The Institutional Strategic Initiatives portfolio increases the University of Toronto’s capacity to support large-scale, high-impact interdisciplinary research

ISI Stage II Funding

Stage II will offer up to five years of funding to support core operational costs of implementing an initiative’s strategic plan, including growing the network through activities aimed at strengthening collaboration, partnership-building, knowledge mobilization, research training and other relevant activities. All Stage II initiatives will include a focus on securing significant external funding.

Expression of Interest (EOI) deadline: May 26, 2025 at 5pm

View program guidelines

Learn more about Stage I Seeded Initiatives

Learn more about the four Stage I seed-funded initiatives:

The Bioeconomy and Sustainable Materials Institute (BSMI)
The Canadian Antibody and Biologics Innovation Nexus (CABIN)
One Health
Toronto Population Network

Read about the seeded initiatives

The ISI Impact Report is out!

The report features success stories from U of T’s 22 Institutional Strategic Initiatives (ISIs) and the special projects our office supports.

Over the past five years, the university’s ISIs have made tremendous strides in addressing our most pressing social, economic, political, and environmental issues. Our report showcases those stories and highlights how important the ISIs are to the university community—they are strengthening collaboration, helping to build partnerships, attracting significant external funding, supporting faculty and student research, and creating new training opportunities.

Read the report

Recent ISI news

New Lawson Climate Institute at U of T will accelerate climate solutions

April 23, 2025 | Climate Positive Energy

The institute will educate the next generation of climate leaders, mobilize talent and innovative ideas from across the university, expand on U of T’s world-leading sustainability research and discovery, and inspire the urgent action needed for a healthier future.

Mitochondrial transplantation: powering the revolution in regenerative medicine

April 15, 2025 | MITO2i (Mitochondrial Innovation Initiative)

MITO2i awarded $23.8M NFRF-T grant to pioneer mitochondrial transplantation therapy — an emerging field that could redefine how the world treats organ failure, chronic inflammation, and degenerative diseases.

The Future of CDHI Moves to UTSC

April 11, 2025 | CDHI (Critical Digital Humanities Network)

In partnership with the UTSC, the Critical Digital Humanities Initiative (CDHI) is excited to announce that their important will transition into a new home at UTSC on July 1, 2025.

Canada’s Associate Minister of Health attends Inlight research symposium

March 13, 2025 | Inlight – Student Mental Health Initiative

Student researchers, faculty members and staff from the U of T community gathered to seek ways to mobilize the knowledge being generated by their research, to create real and lasting change for student mental health and well-being at U of T.

Op-ed: AI-fuelled misinformation threatens the Sustainable Development Goals

March 5, 2025 | SDGs at UofT

Achieving sustainability goals is increasingly threatened by the muddying of the digital information landscape. The production of AI-generated misinformation constitutes a system of cultural and technological processes that produces a culture of apathy toward digital information, which is the opposite of what we need if we’re going to use emotional reasoning to achieve sustainable development goals.