.

Purpose

As highlighted above, we seek to increase the opportunities for collaborative research related to Planetary Health priorities while also cultivating a training environment where our undergraduate and graduate students are meaningfully engaged in research. Additionally, this call is designed to promote and support research collaborations across three faculties and a variety of knowledge mobilization approaches both through traditional and innovative pathways.

Eligibility

Full-time faculty members across McMaster are encouraged to apply; projects must be led by one Principal Applicant but also contain at least two Co-Applicants from another two faculties and where possible an external partner.

Submission

Submission Deadline: March 31^st, 2025

Please attach the following documents as a single PDF using these headings:

• Completed application form,
• Project Description – a description of the project using the following sub-headings: Objectives, Context, Methodology, Students/Talent, Strategic Importance to the Planetary Health Initiative, Anticipated Impact, Communication of Results, and Additional Funding Sources to be Pursued (maximum 3 pages), plus up to one page of references,
• Budget Justification – a detailed explanation of the expenses itemized in Part B of the application form (maximum 1 page in addition to the Project Description),
• Provide a timeline of the project (maximum 1 page) to be completed within 2 years.
• Current McMaster format CV for the Principal Applicant and McMaster team members.

Eligible Costs

The grant may cover the following costs:

• Payment to research assistants for tasks defined in the project’s budget;
• Purchase or rental of special data sets, software, and so on;
• Transportation and subsistence costs for data gathering, developing research arrangements, and so on;
• Mobilization of findings through preparation of reports, white papers, and outward facing articles; and
• General research expenses.

A committee as determined by the Planetary Health team will review the proposals. Successful applicants will be notified once the funding decisions are determined. An internal transfer of funds will occur shortly after. However, release of funds will also be dependent on approval from the McMaster University Research Ethics Board (if applicable). All decisions from the review committee are final.

To apply, send an electronic copy of the PDF file to Pina Del Monte (delmonp@mcmaster.ca ) and Kaitlin Wynia Baluk (wyniak@mcmaster.ca ) by March 31^st 2025.