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Clean Cities Research Project

Kick-off meeting

July 22, 2025

ALF PALACIOS VIA UNSPLASH

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Kick-off meeting agenda

Welcome and intros (5 mins)
Project overview: Aims, outcomes, schedule, participants (10 mins)
Phases 1–5: Specifics and researcher intros (20 mins)
Housekeeping: Comms protocol, participation, publication (5 mins)
Next steps (5 mins)
Questions (15 mins)

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Project Overview

Context

Changing political context
Noisy opposition to climate / environmental policies
Cities, and allied groups, want evidence-based guidance to engage more business stakeholders and voters in support of climate-friendly policies

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Project overview

Aim

Use a variety of research informed by diverse end-users to generate evidence-based guidance in support of cities, municipalities and allies in BC and ON, in advancing thorny, tippable, transformative climate policies that clear barriers for businesses to accelerate the transition to a clean economy, and improve the lives of residents.

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Project overview

Research and knowledge-mobilization (2025-2027)

Consult end-users, city staff/EOs: those most likely to act on the guidance generated by this project
Qualitative interviews on building decarbonization with building contractors in BC and building owner-operators in Ontario
Quantitative surveys on urban climate policies with voters in the “curious middle” in Metro Van and Capital Regional District (Victoria) and Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area
Qualitative focus groups with select survey respondents (in “curious middle” on messaging and framing in support of chosen urban climate policies
Knowledge mobilization: Tool-kits and training tailored for these end-users:

City administrators, elected officials, NGOs/capacity building orgs, building industry stakeholders in the study regions of BC and ON.
Action-oriented guidance for communities in BC, outside the study regions.
Action-oriented guidance for other potential users, elsewhere in Canada outside the study regions.

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Project Overview

Diverse participants

Project partners: Re.Climate and EcoAnalytics

Governments: City of Toronto, City of Vancouver, Province of BC (Climate Action Secretariat).

Capacity builders: Zero Emissions Innovation Centre (ZEIC), Community Energy Association (CEA), The Atmospheric Fund (TAF), ICLEI Canada, Climate Caucus.

Advocacy NGOs: Clean Air Partnership, STAND.earth, Urban Climate Leadership, Youthful Cities, CityHive

EcoA Members: Re.Climate, Environmental Defence, Organizing for Change, West Coast Environmental Law, Nature Canada, Nature Conservancy of Canada, Climate Legacy, Greenpeace, David Suzuki Foundation, Pembina Institute, Conservation Council of New Brunswick, Ecology Action Centre, The Nature Agency, WWF-Canada.

Let us know if there are other organizations that could contribute

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Project Schedule

Phase 1: City end-user interviews (August 2025–October 2025)

Phase 2: Stakeholder interviews (September 2025–February 2026)

Phase 3: Quantitative Surveys (October 2025–March 2026)

Phase 4: Qualitative Focus Groups (February 2026–July 2026)

Phase 5: Knowledge mobilization and capacity building (August 2026–February 2027)

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Phase One

City end-user interviews (August 2025–October 2025)

Researcher: Re.Climate

Scope: recruit and conduct interviews with 10 city end-users to ensure utility of tool kits, training and knowledge mobilization

Who: City staff and elected officials: 5 from GTHA, 5 from Metro Van and CRD

Output: Keen understanding of content and communications needs of end-users to inform research planning in Phases 2-4 and knowledge mobilization (Phase 5)

Opportunities for input: provide names of potential interviewees, suggestions for drafting of interview-script

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Phase Two

Stakeholder interviews (September 2025–February 2026)

Researcher: James Glave, Bright Future Studio

Scope: recruit and conduct interviews with 40 building stakeholders on building decarbonization

Who: 20 building industry professionals in the “curious middle” in Metro Van and CRD; 20 building owner/operators in the GTHA

Output: Analytical report with recommendations and interview transcripts around knowledge support, barriers, frames, messages, messengers and communication methods with these stakeholder groups

Opportunities for input: provide names of potential interviewees, suggestions for interview script development

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Phase Three

Quantitative Research (October 2025–March 2026)

Researcher: Erick Lachapelle, Marjolaine Martel-Morin, Université de Montréal

Scope: Two quantitative surveys (15-18 mins) including CA-MAP segmentation, on variety of urban climate policy areas

Who: 1,500 residents in “curious middle” in each of the GTHA and MV-CRD

Output: Analytical report with recommendations and cross-tabs on identified urban climate policy topics

Opportunities for input: Contribute to planning of survey by identifying “real-time” issues and related content

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Phase Four

Qualitative Focus Groups (February 2026–July 2026)

Researcher: Sarah Roberton, Environics Research Group

Scope: Focus groups on effective framing, messaging, trusted messengers, etc. to mobilize more support among residents for urban climate policies.

Who: Three online focus groups GTHA and three in MV/CRD with participants drawn from the earlier survey

Output: Analytical report with recommendations on effective messaging and framing on identified urban topics, focus group scripts

Opportunities for input: participate in research planning process and discussion of topics for focus group scripts

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Phase Five

Knowledge Mobilization / Capacity Building (Aug 2026–Feb 2027)

Communications lead: Re.Climate

Scope: 10 toolkits and training sessions for end-users on how to use data to engage public and key business stakeholders in support of urban climate-friendly policies

Who: City staff, elected municipal officials, allied organizations and building stakeholders in GTHA and MV/CRD, communities in BC outside of research regions, other communities nationwide outside research areas.

Output: Communications tool kits and training sessions for all stakeholder groups

Opportunities for input: During tool-kit development and in support of dissemination of results and guidance.

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Project housekeeping

Communications

Monthly CCR email notes on upcoming meetings, research and opportunities for engagement
Contact list

Ways to participate

Attend start up/report out meetings for each phase
Participate in specific research planning sessions
Share reports on project with interested colleagues and networks
Email or ring us with your thoughts, advice

Publication

Reports and guidance will be published on EcoA website
Pls tell us if you have concerns about data or advice that may be sensitive

have a project contact list,let me know if others from your org should be added

i will also share a full list in case that is helpful for you connect with each other,let me know in chat if you would prefer not to have your name and email on a shared contact list - let me know in the chat if you’d rather we didn’t share your info

will be sending out monthly emails with updates, insights and upcoming meeting dates to keep an eye out for

For participation opportunities

A few ways to participate, the more you engage, the more influence you willhave on the project

Email me if you are interested in engaging directly with researchers on a particular phase and connect you. in this case phase one and 2 and i willadd you to the group connecting directly with the researcher

the more you engage, the more your areas of interest will be reflected in the research

if you aren’t going to engage directly in a phase, that ok, but try to attend the start up and report out meetings so you can see how each phase flows in to the next and heaven opportunity to ask questions and contribute then.

all phase end reports will be posted on our website and we will share a google drive folder with interim documents

because our data usually default to being publicly accessible, please keep this in mind as we plan the questions. If you have concerns along the way about public access to this information, please make sure to flag this.

obviously names and identifying information for interviewees won’t be published.

City officials may also have some specific guidance about how public they would like the tool kits to be, which we can surface in phase one and/or five.

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Next steps and needs

Phase 1 start up: Next month, Re.Climate will begin recruiting end-users for interviews

Need: lists of potential interviewees (city staff and elected officials in each study region to be consulted by Re.Climate re. end-users needs

Phase 2 start up: In September, James Glave will begin recruiting for interviews

Needs: Contact information for business stakeholders in BC and ON in “curious middle” who would be good interviewees. (Note the different types of stakeholders we are seeking in each region)

Email Kate McMahon (projectmanager@ecoanalyticscanada.org) if you are interested in helping with script development for either of these phases.

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Questions?

DANIEL NOVYKOV VIA UNSPLASH