An ambitious new research partnership based at the University of Ottawa is poised to tackle these questions head-on.
The Canada-Africa Partnership on Intellectual Property (“CAP on IP”) for Climate Action brings together an extraordinary international coalition of academic experts, policymakers, and community leaders to address the complex relationship between IP systems, cleantech innovation, and climate justice. Awarded nearly $2.5 million in funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council’s (SSHRC) Partnership Grants program, the project aims to co-create solutions that drive inclusive innovation while breaking down systemic barriers that have long disadvantaged marginalized groups and low-income countries in global innovation ecosystems.
Leading this transformative initiative is the Common Law Section’s Professor Jeremy de Beer who co-directs the seven-year project alongside Common Law’s Professor Chidi Oguamanam. Their leadership builds on the groundbreaking work of the globally renowned Open African Innovation Research (Open AIR) network, which they also co-direct.
The CAP on IP project represents a natural evolution of the work Open AIR has been advancing for over 15 years. Its central mission: to develop more collaborative, equitable, and accessible frameworks for innovation that address society’s most urgent challenges, climate change among them. The project will draw on the expertise of a diverse group of scholars, practitioners, and policymakers from across Africa and Canada, including Common Law’s Professor Florian Martin-Bariteau, Director of uOttawa’s Centre for Law, Technology and Society, as well as a broad roster of co-applicants from institutions around the globe.
Through a unique blend of real-time “action research” interventions, in-depth case studies, and international workshops, the project will engage directly with policy-making processes to identify and dismantle the regulatory and IP barriers standing in the way of global cleantech adoption.
Specifically, the project will use a hands-on research approach to tackle the regulatory and intellectual property (IP) barriers that can slow the adoption of clean technologies globally. Through five targeted “action research” interventions, the team will work directly with policymakers and industry leaders at the international, regional, national, and community levels. These interventions will explore how Canada and African countries can align their IP rules and climate policies, from UN agencies and continental trade agreements to national innovation programs and private-sector practices.
Alongside these interventions, the project will conduct eight in-depth case studies. These studies will examine how innovators in different regions navigate IP and regulatory challenges, from cleantech patenting in Egypt to water security governance in local African communities. The case studies will also provide valuable insights for designing policies that are more inclusive, equitable, and effective.
Finally, the project will use “wind tunneling” exercises – structured scenario simulations –to test how different policy and regulatory approaches might play out in the future. By exploring multiple possible scenarios, the team can identify strategies that support sustainable and inclusive innovation across sectors and regions. The combination of interventions, case studies, and scenario testing will produce practical recommendations, policy briefs, and scholarly outputs that aim to accelerate global cleantech adoption while ensuring benefits are shared fairly.
Professor de Beer emphasizes that this project’s strength lies in its partnerships. “Our team is built on long-standing relationships of trust and collaboration across sectors and continents. This grant is not just a recognition of individual researchers but of the collective impact we can have when we work together to solve global challenges,” he says.
The CAP on IP project will also make a lasting investment in the next generation of researchers and practitioners. Over the course of the partnership, the team will train and mentor more than 130 students and emerging scholars – many from communities historically underrepresented in research – while producing a vast array of research outputs, from peer-reviewed articles and policy briefs to podcasts and multimedia storytelling.
The partnership’s approach goes beyond traditional academic research. Integrating feminist, intersectional, and Third World approaches to international law, the project will provide critically engaged, socially responsive research that speaks directly to the needs of affected communities and global policymakers alike.
This SSHRC Partnership Grant follows in the footsteps of the highly successful previous Partnership Grant collaboration led by Professor de Beer, which earned Open AIR the prestigious SSHRC Impact Award for Partnership in 2023. With the CAP on IP for Climate Action, Open AIR reaffirms its leadership in forging pathways toward more inclusive and effective governance of innovation in service of global climate goals.
The Common Law Section extends its warmest congratulations to Professors de Beer, Oguamanam, Martin-Bariteau, and their international partners on this remarkable achievement!
The Common Law Section also congratulates Professor Delphine Nakache, who is a Co-Applicant on another SSHRC Partnership Grant project led by Professor James Milner of Carleton University. This project, entitled “Reimagining responses to forced migration through the Local Engagement Refugee Research Network (LERRN),” will benefit from Professor Nakache’s vaunted expertise in studying the most precarious groups of refugees, temporary migrants and immigrants.
SSHRC Partnership Grants provide support for new and existing formal partnerships, advancing research, research training and knowledge mobilization in the social sciences and humanities. These grants encourage mutual cooperation and the sharing of intellectual leadership.