University of Minnesota and the University at Buffalo (UB) in partnership with Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IITK), IIT Bombay (IITB), IIT Delhi (IITD), IIT Goa (IITG), Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham (a multicampus Indian university), and a growling list of others, have launched Sustainable GeoCommunities, a new initiative focused on leveraging the principles of geodesign to develop community-driven strategies that address local problems—in areas such as climate, natural resources, healthcare, education, transportation, and governance—that have global impact.
The UMN has launched a seed funding program for researchers at UMN, UB, and Indian partner institutions to brainstorm ideas and begin working with local communities on the science and innovation solutions needed for local, regional, and global problems.
The Sustainable GeoCommunities Seed Grants support research projects aligned with the Sustainable GeoCommunities initiative. Projects must include a lead PI/faculty member from the UMN and a co-PI from a local community of interest. RIO expects to fund up to 4 awards with budgets of up to $100K/yr for performance periods of up to three years. Application instructions and more information will be available mid-June.