Ontario Genomics is pleased to announce new funding opportunities in Genome Canada’s Climate-Smart Agriculture and Food Systems Initiative. This Initiative will create a portfolio of projects that will be managed for integration of activities and objectives across the various portfolio elements.
Knowledge mobilization and implementation will be critical to the Climate-Smart Agriculture and Food Systems Initiative. The projects within the portfolio will intentionally and regularly connect, convene and learn from each other to drive greater collective impact.
To that end, this Initiative will fund two cross-cutting coordination Hubs: the Knowledge Mobilization and Implementation Coordination Hub (KMIC Hub) and the Data Coordination and Collaboration Hub (Data Hub). The cross-cutting, coordinating Hubs are designed to support and maximize the impacts produced by a portfolio of selected Interdisciplinary Challenge Teams (ICT) projects.
These Hubs will provide administrative, technical and coordination leadership to the project portfolio with a focus on:
- Intentionally connecting projects across the ICT portfolio.
- Supporting the coordination and alignment of portfolio activities across projects.
- Engaging stakeholders and end users at the portfolio level.
- Adding value to project outputs.
- Addressing gaps to create portfolio coherence in achieving impacts
A single pan-Canadian team will be selected to develop and implement a portfolio-level knowledge mobilization and implementation plan for Genome Canada’s Climate-Smart Agriculture and Food Systems Initiative.
Knowledge Mobilization and Implementation Coordination Hub (KMIC)
The KMIC Hub will have broad and specific knowledge, skills, and expertise in Genomics In Society (GIS) – a field that encompasses the environmental, economic, ethical, legal and social aspects of genomics (GE3LS) research – as well as skills in stakeholder relations, partnership development, project management, stakeholder and end-user engagement, policy and regulation, economics, and implementation science. These skills and knowledge areas will equip the KMIC Hub to lead and coordinate cross-cutting GE3LS research and activities at the portfolio level and to launch and manage other knowledge mobilization activities that will help drive the adoption of genomic solutions and mobilize knowledge to help the portfolio deliver net carbon reduction.
The KMIC Hub will focus initially on developing mechanisms and structures to enable the ICT teams to connect with the Hub. The Hub will work with ICTs to refine, cocreate and harmonize project-specific knowledge mobilization and implementation plans into a single unified portfolio plan. This plan should describe an ambitious yet practical vision of what a Canadian KMIC Hub for climate genomics could be and how it will work across the portfolio of projects to support Canada’s goals to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 and to reduce the carbon footprint of its agriculture and food production system.
The objective of this funding opportunity is to support a single pan-Canadian team that will develop and implement a portfolio-level knowledge mobilization and implementation plan for this Initiative. The team will coordinate knowledge mobilization and implementation activities to ensure that research and investments produce the intended impact and outcome. Consistent with the overall initiative objective, this will include undertaking key GE3LS research at the portfolio level and advancing genomic technologies and policies that have the potential to measurably mitigate climate change by reducing carbon emissions and increasing carbon sequestration.
To ensure that the objectives of the funding opportunity are met, all applications must address the review criteria established for the competition (see Appendix 1 of funding opportunity).
Available funding and terms
- Genome Canada will fund one pan-Canadian team.
- There is up to $2.1 million available for the KMIC hub from Genome Canada (phased approach – see funding opportunity).
- Co-funding at least equal to the Genome Canada contribution is required (phased approach – see funding opportunity).
- The successful team will be awarded funding for a term of up to five years.
Eligibility Criteria
- The team must be pan-Canadian with representation from at least three provinces.
- The team should be multidisciplinary and include representatives who have expertise, skills and knowledge in areas such as:
- Knowledge mobilization and implementation (e.g., implementation science, knowledge translation and exchange, knowledge brokering).
- Research (e.g., implementation science, GE3LS).
- Policy and regulation (e.g., shaping and influencing policy, understanding federal and provincial or territorial governments and processes).
- Stakeholder engagement and outreach (e.g., consultations, public engagement).
- Partnership development (e.g., the ability to identify, establish and maintain partnerships with public, private, non-governmental and academic sectors).
- Science communications and marketing.
- Economics and economic evaluation.
- Evaluation and measurement.
- Inclusion, diversity, equity and access (IDEA) and Indigenous knowledge and engagement.
- Climate and agriculture science (e.g., genomics in society, crops, livestock).
Please note that different sources of expertise and experience can be pulled in at different phases; the full complement is not necessarily expected at the start of the project.
- The project must include partner(s) from the public, community or private sector to facilitate the use and/or impact of the Initiative.
- Project Leaders from the ICT teams cannot be Project Leaders of the Hubs. However, members of the ICT teams can be involved in the Hub team as co-applicants.
See KMIC Funding Opportunity for complete eligibility requirements.