CALL FOR PROJECTS
TERRITORIES OF SOLUTIONS
EXPERIMENTATION PROGRAM
With the support of
In order to help companies, Nonprofits and the research community working for the socio-ecological transition to amplify their impact and allow them to test their proposals as quickly as possible on real testing grounds, the Campus de la transition ecological launches the 1st edition of its experimentation program Territories of solutions !
This free 6-month experimentation program was developed around 2 principles:
Challenges are launched to companies, NPOs and the research community around a theme of socio-ecological transition defined for each edition.
Fields of experimentation are made available to those selected to test their proposals associated with the theme in real conditions.
A 1 st EDITION AROUND HEAT ISLANDS
For this first call for projects, the Campus de la transition écologique, in partnership with the Société du Parc Jean-Drapeau and its partners, is looking for innovative solutions to reduce the effects of heat islands (UHI) on the population, especially the most vulnerable individuals. Proposals can include, for example, greening solutions (development of green spaces, revegetation of parking lots, etc.), sustainable urban infrastructure (sun protection, adequate materials, refreshment area, etc.), systems to reduce anthropogenic heat, tools for the intelligent collection and analysis of data (visualization, predictions, recommendations, etc.) or even projects that facilitate the adoption of socio-ecological transition solutions with communities/cities (education, empowerment, financing).
WHO IS THIS CALL FOR?
To reflect the diversity of proposals and talents working on socio-ecological transition, this call is open to:
Private companies or Nonprofits with no incorporation date limit that want to test their proof of concept or deploy a more mature solution on a testing ground.
and
Researchers who want to conduct a field experiment as part of the validation of the hypotheses of their research work.
THE CHALLENGES LAUNCHED FOR THE CALL FOR PROJECTS
In a context of climate change, the Montreal region and its population, and more specifically the most vulnerable ones, have been going through heat waves of unprecedented magnitude for several years and it is expected that these weather episodes will be more frequent, longer and more intense in the future. Coupled with these heat waves, the loss of plant space, mineralization and the use of certain cover materials produce conditions conducive to the creation of heat islands.
1/ IMPROVE GREENING, SUSTAINABLE URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE AND ANTHROPIC HEAT REDUCTION
Like urban living environments, the territory of Parc Jean-Drapeau is not immune to the effects of heat islands, with several sites on its territory being particularly conducive to this phenomenon, such as space 67 and parking spaces. In addition, the 2020-2030 Parc Jean-Drapeau Conservation, Landscaping and Development Master Plan presents the reduction of heat islands as a priority objective. More specifically, the target to be achieved for 2030 is to reduce them by 20% across the entire fleet. In this sense, we are looking for proposals capable of answering at least one of the following questions: How to integrate maintenance practices and greening solutions that ensure effective protection of UHIs while respecting biodiversity? How to transform mineralized spaces with approaches and materials that improve the thermal comfort of these spaces? How to rethink the facilities at Parc Jean-Drapeau to create respite spaces during episodes of extreme heat?
2/ STRUCTURE INTELLIGENT DATA COLLECTION FOR THE PURPOSE OF ANALYSIS, PREDICTION, RECOMMENDATIONS AND MAINTENANCE
Even if many promising solutions exist to fight against UHIs, the question still arises on which proposals will be the most effective and adapted to configurations that are often not reproducible from one geographical situation to another when the investments can be substantial.
In this matter, we are looking for experimentation projects able to answer at least one of the following questions: how to collect and record data to develop UHI prediction models? How to interpret and make more understandable the data collected to make recommendations on the solutions to be implemented? How to identify and monitor the performance criteria of the chosen solutions to calculate their performance and impact and adjust them as needed?
3/ FACILITATE THE ADOPTION AND ACCESSIBILITY OF SOLUTIONS TO THE GREATEST NUMBER AND IN PARTICULAR TO THE MOST VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES
his phenomenon of UHIs has a negative impact on the quality of life of citizens and more strongly of certain groups of people who are particularly vulnerable to heat waves: people on low incomes, people who are socially isolated, the elderly, people with chronic illnesses and people with severe mental health problems. However, it is generally these same populations who do not really have the means to choose and access the most relevant solutions.
In this sense, we are looking for proposals capable of answering at least one of the following questions: how to arouse the interest of citizens and cities and mobilize them around UHI issues? How can the groups most vulnerable to UHIs be empowered and able to implement their own means of heat reduction or to enjoy specific infrastructures designed to give them moments of respite? How to offer them financing solutions?
TESTING GROUNDS
As part of this call for solutions, bidders are asked to express the context in which their experimentation could take place at Parc Jean-Drapeau. Even if the Campus is open to any proposal for places, particularly in terms of green spaces, within the limits of their availability during the program, the park has spaces with varied characteristics which have in common to form heat islands during episodes of intense heat or that could serve as respite spaces and could be available to deploy experimental projects there. We can think of certain parking lots, space 67 or other types of mineralized spaces as well as wooded spaces and shaded areas. Parc Jean-Drapeau's master plan can guide the choice of experimentation sites in relation to the park's strategic objectives.
relevant information
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A free 6-month experimentation program from April 2023 to September 2023
More than 30 hours of support including:
► Training and practical workshops to define the conditions of adoption and the impact criteria of its solution and validate its experimentation plan every 2 weeks.
► Personalized support by a coach assigned at the start of the program.
► Supervision in the preparation and management of its experimentation (implementation, data capture, documentation of results, etc.).
► Experts available to talk about important topics (valuation, financing, impact...)
Meetings with partners wishing to promote the solutions tested or the data generated.
Testing grounds (subject to availability) to test your proof of concept or solution.
Participation in networking events at Le Campus de la transition écologique.
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This call for applications is open to any person or organization that meets the following criteria:
To be able to demonstrate that the experimentation on Campus will make it possible to validate the working hypotheses and accelerate the development of the project.
Be a private company or a non-profit organization legally constituted according to federal or provincial laws and with no limit on the date of incorporation or a researcher or group of researchers working on a project related to the proposed challenges.
Have a proof of concept or a viable solution that can be deployed and tested easily on the testing grounds offered during the duration of the program (April to September 2023).
Own the rights to use the intellectual property attached to the project.
Make his team available for participation in training, practice and experimentation activities between April and September 2023.
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Candidates will be selected according to the following criteria:
Proposal responding to one or more of the proposed challenges.
Proposal that can be deployed and experimented easily and safely on the testing grounds.
Ability of the team to get involved in the program and to deploy the experimentation for its project.
Innovative nature of the proposal and the experimental hypotheses.
Ethics of the project team both in the development of the solution and in its experimentation.
Impact of the proposal in solving the challenges of ecological transition attached to heat islands.
Demonstrated usefulness of experimentation in accelerating further project development.
Openness to transfer and share knowledge during the program.
Experience of the project team in its field.
Notes:
The program and all trainings sessions will be held in French in a bilingual environment where everybody will be able to openly speak English or French at their own convenience. Coaching will be proposed either in French or English based on the project team preferences.
The experimentations for this call will be deployed during the summer of 2023. If the deadlines are too short for certain projects, we still invite you to apply for the year 2024, indicating in your application the optimal deadlines for your experimentation.
Deadline for applications: MARCH 10, 2023, midnight EDT
Registration can only be done online
10 projects will be shortlisted and will have to be presented to a jury of experts. 5 projects will then be selected.
An information session will be held online on March 3, 2023 from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.
For more information at any time, please contact Pascale Lemire Gaumont: pascale@campusdelatransition.org
