Simon Fraser University
AC-10: Support for Research

The Centre for Sustainable Community Development (CSCD) is committed to developing practical, effective solutions for environmental, social and economic challenges, and possesses a unique understanding and approach to support businesses and communities in their transition to sustainability. We conduct rigorous applied and participatory research in supporting this goal. Research is conducted by centre faculty and staff, graduate students, undergraduate students, and associates. Our results are disseminated through a variety of channels, including books, academic journal articles, papers, reports, student projects and the media. Funding for this research comes from a range of sources including the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), Western Economic Diversification Canada, Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC), Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and University Partnerships in Cooperation and Development (UPCD) Tier 2. The Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions (PICS) mission is to establish partnerships with governments, the private sector, researchers and civil society in order to undertake research on, monitor and assess the potential impacts of climate change, and evaluate, develop and promote viable mitigation and adaptation options to better inform climate change options and actions. PICS is hosted and led by the University of Victoria in collaboration with the University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University and the University of Northern British Columbia. Founded in 2008, PICS has launched a number of core research areas where SFU researchers and students have been and continue to be involved. PICS supports graduate and post doctoral fellowships and an internship program on an annual basis. To date a total of 20 SFU students and 2 Post Doctoral fellows have been awarded PICS fellowships and 12 internships positions have been appointed to SFU students. In addition, the annual SFU Sustainability Opportunity Fair provides an opportunity for graduate students to share their research with the SFU community while competing for up to $1,000 in travel support to attend national or international conference. Enactus SFU is a not-for-profit organization that aims to empower student entrepreneurs to address social, environmental and economic needs in the community. It has more than 60 active members running six sustainable programs. URLs: Centre for Sustainable Community Development: http://www.sfu.ca/cscd/research-projects.html Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions – Fellowships: http://www.sfu.ca/climatechange/pics-sfu/fellows.html Enactus SFU: http://enactussfu.com/about/

• The Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions (PICS) mission is to establish partnerships with governments, the private sector, researchers and civil society in order to undertake research on, monitor and assess the potential impacts of climate change, and evaluate, develop and promote viable mitigation and adaptation options to better inform climate change options and actions. PICS is hosted and led by the University of Victoria in collaboration with the University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University and the University of Northern British Columbia. Founded in 2008, PICS has launched a number of core research areas where SFU researchers and students have been and continue to be involved. As a member of the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions, SFU faculty members are well positioned to contribute to the development of innovative climate change solutions, seek new opportunities for positive adaptation to climate change solutions, and lead the way to a vibrant low carbon economy in BC and globally. PICS provides funding on five core research areas to the four university partners, as well as, supports graduate and post doctoral fellowships and an internship program on an annual basis. To date, SFU researchers have been involved in 11 of 34 PICS climate change research projects (Phase I) reaching a total of $819,064 dollars in funding. • 4D Labs is an applications- and science-driven research institute at Simon Fraser University. They offer access to multiple facilities housing state-of-the-art equipment for academic, industrial and government researchers. We focus on accelerating the Design, Development, Demonstration and Delivery of advanced functional materials and nanoscale devices. Our goal-oriented environment fosters intellectual freedom and creativity—critical for breakthrough research. Cleaner Energy is one of 4D Labs research areas; creating new innovative materials are critical to lower the costs and improve the performance of promising technologies such as photovoltaics, fuel cells and passive energy control systems. • The Climate Change Impacts Research Consortium (CCIRC) is an interdisciplinary research team who are investigating impacts of climate change on our environment, our economy, our health and our quality of life. CCIRC mission is to advance scientific research on the effects of climate change while improving our ability to communicate levels of risk. In the summer 2008, a group of 15 SFU researchers received funding from the Community Trust Endowment Fund (CTEF) administered by the Vice President of Research at SFU to conduct a five-year research program entitled "Secondary Effects of Climate Change on Human and Ecosystem Health: A Risk-Based Approach." The research team’s expertise spans the physical, biological, health and social sciences, resource and environmental management, communication, and computing science. URLs: Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions: http://www.sfu.ca/climatechange/pics-sfu.html 4D Labs: http://www.4dlabs.ca/ Climate Change Research Impact Consortium: http://www.sfu.ca/ccirc/

o Research guides examples: Sustainable Business Resources, Sustainable Community Development, Being About Action: Exploring Food, Community, and Urban Sustainability, Resource and Environmental Management. o Database resources: Resource & Environmental Management (eg: Environment Complete, GreenFILE, & Sustainable Organization Library) o Materials selection policies: The Resource & Environmental Management collection policy touches on many aspects of environmental sustainability. Although not explicit in other subject collection policies, resources on sustainability are collected in many areas. For example in the past year almost 200 resources on sustainability have been ordered by various other subject areas such as Communication, Economics, Business Administration, Geography, Urban Studies, and many others. A few notable resources: Clean Capitalism report, Berkshire Encyclopedia of Sustainability, The SOL (Sustainable Organization Library). o Curriculum development efforts: Study and teaching of sustainability is supported by embedded instruction (eg. life-cycle analysis). Also of note is a recent Research Commons Lightening Talks event with the theme of sustainability which brought together sustainability-researching grad students from across disciplines. URLs: o Research guides examples: • Sustainable Business Resources: http://www.lib.sfu.ca/help/subject-guides/business/sustainable-business • Sustainable Community Development: http://www.lib.sfu.ca/help/subject-guides/geography/community-development/home • Being About Action: Exploring Food, Community, and Urban Sustainability: http://www.lib.sfu.ca/help/subject-guides/dialogue/food • Resource and Environmental Management: http://www.lib.sfu.ca/help/subject-guides/rem/home o Database resources: • Resource & Environmental Management (eg: Environment Complete, GreenFILE, & Sustainable Organization Library): http://cufts2.lib.sfu.ca/CRDB4/BVAS/browse?subject=582 o Materials selection policies: • Resource & Environmental Management collection policy http://www.lib.sfu.ca/collections/collections-policies/rem • Clean Capitalism report: http://troy.lib.sfu.ca/record=b5715183~S1a • Berkshire Encyclopedia of Sustainability: http://troy.lib.sfu.ca/record=b5874372~S1a • Sustainable Organization Library: http://cufts2.lib.sfu.ca/CRDB4/BVAS/resource/12605 o Research Commons Lightning Talks event: http://www.lib.sfu.ca/research-commons/services/lightning-talks