The Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of National Revenue, on behalf of the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, and the Honourable Mark Holland, Minister of Health, announced the awardees of the New Frontiers Research Fund (NFRF).
Fifteen UBC-led projects, including several involving Arts faculty members, received funding support through two NFRF initiatives: the 2023 Exploration Stream and the 2023 International Joint Initiative for Research in Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation.
Learn more about the recipients and their projects below.
NFRF Exploration Stream
The NFRF Exploration stream supports projects that bring disciplines together to reach beyond traditional disciplinary or common interdisciplinary approaches by research teams. Researchers are encouraged to undertake research that would defy current paradigms; bring disciplines together in unexpected ways and from bold, innovative perspectives; and have the potential to be disruptive or deliver game-changing impacts.
Dr. Jemima Nomunume Baad, Geography
Project: Using gender transformative agroecology for climate change adaptation among smallholders in Ghana and Rwanda
Dr. Michael Byers, Political Science
Project: Coordination challenges on-and-around the Moon
2023 International Joint Initiative for Research in Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation
Canada led the international joint initiative with an investment of $60 million to support 32 international interdisciplinary research projects, involving 424 researchers from 45 countries. These three-year projects focus on designing and implementing adaptation and mitigation strategies for vulnerable groups. These groups are currently the most impacted by climate change effects, because of their physical and socio-economic vulnerability.
Co-Applicant from Arts: Dr. Rashid U. Sumaila, School of Public Policy and Global Affairs
Project: Co-developing decision support system for coastal mangrovebased socio-ecological systems in Eastern and Western Africa (Coastman)
Co-Principal Investigators from the Department of Geography: Dr. Mohammed Arefin, Naomi Klein, and Dr. Geraldine Pratt
Project: Addressing intersecting crises: Climate, housing, and compounding health vulnerabilities for senior tenants
