UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Penn State Climate Consortium has launched the Climate Solutions Accelerator, an innovative effort aimed at catalyzing research projects geared towards offering impactful climate solutions for communities in Pennsylvania and globally. This program equips research teams with a comprehensive suite of resources, including access to funding, mentorship, dedicated workspace and support from both staff and non-tenure-line faculty. Through the Climate Solutions Accelerator, the consortium is actively fostering a collaborative environment to address climate challenges and advance sustainable solutions on a broader scale.
“The Climate Solutions Accelerator is designed to encourage bold research innovation and rapid and effective societal translation,” said Erica Smithwick, distinguished professor of geography and director of the Climate Consortium. “The Climate Solutions Accelerator builds on Penn State’s land-grant mission to support local and global issues facing people and our planet. The goal is to facilitate connections among researchers, implementation partners and community members across various fields to address the challenges of climate change.”
The initial Climate Solutions Accelerator program will feature two phases.
Phase one is a call for proposals for collaborative workshops to establish and/or advance teams aligned with the Climate Consortium’s themes. Phase one workshop proposals are expected to support the development of phase two Accelerator team projects. The deadline for workshop proposals is Jan. 15, 2024. Up to $20,000 is available for each workshop. Phase one workshops are encouraged to align with the 2024 Climate Solutions Symposium on May 14–15, 2024, and its pre-symposium workshop on May 13, 2024.
Phase two will be a call for proposals for interdisciplinary projects that show promise to meaningfully address the climate crisis. Projects accepted into phase two will identify local-to-regional planning and decision making; assemble a diverse, interdisciplinary team with key external partnerships to address research challenges; and demonstrate the potential for acquiring sustainable funding. The request for proposals for phase two is expected to be released in June 2024. Up to $200,000 will be shared among a maximum of three initial projects.