Salata Institute Climate Research Clusters Program

Concept Proposal Deadline: April 1, 2024

Award Amount: up to $600,000 per year, for a period of up to three years

The purpose of the Climate Research Clusters Program is to produce useful and impactful solutions to climate problems. Research clusters are intended to be ambitious, interdisciplinary, cross-School efforts to take on climate problems that are narrow enough to ensure that concrete solutions emerge, but broad enough that the solutions represent significant progress in meeting the world’s climate challenge.

Research clusters will comprise Harvard faculty, post-docs, and students, and they may include visiting scholars, practitioners, and external collaborators. An accepted and launched Climate Research Cluster must have co-PIs representing at least two Schools, and ideally the Cluster ought to span multiple disciplines. Preliminary concept proposals do not need to have co-PIs from multiple Schools but should explain what other School(s) and other disciplinary area(s) could be part of the Cluster. Cluster activities should include external engagement, for example, through conferences and/or convenings. The final result should be a concrete proposal or proposals to address an aspect of the climate crisis based on the new knowledge that the research cluster produces.

The Salata Institute has created a consultative process to facilitate the development of strong proposals to the Climate Research Clusters Program. The Salata Institute’s Research Committee will engage with first-round proposers to explore collaboration across other proposed clusters, and, if necessary, to modify the scope of the proposal. The process may yield a revised proposal (step 2). From these revised proposals, a small number of clusters will be invited to prepare a detailed proposal (step 3).

This process includes Q&A sessions, a networking reception, presentations of proposed projects, and consultations with prospective project teams. See the list below for dates and RSVP links. While they encourage engagement, participation in these events is optional.

• Q&A Session 1: February 16, 2024, 12–1 PM. Marc Heng Conference Room, Wexner 102, Harvard Kennedy School. RSVP here.
• Q&A Session 2: March 8, 2024, 1 – 2 PM. Harvard University Center for the Environment, 26 Oxford St., 4^th Floor: MCZ 440. RSVP here.
• Project Presentations & Networking Event: April 26, 2024. Details to be announced.

To learn more and to apply for funding from the Climate Research Clusters program, use the link above. Please refer to their FAQ page for answers to frequently asked questions.

Interested researchers should also consider the Salata Institute Seed Grant Program in Climate and Sustainability. Proposals for this program, which awards a maximum of $25,000 for multiple categories, will be considered three times per year, with deadlines of the second Friday of January, May, and September.

Questions from FAS or SEAS faculty about these opportunities may be directed to research_development@fas.harvard.edu.