Expert engagement initiative on clean growth and climate change

The objective of this presentation is to provide you with an overview of the initiative, to discuss opportunities, and to describe the application process.

First, what is the expert engagement initiative?

And here I'll just getting into a bit of background.

Canada’s climate plan includes a number of important measures to help Canada meet our emissions reduction target, grow the economy, and build resilience to a changing climate.

The government has also committed to increasing ambition on climate action as required through the Paris Agreement.

To ensure that future actions are informed by science and evidence, the Government of Canada has committed to engage with external experts to:

• provide informed advice to decision makers
  
• assess the effectiveness of measures, including through the use of modelling, and
  
• identify best practices

The Government of Canada announced $20 million over 5 years in Budget 2018 for this initiative.

The objective of the expert engagement initiative is to support the development and provision of independent and credible advice, and the identification of best practices to inform future actions on clean growth and climate change.

This work should help Canada meet its climate change commitments in a cost-effective, efficient and equitable manner.

There are three outcomes that the expert engagement initiative will contribute to achieving.

• The first is that Canadians are more aware of actions towards climate change in general.
• The second is that Indigenous Peoples and organizations, youth, and students should be engaged on clean growth and climate change initiatives.
• And third, Canadians should be more engaged on climate change issues, and should be equipped to take informed action to reduce emissions and adapt to climate change.
  

Environment and Climate Change Canada will identify an expert organization – that from here we, will be referring to as the Institute – to support progress on clean growth and climate change.

The Institute will provide trusted advice to Canadians and governments on clean growth and climate change to support ambitious and achievable climate action, and will build on the existing capacity within Canada to provide authoritative and credible advice.

It will identify best practices and key policies to help Canada take on more ambitious commitments towards decarbonisation.

More information on how to get involved in this initiative will be addressed in section two of this webinar.

While we recognize and acknowledge the many groups in Canada that have made important contributions related to clean growth and climate change, there is still more work to be done.

The Institute would have a unique role and is envisaged to add value to the climate change and clean growth landscape.

It would leverage existing expertise and organizational capacity across a number of groups and build new capacity.

The Institute would involve experts in traditional knowledge, natural and social sciences, business and public policy.

It would also ideally secure support across various sectors, including government, business, academia, and civil society.

The cross-sectoral and interdisciplinary features of the Institute would ensure that it encompasses a broad range of perspectives.

The Institute would also be authoritative.

This is an important feature as the Institute would need to be recognized as a credible and trusted source of advice on climate action in order to resonate with Canadians.

The Institute would also be inclusive; both in governance, and in the advice and products it generates.

The work of the Institute should be widely accessible to the Canadian public, made available in both official languages, and should consider the perspectives of underrepresented groups in society.

The work of the Institute will span the key elements of clean growth and climate change.

Through its activities, the Institute would break down silos that exist in research.

It would integrate across the areas of adaptation, mitigation, and clean growth.

The Institute would find opportunities to strengthen the evidence base in areas where gaps exist.

For example, the Institute could explore the costs of addressing climate-related natural disasters in Canada, including from flooding, fires, and storms.

It could examine the effectiveness and costs of measures such as flood infrastructure and fire barriers.

The Institute could also look at opportunities to ensure a just transition for workers and communities as Canada moves to a low carbon economy.

Other areas of research could include assessing the potential for the development and deployment of clean technologies across the economy, and/or identifying ways small businesses could adapt to climate change and capitalize on clean growth opportunities.

The work of the Institute would fall under four main areas.

• First, it will undertake analysis and research and develop decision-support tools and guidance on the use of assessment methodologies. This will help address critical policy questions related to clean growth and climate change in Canada.
• Second, it will convene and facilitate participation from diverse interests and perspectives to build connections, foster collaboration and identify solutions.
• Third, it will compile, integrate and communicate available information and data to improve climate literacy in Canada and encourage climate action.
• Finally, it will provide practical and forward-looking advice, translating analysis, information and data into useable and comprehensive advice for governments and Canadians to support progress on clean growth and climate change.

Importantly, the Institute is not intended to be an auditor, nor should it duplicate work already being done by others.

While partnerships are important, the Institute should be a functioning organization, capable of fulfilling most, if not all, of these activities with its own staff and resources.

The Institute will be expected to produce reports, decision-support tools and communication materials.

Reports could be anything from short research papers on specific topics, to annual or biannual assessments of best practices across clean growth and climate change.

Decision-support tools will be tools developed to help individual Canadians and governments in Canada make better decisions.

They could be simple or complex, and can be anything from an online calculator, to predictive models, spreadsheets and guidance on methodology.

We are not being prescriptive of the types of tools developed.

The Institute should develop tools that will support Canadians and their governments to take action on clean growth and climate change.

Communication materials could be any combination of blog posts, newsletters, events or other means of reaching governments and Canadians.

Communications will be an important part of the work of the Institute, and thought should be given on how best to reach people.

The Institute is expected to adhere to a set of seven key principles.

• It must be science and evidence-based. It should include the perspectives of experts in traditional knowledge, the business sector, civil society, government, as well as academia.
• The Institute must be pan-Canadian. It will produce work relevant across Canada, yet sensitive to the unique circumstances in Canada’s diverse regions.
• The Institute must be transparent. It will report on its activities and take an open approach to its research and products to be accessible and build trust.
• The Institute must be perceived as credible. It will be widely viewed across Canada as an authoritative source of reliable and valued information.
• The Institute must be independent. It will be non-partisan and external to government.
• The Institute must be policy-relevant.It will prioritize topics for analysis to develop advice that is timely, implementable and relevant to governments and Canadians.
• The Institute must be effective.It will produce impactful work that will resonate with Canadians and decision makers, and lead to tangible outcomes.

We will now move on to discuss how parties interested in this initiative can get involved.

The Government of Canada will soon launch a Call for Proposals to identify the organization that will be responsible for providing advice to inform ambitious future action on clean growth and climate change.

The Government of Canada would enter into a contribution agreement with the applicant that successfully demonstrates it can best meet the objectives and principles identified for this initiative.

Interested parties can get involved through two avenues.

• You can apply to be the "funding recipient" that will undertake the work of the institute, developing analyses and best practices and providing advice.
• You can also get involved by partnering with the funding recipient, which could include conducting research in partnership with the Institute, co-developing events or other projects, and/or indicating your support for the Institute.

We encourage the development of partnerships and leveraging of expertise through the Institute, building on the areas of strength already in place in Canada.

At the same time, this initiative is meant to build new capacity in Canada and go beyond partnerships on existing activities.

Applicants must be either new or existing not-for-profit organizations.

Sound governance will be a key part of the success of the Institute.

It must have a professional staff to execute activities, and a governance model that ensures internal accountability.

We are not prescriptive in how the Institute should be structured, however applicants will have to detail governance mechanisms as part of the application process.

They will have to explain how this will lead to sound internal decision-making.

Applicants may be asked to demonstrate planned activities in their proposal fall within the scope of activities eligible for funding.

These activities should cover adaptation, mitigation, clean growth, and should contribute to program outcomes.

Applicants may also be asked to demonstrate that they have commitment from individual experts to participate in the Institute.

Individuals involved in the Institute should have the necessary expertise, including a proven track record of providing advice in the area of clean growth and/or climate change.

Applicants may also be asked to demonstrate that they have the support of other organizations and/or provincial, territorial, or Indigenous governments.

We will now review the steps one must take to apply to the expert engagement initiative.

Both the Government of Canada and applicants have responsibilities under the Call for Proposals, that again as I noted earlier, will soon be launching.

The applicant will review the applicant guide, which will be made available on the website at the same time the Call for Proposals is launched.

They are then responsible for preparing then prepare their application.

This will include an application form and a written proposal, requiring applicants to outline the vision, work plan and governance plan, among other elements.

They will then submit the application to the expert engagement initiative email address, which will be provided on the application form.

Environment and Climate Change Canada will acknowledge receipt, assess the proposals, select the successful applicant and notify them of the decision.

We will then prepare the funding agreement with the successful applicant.

Questions or comments related to this initiative will be received at the expert engagement initiative email address, listed on the presentation.

Additional details are available on the website.

When the Call for Proposals is issued, information about the Call will be posted here on the website.

We will also send an email notification to everyone who registered for the webinar.

Thank you for participating in this webinar.