SPI launches ten research projects

September 2025

As Canada navigates uncertain times, decision-makers need evidence-based solutions to tackle the challenges we all face and to build a better future for Canadians.

We’re pleased to share that we’ve recently secured more than $1M in funding to continue to build momentum on environment-economy solutions. This is an exciting signal of confidence in our work and these wins position us to expand our research and policy impact in the months and years ahead. We're grateful to our funders and partners for their support.

Upcoming research will span diverse topics from decarbonizing marine fuels and ports, and the interactions between climate and circular economy policies, to the economic opportunities of Indigenous-led conservation. We encourage you to read our list of new projects below and reach out to collaborate.

Newly funded research

We look forward to working on these exciting new projects and are grateful to our funders and partners for their support.:

Critical strategic minerals in the circular economy

With funding from the New Frontiers in Research Fund, we will do "high-risk, high-reward" research and explore the role of critical strategic minerals in Canada’s decarbonization efforts. Our project will include an analysis of how climate and circular policies interact across different energy decarbonization pathways.

Conservation economies: IPCA studies with Douglas First Nation and Stein-Nahatlatch Initiative

A project first established in 2022 with the Nlaka’pamux Nation to advance a conservation-based economy centred around a proposed Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area (IPCA) has been renewed, and the approach has been extended to a project with the Douglas First Nation. Funded by the Real Estate Foundation of British Columbia and the Sitka Foundation, these projects study natural capital-based economic opportunities to support an Indigenous-led conservation economy.

Agile regulation and permitting reform

This research, funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), will address one of the most pressing institutional challenges facing Canada today: how to deliver infrastructure faster, cleaner and more fairly by reforming permitting and regulatory systems. Read more about this project here.

Scaling Canada’s cleantech sector

Funded by SSHRC, this research will identify the policies and strategies needed to scale the Canadian cleantech sector and attract long-term sustainable finance investment, using blended finance and policy tools to build a stronger financial ecosystem that enables scaling, IPOs and acquisitions.

Financing cleantech innovation

This Mitacs Elevate postdoctoral fellowship will advance research on the policies and behaviours that encourage climate-aligned finance and low-carbon innovation to help the Canadian clean technology sector attract more investment in promising companies.

Forestry disclosure frameworks

In partnership with the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, this Mitacs Elevate Fellowship research will explore how climate and nature disclosure frameworks can improve environmental outcomes in Canada’s forestry sector, support the forestry operations seeking to disclose and identify ways to enhance and grow their efficiency and effectiveness.

Climate adaptation workforce trends

Commissioned by Natural Resources Canada, this study analyzes how Canada’s climate adaptation and resilience workforce might grow in the next 10-20 years, helping to understand the job impacts and skills needed to build climate-resilient communities and economies. Read more about this project here.

Decarbonizing Canada’s shipping sector

In partnership with Oceans North, we will explore the policy frameworks, fuel-adoption pathways and stakeholder partnerships that Canada can use to produce low-carbon and net-zero fuels and build port infrastructure to cut shipping emissions while boosting trade and economic competitiveness.

Low-carbon and circular construction and deconstruction

In partnership with the Telfer School of Management and Circular Economy Leadership Canada, this initiative will bring together industry and academia to collaborate on practical and theoretical research that accelerates change towards a low-carbon, circular economy in the construction and deconstruction sector.

Leadership renewal

This momentum comes at a time of leadership renewal at SPI. Dr. Geoff McCarney, our Senior Director of Research, has been appointed as our Executive Director. Dr. McCarney holds this position alongside his role as Director of the Institute of the Environment (IE) at the University of Ottawa, SPI’s host institution. Both institutes will benefit from Geoff’s decade of experience leading large, interdisciplinary research teams, multi-stakeholder partnerships and major grants.

We’re also proud to announce that Marena Winstanley will step into the newly created role of Managing Director, working with Geoff to guide the organization into its next chapter.

We extend our sincere thanks to Dr. Stewart Elgie, SPI’s Founder and Chair, for his many years of leadership as Director of the IE, and to Mike Wilson, SPI’s outgoing Executive Director, for his decade of service building SPI into one of Canada’s leading environment-economy research voices.

Please join us in congratulating Geoff and Marena, and in celebrating this exciting new work. Thank you for your continued support.

— The Smart Prosperity Institute Team