The Environmental Innovations Initiative (EII) is pleased to announce the opening of the Research Communities grant application cycle for 2025-26.

Humanity is already feeling the consequences of current environmental crises such as biodiversity loss and climate change. There is an imperative to develop coordinated, innovative, impactful, and inclusive solutions to these broad and complex problems. In response to this urgent and growing need, EII’s Research Communities program seeks to catalyze the formation of interdisciplinary groups engaged in the study of a common theme of broad environmental significance. Each research community should meaningfully involve different disciplines, yield a public-facing outcome, and provide concrete opportunities for student involvement.

The call for proposals for the 2025-26 academic year is now open and closes on March 21. Successful applicants will be notified in April and will receive up to $25,000 from the Environmental Innovations Initiative office in June. 

The tracks for this opportunity are: 

• Stewardship of Nature

Key Concepts: preservation, restoration, valuation, habitat, biodiversity, ecology, nature-based solutions

• Climate Action

Key Concepts: decarbonization, mitigation, adaptation, sequestration, migration, science-based targets, finance

• Societal Resilience

Key Concepts: human health, well-being, justice, ecological health, economic prosperity, responsible consumption/production/waste management, disaster preparedness

Applications must be led by faculty and may involve fellow faculty, students, staff members, and/or external partners as collaborators. This one-year opportunity, renewable for up to three years, encourages applicants to actively integrate various disciplines in research as well as dissemination, which may take the form of publications, workshops, or events. Projects can have a local, regional, national, or global focus, promoting diverse collaborations for tangible outcomes.

Application Elements

Interested faculty members should submit a pdf document of no more than three pages (11-point font, 1-inch margins, numbered pages) that includes: 

• Project Name
• PI Name and Department / School
• Names and Departments / Schools of additional collaborators
• Track(s) to which the project most closely connects (Stewardship of Nature, Climate Action, Societal Resilience)
• Project overview
• Key deliverables, including public-facing outcome(s)
• Defined role for student engagement
• Metrics for success
• A budget describing how EII funds would be spent
• Timeline for funded activities (NB: projects may be in-progress and may go beyond the scope of the funding cycle.)
• Any internal or external partners who would be engaged in the project activities
• Any group that received research community funding in 2024-25 should include information on key outcomes from the previous work, how funds were used/ If possible, please attach or explain any deliverables.

Application Guidelines

• Applications must be submitted via email to contact@environment.upenn.edu by 11:59 p.m. Eastern on March 21, 2025.
• Funds will be distributed in June 2025 for use in the 2025-26 academic year. Funding will be given for one year starting in June 2025. Successful projects are welcome to apply for additional funding in subsequent years and will receive funding for no more than three years.
• Applications for research community funding must be faculty-led. In this case, faculty is defined as standing and associated faculty. Visiting faculty and post-docs are encouraged to engage with a standing faculty member to apply.
• Priority will be given to applications that integrate diverse disciplinary approaches and team members.
• Successful applications will involve students in meaningful ways.
• Winning communities will be featured on the EII website and newsletter and will be asked to present during a poster session during Climate Week in October 2024.
• Each community must specify outputs that will result from this funding, including at least one that is publicly accessible (op-ed, event, lesson plan for K-12, website, etc.).

Expectations for recipients

• Present a poster of work in progress at the Climate Week at Penn Research Poster session, planned for October 14, 2025.
• Take part in an interview with EII staff during the spring semester of 2026 to report research in progress for an article to be published on the EII website and shared in the newsletter and social media
• Provide final report by May 29, 2026. The final report summarizes the research community activities for the entire funding cycle. Final reports should include features on results, expenditures, and key deliverables, should be cumulative and supplied in a format shareable with EII’s leadership. 

FAQs

1. How does a research community differ from a research project?

   A research community consists of an interdisciplinary group of faculty, staff, and students engaged in the study of a common theme of broad environmental significance. Successful research communities integrate knowledge, data, methods, or theories from multiple disciplines to generate real-world solutions to environmental challenges. Their work has cultural, social, and/or political dimensions that open the possibility for ongoing interdisciplinary engagement.

2. Who has received funding in the past?

   Explore the research communities on the Environmental Innovations Initiative website.

3. I have already been awarded funding through the research community program; can I reapply?

   Yes. Funding can be awarded for the same community for up to three years. Previous applicants and awardees are also welcomed to apply for new research communities.

4. Can I participate in more than one research community?

   Yes. Members of the Penn community are welcome to participate in more than one research community.

5. How is student involvement defined? 

   Students must be meaningfully involved in the work of the research community, not just as recipients of the community’s outcome. For example, they may be employed as research assistants or educators or involved in dissemination or translation of the communities’ efforts. Ideally, multiple students will be engaged in each research community.

6. What constitutes a public-facing outcome?

   The baseline for this is a publication, event, or other deliverable that is open to the public. Preference will be given to projects that are highly visible: in Philadelphia, in the world, or in a particular sector or industry. Programming for specific communities outside of Penn also qualifies for this criterion. 

7. Will there be opportunities to connect with other communities?

   Depending on interest and availability, the Initiative may convene gatherings between groups. There may also be opportunities to collaborate on activities and presentations in the spring.

8. Can I use this funding as matching funds for a Penn Global grant or other internal funding source?

   Yes. If your research community has a global scope, you can use the Environmental Innovations Initiative funding as matching funds for Penn Global's Grant Program.

9. Have more questions? 

   Contact the Environmental Innovation Initiative team via email.