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Five-Year Research Chair in Science Diplomacy Awarded

A new 5-year Fonds de recherche du Québec (FRQ) Research Chair in Science Diplomacy was recently awarded to create a Global Science Diplomacy Hub for Arctic and Space Cooperation: Techno-Diplomacy for Resilient Futures in Extreme Environments.

The new 5-year FRQ Research Chair in Science Diplomacy is led by Polytechnique Montréal with the United Nations University Institute of Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH) in Canada along with Université Paris-Saclay in France and the Science Diplomacy Center, Inc. (SDCI) in the United States.

With science in the service of peace and climate justice, the objectives with this International Science Diplomacy Research Chair for Arctic and Space Cooperation are to:

  • Build a scientific and diplomatic platform for cooperation in extreme environments;
  • Train a new generation of global leaders and “techno-diplomats”;
  • Inform and strengthen emerging legal, policy, and technological frameworks; and
  • Amplify the involvement of Indigenous communities and marginalized actors in decisionmaking.

The program with this 5-year Research Chair in Science Diplomacy will involve:

  • Lab-to-Policy (L2P) Program;
  • International Summer School – Next-Generation Techno-Diplomats;
  • Fellowships in Science Diplomacy;
  • Co-Developed Research Program with Indigenous Communities;
  • Arctic-Space Techno-Diplomacy Forum; and
  • Knowledge Mobilization Program.

In addition to contributing with the Global Indigenous Youth Summit on Climate Change (GIYSCC) and 5th International Polar Year (IPY-5) SDCI initiatives – among the early projects with the FRQ Research Chair in Science Diplomacy is the Boston Science Diplomacy Summit that is being planned for Fall 2026, as a symbolic and synergistic step to build a Global Science Diplomacy Hub in Boston.  
This Science Diplomacy Research Chair website also lists initial partners who provided strong support for the proposal.  The globally distributed dimensions and transdisciplinary design of this FRQ Science Diplomacy Research Chair lend themselves to discover the interplay with techno-diplomacy and science diplomacy as complementary avenues of dialogue, coupling governance mechanisms and built infrastructure to achieve progress with sustainable development. 

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