Innovation for Sustainability Grant

WIOMSA is implementing two marine science initiatives the Marine and Coastal Science for Management (MASMA) Programme and the Cities and Coasts (C&C) project, both funded by the Government of Sweden through Sida. WIOMSA is pleased to announce an inaugural call to support innovative actions (demonstration and pilot projects), through the Innovation for Sustainability Grant programme. To address modern-day marine sustainability challenges, the grant programme supported by both MASMA and C&C project, is established to bridge the gap between marine research and innovation. In this call, WIOMSA aims to provide competitive grants that drive innovation for a sustainable marine environment.

The goal of the Innovation for Sustainability Grant programme is to support the development and testing of transformative, paradigm-shifting concepts, and approaches that address and enhance our understanding of marine and coastal environmental issues.  This grant seeks to support projects that use cost-effective, replicable and innovative methods to design, implement and/or evaluate existing solutions to contemporary issues or areas in need of improvement in the way marine and coastal environmental problems in the region, are addressed. Overall, projects should inspire the development and implementation of sustainable solutions to maintain the functioning of marine and coastal ecosystems.

The Innovation for Sustainability Grant programme will support a portfolio of innovations that collectively improve the sustainability of the coastal and marine environment. It encourages collaboration between different actors, including researchers, communities, government authorities and the private sector, to co-invest in ideas that can generate greater impact in the planned and on-going management efforts in coastal cities and the coastal and marine environment at large. It is envisaged that through this initiative, people-centered innovative solutions will be identified and tested, and the lessons learned from their results will contribute to bringing about more sustainable behavioural and social/environmental changes. It is also hoped that this program will accelerate the introduction of innovation into coastal and marine science and management in the WIO region.

For detailed instructions for applying for grants, please visit http://proposals.wiomsa.org.