External engagement
By sharing diverse expertise, resources, and data, our scholars can foster innovation, embark on ambitious projects, and accelerate discoveries.
Engagement Grants
The Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability Engagement Grant Program supports Stanford faculty in establishing new relationships with external partners that can advance research about the planet and the world we live in, and to help bring forward policy or innovation solutions that address sustainability challenges. This program supports engagement with external partners, particularly organizations at the forefront of sustainability challenges, such as local government, NGOs, regional multilateral development banks, nonprofits, and community organizations. Proposed activities should aim to result in future research collaborations.
In its pilot year from autumn 2024 to 2025, three projects were funded by Engagement Grants:
Stanford-Cambridge Inclusive Ordering Initiative (PI: Gabrielle Wong-Parodi)
We are launching a new partnership between Stanford University and Cambridge University called the “Stanford-Cambridge Inclusive Ordering Initiative.” This partnership will create an international interdisciplinary community of scholars that incorporates systems thinking into the development of integrated assessment models (IAMs). Activities include developing an Stanford-Cambridge Inclusive Ordering Initiative website to build a virtual community of scholars and practitioners, producing webinars and whitepapers, and holding a 2-day Inclusive Ordering Initiative Research Agenda workshop. Our aim is to inform decision-making at the state, national, regional, and global level to identify specific tipping points that result in greater global disorder rather than order.
Building Africa’s Cities Summit (PI: Khalid Osman)
Global economic shocks, changing climates, and rural conflict have compounded to produce an unprecedented rate of growth in African cities. Effectively managing this growth through the provision of adequate infrastructure is key for officials hoping to create a high quality of life for their residents. Despite the urgency of this issue, plans for action have been diffuse. The Building Africa’s Cities Summit, hosted by the Stanford King Center, brought together designers, academics, community activists, and entrepreneurs working on issues surrounding urbanization on the continent. The intimate nature of the conference created a novel space for peer-to-peer dialogue through a series of hands-on workshops focusing on municipal administration, housing, and mobility. Cross-pollination across sectors and geographic focus areas not only surfaced new ways of thinking about these key topics but also paved the way for continued partnerships among attendees.
Sustainable Health Solutions for Women in Circular Economies of Waste (PI: Desiree LaBeaud)
The "Sustainable Health Solutions for Women in Circular Economies of Waste" workshop aims to convene and empower women in Kenya, who leverage circular economies to address waste management. In partnership with a local nonprofit, the Health and Environmental Research Institute-Kenya, we will host a workshop with Kenyan social scientists, women-owned circular businesses, and philanthropists, to cultivate partnerships, dialogue and research ideas, and co-create strategies that elevate women's roles in sustainability. We aim to develop scalable circular economy models that drive transformative impacts on public health, gender equality, and climate adaptation, ultimately providing community-based solutions to waste challenges that foster resilience.
Apply for an Engagement Grant
Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability faculty may learn more and apply for an Engagement Grant through the school’s Faculty Funding Opportunities on the intranet.