BC Parks Living Lab for Climate Change & Conservation Program – Environmental Protection & Sustainability Forms

Funding Application – 2024

The BC Parks Living Lab for Climate Change and Conservation Program promotes B.C.’s protected areas as places to learn about the effects of climate change, how to mitigate and manage for these effects, and how to share this information among and between academics and practitioners. B.C.’s protected areas are less developed than much of the rest of the province, so parks serve as a “living lab,” and can help us understand the impact of climate change on the natural world. Climate-informed conservation research in protected areas can also reveal areas that are critical to connectivity within and adjacent to the protected areas system which in turn can inform management decisions.

Applicants are encouraged to consider the Living Lab Program’s goals and priority projects and research themes in their application.

Each application will be considered on the basis of:

Contribution to understanding climate change impacts and how to manage for impacts in BC’s provincial parks;
Objectives, methodology and approach;
Qualifications and experience;
Budget including other sources of funding (e.g., how Living Lab funding assistance contributes to other research or if there is an opportunity to leverage additional funds).

Successful applications will be chosen to ensure that the Living Lab research projects:

Are endorsed by regional BC Parks staff;
Acknowledge and include Indigenous stewardship in the project proposal, its results and/or application of results; and
Support improved management of the conservation, cultural and/or recreational values within B.C.’s provincial park system.

Applications must be submitted by 11:59pm on October 27^th, 2023. Preliminary decisions on priority projects for Living Lab funding will be announced in January 2024. Funding will be awarded in spring, subject to confirmation of its availability in the provincial budget.

Successful projects commence in the spring of 2024 and end in March 2025. All deliverables for 2024 projects are due March 20, 2025.

Eligibility:

Lead applicants must be professors who hold a current teaching or research position with a public post-secondary institution in BC. Adjunct professors are not eligible for Living Lab funding.

Organizations or individuals working in partnership with a professor as described above are also encouraged to apply. All successful applicants must be available to share the preliminary results of their project at the annual Living Lab Research Colloquium in December 2024 (location to be confirmed and event may be virtual).

Additionally, please ensure that all relevant First Nations in your proposed research area are aware of your intentions and support the goals of your research project (at least in principle). Protocols for engagement with local First Nations must be part of your discussions with BC Parks staff. For information on First Nation engagement and help identifying the appropriate staff, contact Sharilynn Wardrop or Marla Bojarski.

University name:*
Lead investigator name:*
First Name Last Name
Email*
Title of research project:*
Project duration:*
- One year
- Multi-year
First year funding request:*
(minimum $10K; maximum $30K)
Please enter a number from 10000 to 30000.
Location of research:*
(name of protected area(s))
Ideal project start and end dates:
Start Date*
MM slash DD slash YYYY
End Date*
MM slash DD slash YYYY
Description of project
Is there a field component to your project?
- Yes
- No
Methodology:*
Expected performance targets and milestones:*
Relevance of project to protected area management and decision making:*
Name(s) of regional staff engaged:*
(please attach any correspondence at the bottom)
Does the research involve Indigenous peoples or their interests/priorities? Have they been involved in the research design?*
(150 words max)
How is BC Parks’ understanding or management approach likely to be affected by this research?*
Short summary of qualifications and experience of lead investigator and any supporting team members:*
(250 word max)
Budget:
Please indicate if this application is a component of a larger project and include budgetary context here. Recipients of Living Lab funding are required to present results and attend Research Colloquium in December 2024 (virtually or in person). Travel and accommodation to attend Colloquium are acceptable expenses. BC Parks pays 5% overhead for university funding transfers as per the Living Lab Overhead policy (Nov 2017). Download the budget template [XLSX], fill out the applicable fields, and attach it below.
File attachment
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Accepted file types: xls, xlsx, doc, docx, Max. file size: 16 MB.
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