Call for CSFN Research Proposals

The Canadian Sustainable Finance Network (CSFN) is instrumental in sharing knowledge and opening the door to future research topics, as well as creating key partnerships across Canada and internationally. The Institute for Sustainable Finance (ISF) is calling for research proposal submissions for one research grant to provide funding for a project related to one of the following topics:

1. Adaptation and resilience. A case study examination of recent, significant hazard-related events in Canada would be a useful exercise for capturing the complexity of the impact of and response to these events, and to illustrate the benefits of investing in prevention measures. A case study could, for instance, examine the series of floods impacting British Columbia in November 2021 with an associated estimated cost of $9 billion. A case study would summarize the event, and provide a focused analysis of the impact (e.g., economic and insured losses). It would further identify and map the response and recovery-related financial flows and the involved stakeholders, who paid and how much. Importantly, case studies would aim to explore possible prevention measures and their estimated costs, presenting a quantitative cost/benefit analysis demonstrating the value of investing in adaptative measures to reduce predictable risk and build resilience and provide ideas for the structuring of financial products. This call for grants is related to Recommendation 1 in the Adaptation Briefing. The ISF could facilitate a practitioner expert group for consultation and interviews, as required.

   Case Criteria

   • Recent and significant hazard-related event
   • Large impact, with costs covered by multiple stakeholders
   • Public & private infrastructure
   • Prevention measures available

   Event

   • Map stakeholders
   • Quantify losses
   • Insured vs. uninsured losses
   • Map/track financial flows
   • Cost to municipality, federal government, private sector (e.g., insurance), others

   Analysis

   • Explore possible prevention measures
   • Quantitative cost/benefit analysis to implement prevention measures
   • Cost allocation to the different parties
   • Savings allocated to the different parties
2. Sustainable finance products used in other jurisdictions: banking, institutional and retail. These would provide real examples of what has worked in other jurisdictions and point to challenges and potential solutions to market participants looking to structure sustainable finance products.
3. Cleantech financing frameworks and structures.

Proposals related to other relevant research topics related to sustainable finance will also be considered.

Research Grant Details:

1. Grants will be made available only for proposals that include at least one Canadian Sustainable Finance Network (CSFN) member.
2. Grant amount - $20,000-$50,000.
3. Project duration: 12 to 18 months.
4. The project should be new research, or research in early stages.
5. The winning proposal will be determined based largely on the quality of the proposal, including the research record of the research team. Budget details will also be considered.

Proposals should be a maximum of 5 pages (12 point font and single-spaced), including the budget. The proposals will include a description of:

1. Objectives for the project.
2. Description of the research team and project roles.
3. Theoretical and empirical motivation for the project.
4. Description of data and methodology to be employed.
5. Detailed budget (maximum one page).

Please submit research proposals and up to date CVs for each project team member to azel.mulagulova@queensu.ca no later than March 31, 2023. The submissions are limited to CSFN members only. Please contact Azel Mulagulova if you have any questions. Applicants will be notified directly by email about funding decisions.