Climate Collaboration Project Grants – 2nd Cohort

Following its launch in 2025 and in response to an inaugural call for proposals, the UC Irvine Climate Collaboration initiated a set of five projects targeting a range of topics, from advancing wildfire prediction to the role of urban pocket parks and gardens in building community resilience. Each project brought together an interdisciplinary team of faculty and external partners seeking insights and solutions to pressing challenges. Moreover, each project created new learning opportunities for UC Irvine students.

Members of the first cohort will present their work during the UC Irvine Climate Collaboration Annual Symposium on May 12, 2026 (open to the public – Registration here ). Researchers and their partners will share early outcomes, lessons learned, and emerging opportunities from these collaborative initiatives.

A Second Cohort

We are now pleased to offer a call for proposals for Climate Collaboration Project Grants for the 2026-2027 cycle. The goal of this call is to grow the number of interdisciplinary teams working with external partners on translational research and education around climate challenges that align with UC Irvine academic strengths.

What We Are Looking For

We are seeking proposals from teams of UC Irvine faculty who have cultivated relationships with external partners around challenges, and have identified promising research directions that need an infusion of research funding to gain academic traction and open up new opportunities for externally funded scholarship. We encourage project teams that bring together researchers from distant disciplines in intriguing new ways. Irrespective of whether collaborations are new or old, we are keen to receive proposals from investigators with a vision for exciting new translational research directions at UC Irvine that could further elevate our stature as a leader in climate solutions.

The educational activities supported by these grants advance UC Irvine’s strong commitment to teaching excellence, innovation, and the integration of research into education. UC Irvine students are eager to build foundational knowledge of Climate, Resilience, and Sustainability (CRS) challenges, gain hands-on experience solving real-world problems, and develop professional networks and career pathways. These activities can also serve to build or strengthen partnerships, for example through guest lectures, panels, site visits, technical advising, and review of student work (e.g., final presentations). Activities are expected to take place within a single academic quarter, not as a year-round commitment.

Strong proposals will demonstrate scholarly rigor and the potential to contribute meaningful advances on multiple fronts such as:

• New knowledge that advances understanding of Climate, Resilience, and Sustainability (CRS) challenges
• Innovative technologies or analytical tools
• Policy insights or implementation strategies

Letters of participation/ support from external partners are required.

Evaluation

Climate Collaboration Project proposals will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

The proposals will be evaluated by an interdisciplinary review committee, and the selection of projects for awards will be based upon a combination of factors including the initial project scoring (above), review committee deliberations, portfolio balance (the program aims to select projects that are complementary and broadly representative of campus strengths and opportunities for future growth) and the availability of funds.

Requirements

Proposals require teams of UC Irvine faculty from at least two different Schools to apply. Any UC Irvine faculty members who are eligible to serve as Principal Investigators.  Funding levels are set at a maximum of $100,000 per year for 1-2 years (smaller requests are welcome). Upon selection for an award, the second year of funding will be subject to performance evaluation and the availability of funds. Faculty are limited to serving as PI on only one proposal.

Teams should be structured with a lead PI responsible for overall leadership of the project, one or more co-PIs, and at least one external partner that represents an end-user of the research and is involved in shaping the research as it progresses.

Budgets should be consistent with the scope of work. Funds should primarily support postdoctoral scholars or graduate students, and may also be used for supplies, meetings, workshops, travel, or field research, as appropriate for the scope of work. Faculty salaries or course buyouts are not allowed, and no indirect costs will be charged.

Timeline

• Proposal deadline: Monday, June 1st, 2026 (23:59 PST)
• Funding Announcement: Tuesday, September 1st, 2026
• Project start: Monday, September 21,  2026

Expectations for Awardees

Teams receiving support will be expected to:

• Invest time and effort to grow the collaboration and partnership, and position the project for sustained impact, future funding, and broader applications.
• Participate in communication and outreach efforts that help showcase and elevate the Climate Collaboration initiative.
• Submit a mid-project progress report and a final project report. Present their work at the UC Irvine Climate Collaboration Annual Symposium.

Application Checklist

Applications should include:

• Project Title Page (1 page) –  including project title, faculty team, partner organizations, a 250-word research summary, and a 100-word educational summary
• Project Description (max 5 pages) – The Project Description should address: the problem being addressed, the collaboration team, project objectives, research activities, the educational component, intellectual merit, expected societal impact, and expected impact for UC Irvine.
• Budget and budget justification
• Letters of participation from external partners – These should validate the relevance of the proposed work and the potential for translational research impact.
• Biosketches – for each faculty member and for the postdoctoral scholar or graduate student (if known)