Applications Invited for EPIC Air Quality Fund

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About the Organization

To meet the global energy challenge, humanity must address the need for reliable, affordable energy to foster economic growth while averting climate change and damages to the environment.

The Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC) produces data-driven research that advances society’s understanding of the global energy challenge and translates research insights into real-world impacts through strategic outreach and training for the next generation of global energy leaders.

About the Grant

In this call, the EPIC Air Quality Fund will offer financial support to 10-15 selected groups over an 18-month period. We expect award amounts to be roughly 50,000 USD for groups proposing to deploy lower cost sensors and 75,000 USD or more for groups using regulatory grade or reference grade equipment.

Selected Awardees will also implement plans to use the data they generate for a national-level impact of their design. It is the intention of the Fund to renew successful Awards for subsequent years of funding, pending available resources.

Eligibility

• Organizational Type: This call for applications is open to governmental and non-governmental organizations of any type, including universities, non-profits, for-profits, corporates, NGOs, and CSOs. Organizations are required to be legally authorized to receive funds from a US institution. Organizations are required to have a working bank account that is able to accept funds from a US institution. Individuals interested in applying must do so in partnership with an organization that meets the above criteria.
• Country: Applications from all countries may apply, except for those on the US Department of State “State Sponsors of Terrorism” List. Please note the EPIC Air Quality Fund will prioritize applications that address air quality issues in 75 countries identified by EPIC’s Air Quality Award Team as high and medium-high opportunities for closing nationwide PM2.5 data gaps. (See list of countries here.) The applicant must verify that it is legal to operate PM2.5 monitoring equipment, measure PM2.5, and share such data publicly in their country.
• Selection Criteria
• Country Location: The Fund prioritizes applications from the 75 countries where there is a “high” or “medium high” opportunity for a single monitoring effort to have a national-level impact. Here is a list of those countries from our analysis.
• Project Relevance: Over an 18 month time frame, the proposed project must generate and share outdoor, stationary PM2.5 data over 12 months with the intention of creating national-level impact on the clean air action through additional activities.
• Data Sharing and Transparency: All applicants must commit to providing full, open access to their air quality monitoring data. Please see this document, which further outlines the open data requirements of these awards and an assessment of whether popular air quality monitoring companies’ data policies meet our open data requirements.
• Likelihood of National Impact: The overarching goal of the project is to not just measure and share PM2.5 data, but to achieve a national-level impact on air pollution, through a variety of means, including but not limited to: increased awareness; heightened ambition in policy, greater government, philanthropic, development assistance or other financial investment; and of course actual decreases in PM2.5 levels (though we do not expect such reductions will yet be measurable during the18 months of the funding). By ‘national-level’ impact, we mean impacts that can have a systemic effect on how air pollution is viewed or addressed in the country, rather than nationwide mitigation measures (e.g. distribution or increased awareness of masks, filters, etc.). We expect funded local actors/organizations will have specific plans – and actual measurable impacts – that will vary from country to country. Examples of ‘systemic national-level impact’ could be work that spurs the creation or raises the ambition of an air quality standard, activates an influential group of leaders within the country toward advocating for a specific air pollution policy, etc. Whereas some groups may hold workshops with the data, others may invest in apps, specific policy objectives, or myriad of other activities, depending on what their judgment is on what activities will affect change in their national level environment. Please note: We are not interested in academic or technical impacts unless they somehow were to feed directly into national level impacts on air pollution.
• Prior Experience And/Or Ability to Learn Quickly and Continue Work for Multiple Years: Preference will be given to candidates that either have a proven track record in air quality and/or other related projects OR can share a compelling plan for how they will address any current knowledge gaps on their team. Preference will also be given to candidates that appear capable of and interested in monitoring air quality and working toward national-level impacts over multiple years.
• Team and Larger Collaborative Ability: Preference will be given to applicants who can demonstrate the ability to put together a team that can effectively achieve a national-level impact through monitoring and sharing PM2.5, as well as carrying out additional activities to achieve that impact during the 18 month grant period and possibly beyond. Additionally, preference will be given to those applicants who demonstrate they are well-situated to connect the PM2.5 data they generate and share to a larger set of nationally-relevant stakeholders. 

How to Apply

Applications to the EPIC Air Quality Fund are now open.

Submissions are due 10 September 2024 by 11:59PM your local time zone. To note: Outstanding applications received before this deadline may be evaluated on a rolling basis.

Apply here

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