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SSH Ideas Fund - Projects

Evan Henry, Mr | 25 Aug 2025

2023

Museum Climate Infrastructure in the Tropics

Lead researcher Kenji Praepipatmongkol (Art History)

Preferences over Sustainable Trade Policies: Building Sustainability Coalitions in Canada

Carrying out international trade with an eye to its environmental and social impact entails costs for the average Canadian citizen. This trade-off between economic goals and sustainability-related objectives is at the core of this project. In particular, we aim to understand individual preferences regarding sustainability in international trade, especially among communities that are vulnerable to climate change and social inequalities. The results of this project will help facilitate the design of policies that minimize market distortions, while taking into account the distributional consequences of trade sustainability. Lead researcher Leo Baccini (Political Science)

2022

The role of post-decision nudges in fostering sustainable investing for different investors profiles

While retail investors are scattered and inexperienced, they have the potential to pressure public equity firms into adopting more sustainable practices. The present research investigates the role of nudges through text message reminders in encouraging retail investors to make more sustainable investing choices. Specifically, this research tests two more different framing strategies on different investor profiles and draws recommendations to brokers, trading platforms, and public equity firms. Lead researcher Laurette Dubé (Management)

Heat islands and equity in Accra, Ghana

We continuously measured indoor and outdoor temperature and humidity for 18-months at high spatiotemporal resolution (144 outdoor sites and 132 indoor residential locations) in the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA) of Ghana. We described indoor and outdoor temperature variations and extremes based on time of day, season, and spatially across the city, and compared the relationship between indoor and outdoor temperatures. We collated land-use data and are currently developing a land-use regression to predict outdoor temperature for the entire city at a 50x50m resolution. Lead researcher Jill Baumgartner (Epidemiology)

Ethnic minority communities in upland Vietnam facing ecological challenges and conservation officials

This project aims to better understand the complex relationships between local ethnic minority communities in the Vietnamese borderlands, the conservation policies of the highly centralized Vietnamese state, and the officials who work to implement these policies at the local level. We hope to amplify the voices of ethnic minority communities, including their ecological visions, and their concerns regarding state directed policies. The social, economic, and environmental wellbeing of these local communities -- three core pillars of sustainability – are at the heart of this study. Lead researcher Sarah Turner (Geography)

The Accessibility of Transitions to Urban Sustainability: A Case Study of Montreal

This project has the potential to generate positive social impacts by enhancing the ways in which the needs and perspectives of disabled and elderly persons may be considered in efforts to reduce carbon emissions in Montreal and more broadly. In turn, the greater accessibility of climate mitigation policies may yield positive environmental impacts (by enhancing the share of the population that can contribute to the transition to sustainability) as well as economic impacts (by making transportation more inclusive for disabled and elderly persons). Lead researcher Sebastien Jodoin (Law)

2021

Knowledge co-creation for inclusive decision-making to protect the Chateauguay watershed

This project has the potential to generate positive social impacts by enhancing the ways in which the needs and perspectives of disabled and elderly persons may be considered in efforts to reduce carbon emissions in Montreal and more broadly. In turn, the greater accessibility of climate mitigation policies may yield positive environmental impacts (by enhancing the share of the population that can contribute to the transition to sustainability) as well as economic impacts (by making transportation more inclusive for disabled and elderly persons). Lead researcher Colin Scott (Anthropology)

Urban Sustainability in the Wake of Disasters: Community-based Food Production in Beirut

This project supports the development of an urban garden in Beirut where financial crisis, and ecological and infrastructural collapse have led to deepening food insecurity. It underscores the relevance of alternative food production systems for building resilient urban communities and demonstrates the significance of sustainable transitions in cities where poverty and hunger threaten human development. Lead researcher Diana Allan (Anthropology)

Quantifying and characterizing energy poverty: a community-based survey

Results from a community-wide survey in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia, will provide an in-depth quantification and characterization of residential energy poverty and of its impacts on the well-being of households. Evidence will contribute to research and policies at the intersection of housing, public health, sustainability, and climate change. Lead researcher Mylene Riva (Geography)

2020

Learning for the future: Understanding the impacts of collaborative learning among future teachers and future environmental scientists as they engage in sustainability education

This project investigates the outcomes of sustainability-focused community partnerships which pair McGill Education and Environment undergraduate students with organizations engaged in sustainability education. We will investigate the impact of these partnerships on: a) Education students’ knowledge of and perceptions of teaching for sustainability; b) perceptions that Environment students have of their role as environmental science communicators; and c) opportunities for students to learn from each other about sustainability via community-university partnerships. Lead researcher Allison Gonsalves (Education)

Aquaponics powered by clean energy to reduce poverty: A pilot study in Kenya

For the past 3 years, I have been collaborating with a Kenyan NGO called Hydro Power Initiative and a rural community in Kenya to undertake an impact evaluation of a community-based micro-hydro project in rural Kenya. The next idea is to find an electrical appliance that can be powered by this project and reduce poverty. This grant will allow us to explore the promise of aquaponics in doing so, as well as develop a working prototype. Aquaponics could potentially increase agricultural productivity of small-scale farmers in Kenya, in an environmentally sustainable way. Lead researcher Matthieu Chemin (Economics)

‘I don’t trust supermarket food’: Supporting Sustainable Urban Agriculture in Asia

Increasing food production in cities and practicing environmental-friendly food production can substantially reduce the ecological and carbon footprints of cities, working towards global sustainability. This is vital since cities import food and produce waste that is seldom recycled or reused, and while 55% of people live in cities, cities create 60% of global carbon emissions. Our project explores the attempts of local residents in Vietnam and Indonesia to build alternative food provisioning approaches in small cities through urban agriculture. We focus on small cities as they are set to become the dominant urban form in the Global South in the near future. Lead researcher Sarah Turner (Geography)

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