PASS-CR
FUTURE THINKERS’ AWARDS

ABOUT THE INITIATIVE

The ACIAR PASS-CR Future Thinkers’ Awards empower PASS-CR scholars and academics to integrate change climate into their agricultural research. Many PASS-CR scholars are already conducting research in traditional areas of agriculture, such as aquaculture, horticulture and forestry — this initiative gives scholars the opportunity to further expand their research to include climate change knowledge and tools.

The Future Thinkers’ Awards prepare PASS-CR scholars to conduct interdisciplinary research in climate change that effectively utilises concepts and methods developed in the fields of resilience thinking, climate change adaptation, greenhouse gas mitigation and disaster risk reduction.

Scholars will also be given the opportunity to increase their skills and knowledge in areas such as adaptation pathways, participatory scenario planning, and integration of climate change into policy and planning, so that their research has the potential to directly influence planning and decision making at different governance levels (community, sector, national, regional).

PASS-CR Future Thinker awardees will receive mentorship to effectively integrate climate change thinking into their exisiting thesis research. These prospective projects will then be selected to receive funding of between AU$5,000 and AU$30,000, based on the complexity of the project. The selection process will also look for opportunities to enhance collaboration across sectors; for example, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture, horticulture, water and soils, and natural resource management, while aligning with ACIAR research priorities.

ELIGIBILITY

In order to participate in the funding and capacity building initiative PASS-CR scholars will have to meet the following eligibility criteria:

  • Be a current PASS-CR scholar enrolled in either a Master’s or PhD program.

  • Have a minimum of a year left in the program.

  • Be able to establish a research team with a clear Australian or international linkage (normally with an expert in climate science or a climate-related research discipline) and a strong local or Pacific linkage (normally with someone in policy or planning, and/or community engagement – either directly or through an NGO or CBO representative).

  • Provide a letter of support from their existing (agriculture-focused) supervision team (university supervisor and external co-supervisor), to demonstrate that the student is making satisfactory progress towards the completion of their degree.

  • Be available to participate in specialised Future Thinkers’ workshops as part of the application process

  • Participate in at least one coaching and support meeting with the Future Thinkers coordinators, to receive feedback and advice for their proposal.

  • Submit completed application form before the deadline.  

APPLICATIONS WILL RE-OPEN IN 2023
Applications are only open to exisiting, eligible PASS-CR program participants..
Read about the 2022 Future Thinkers here.