The UofT India Foundation provides seed funds that fuel collaborative, high-impact research initiatives that further the sustainability and resilience of Indian cities and city-regions. The Research Catalyst Grant establish and support partnerships between U of T faculty and Indian academic, research, and non-profit entities. Together, the partners co-create research yielding solutions, evidence, and insights that will build more sustainable Indian cities of all sizes.
2024-25 Research Catalyst Grant Awardees
Project 1: Leveraging local knowledge and resources to improve the urban public realm by reimagining two urban disused sites in Hyderabad
Investigator(s): Dr. Naomi Adiv, Dr. Harikrishnan (HUL)
Indian Partner(s): HUL
Study Site(s): Hyderabad
Project Brief
The project aims to conduct mid-build and post-build evaluations of three sites of HUL’s i’Local winning contest entries. Using frameworks of spatial ethnography – through methods of walking, behaviour mapping interviews, and photography – the project will consider how placemaking works in a contemporary Indian urban context. Findings will be developed to construct best practice bundles for further capacity building and improving governance mechanisms.
Project 2: Critical Action Learning Lab (CALL): Facilitating Students’ Critical Action on Urban Problems
Investigator(s): Dr. James Slotta
Indian Partner(s): Charan’s Public School
Study Site(s): Bangalore
Project Brief
This project establishes a multimodal makerspace called the Critical Action Learning Lab (CALL) at Charans’ Public School, and aims to develop a curriculum focused on climate action and resilience. Students engage in embodied learning and collective inquiry. The project investigates how the design of the physical environment can facilitate students’ critical action toward socio-environmental issues.
Project 3: Feeding City Lab collaboration on traditional/heirloom food crops, seed conservation, and food sovereignty networks
Investigator(s): Dr. Jayeeta Sharma
Indian Partner(s): The Thanal Trust, The Women’s Collective.
Study Site(s): Multiple farming districts in Kerala and Tamil Nadu
Project Brief
This project seeks to mobilize knowledge on heirloom rice, seed conservation, and best practices on food and farming from community-based networks who seek to advance local food sovereignty; it aims to help train and mentor future thinkers and doers in evidence-based research methods that help advance urban and rural communities toward sustainable development goals, and toward the building of urban-rural and local-global alliances on these issues.
Project 4: Sustaining & Scaling Safe, Continuous Water Supply across Odisha: Distilling and Disseminating Lessons from Recent Drink from Tap Successes
Investigator(s): Dr. David Meyer, Dr. Kajri Mishra (XIM), Dr. S. Vedala (ASCI)
Indian Partner(s): Water Corporation of Odisha, XIM
Study Site(s): Puri, Bhubaneshwar
Project Brief
Access to piped water is vital and India’s central government prioritizes its expansion. Yet most piped networks in India operate intermittently, reducing water quality and perpetuating inequities. Attempted transitions to continuous supply usually fail, but the 2020 “Drink from Tap” initiative in Puri, Odisha, emerged as a success story, triggering replication efforts in dozens of cities. The precise factors that underpin Puri’s success remain elusive, threatening the viability of replication efforts; Dr. Meyer’s team has developed a plan for monitoring water metrics, with the goal of sustaining safe drinking water access.
Project 5: Children with disabilities in India: A Needs Analysis
Investigators(s): Dr. Andrea Duncan
Indian Partner(s): Amar Seva Sangam (ASSA) Tamil Nadu, MGM Aurangabad
Study Site(s): Aurangabad, Kochi, Chennai
Project Brief
The project aims to create a prototype for pediatric walkers best suited to address the spectrum of disabilities experience by children in India. The research will investigate design features (e.g., lightweight, durable) and systemic societal factors including stigma and accessibility that affect uptake of these technologies as well.