Featured series 
As part of the Presidential initiative on climate and sustainability, the Office of the Vice Provost for Climate and Sustainability invites proposals from Harvard University ladder faculty for the new Climate Research Clusters Program.
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, postdocs, and students, and they may include visiting scholars, practitioners, and external collaborators. 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 OVPCS will award as many as five climate research clusters of up to $600,000 per project, per year, for a period of up to three years.
Ladder faculty, who are interested in serving as Principal Investigators (PIs) should submit a 500-word concept proposal by May 20. The concept proposal should state the problem, describe sample research questions to be explored, explain why that research could lead to impactful real-world outcomes, address any equity concerns associated with the topic, and provide a provisional list of the research team including co-PIs and collaborators. OVPCS will confer with the proposal teams, potentially suggest mergers or extensions of proposed projects, and hold brainstorming sessions. Based on this process, teams will update their concept proposals by July 30. Selected teams will then be invited to provide a full proposal, which will be due Sept. 15. Awards will be announced by November 1 and funding will commence in January 2023.
The full RFP, application information, and FAQs can be found on the OVPCS website.
