This CoP is diverse and cuts across disciplines, specifically social, economic, legal, environmental and scientific. While we are confident that the engineering component could work theoretically, we have an opportunity to address the problem with a research lens from the social, legal, economic and environmental viewpoints. This in turn will allow for a multi-faceted solution, and would move beyond the usual singular discipline approach to address a common problem.

The CoP will offer the best value to the project through the synergy created by the four partners as well as our collective expertise that we bring to the project. Through the experience of the four Research Chairs, we will offer high-quality, policy-relevant and academically-rigorous research, valuable networks and extensive project management experience. Moreover, the CoP members are confident that they will deliver high-quality research outputs that will have the maximum policy impact.

This phase of the CoP aimed to produce:

1.Cross-disciplinary research in a very real and deliberate manner.

2.Possible direct application to a specific set of interventions in the environmental, materials science, legal and economic areas.

3.Final possibility of actual sectoral intervention by private and public actors (through industrial policy and investment for example) which could generate employment and reduce poverty.

4.In addition to the actual research report that will be produced by the end of the project, it’s important to note that out of the project, we should be able to draw out a framework to inform further cross-cutting research of this nature for other projects.

The SARChI Chairs: