About the Research and Knowledge Initiative

The Research and Knowledge Initiative (RKI) is a merit-based contributions funding program that supports data and research on issues related to public infrastructure and communities. The purpose of the Research and Knowledge Initiative is to advance the understanding of public infrastructure needs, challenges, and opportunities relevant to Canadians. The program aims to strengthen the evidence base on public infrastructure and communities in Canada, facilitate collaboration and partnership among key public infrastructure actors and stakeholders, and support data, research, and knowledge-sharing activities.

Projects funded to date under RKI include:

• The Data for Canadian Cities Pilot Project, led by the World Council on City Data, which aims to help municipalities build their capacity to leverage data to support community-level decision-making; and
• A project, led by the Institute of Fiscal Studies and Democracy (IFSD) , to develop a Canadian methodology for a jurisdiction-wide infrastructure assessment that will be publicly available to all in 2022.

On August 12, 2021, an open, competitive call for proposals was launched that invited applications from projects that strengthen the development and use of community-level data and research related to public infrastructure in cities, rural and remote areas, and Indigenous communities across Canada. This call targeted projects that address a current or emerging public infrastructure issue of broad relevance from a local or place-based perspective, engage a wide range of stakeholders, share knowledge in broad and lasting ways, and are designed to deliver intended results and ensure strong stewardship of resources.

The 2021 RKI call for proposals is now closed. The deadline to apply was November 5, 2021.

For further information on the closed call for proposals, archived information is available.