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

Upcoming events and latest news

Research Seminar: Wearables & Remote Monitoring in Heart Failure

Wednesday, February 25, 2026 | Transform-HF

This inaugural seminar will spotlight two core research focus areas—Wearables and Remote Monitoring—with presentations from U of T’s Prof. Hani Naguib and JVPLabs’ VP of Technology, Michele Roberts. The session will conclude with a plenary Q&A and informal networking.

Desjardins Speaker Series: Canada’s Next AI Moment – Ambition the World Can Trust

February 3, 2026

A candid conversation with world-renowned faculty and entrepreneurs from the University of Toronto ecosystem, who will discuss the opportunities and challenges linked to large language models, generative AI and agentic AI; the potential impact of self-driving labs that leverage machine learning and robotics and a world of physical AI; the ever-increasing need for compute power […]

Who Gets Care When Systems Are Under Strain? Equity and Primary Care in Public Health Emergencies”

Thursday, March 12, 2026 | Institute for Health Emergencies and Pandemics

Panelists Prof. Chavon Niles, Hon. Kamal Khera P.C., and Liza Arnason will share learning outcomes and their perspectives to address topics posed by panelist and moderator Prof. Arjumand Siddiqi. The live event will only be held in person, but a recording will be available after the event on YouTube. Participants who attend in person are invited to join a meet-and-greet with the panelists after the event.

The Black Research Network (BRN) Research Symposium

Friday, March 27, 2026 | Black Research Network

This year’s theme of "Conference theme: Transforming Research into Impact: Strategies, Stories, and Futures " brings together researchers, innovators and practitioners to explore how ideas lead to real-world change. We are inviting leading voices from across disciplines to showcase how they are turning research and teaching into action, highlighting past successes, current challenges and future possibilities. The deadline to register is Friday, February 20, 2026.

TPN POP Speaker Series

Tuesday, May 5, 2026 to Tuesday May 5, 2026 | Population Network

The Toronto Population Network Speaker Series brings together leading scholars working at the cutting edge of population research. From January 27 to May 5.

People at a workshop in discussion sitting around a table

Impressions from the BSMI + MTI Industry and Community Workshop

December 5, 2025 | Bioeconomy and Sustainable Materials Institute (BSMI)

The Bioeconomy and Sustainable Materials Institute (BSMI) team has been engaging with industry and communities to discuss its research mandate and activity areas and collaboration for large-scale funding opportunities.

Toronto Population Network hosts successful first mini-conference

November 26, 2025 | Population Network

On November 6, the Toronto Population Network (TPN) held its first mini-conference at Hart House. The conference had more than 80 attendees from a wide range of departments: sociology, geography, public health, social work, engineering, anthropology, urban studies, information, economics, and statistics. Researchers from all three U of T campuses participated, and included a mix […]

AstraZeneca and the DSI launch new industry partnership

November 25, 2025 | Data Sciences Institute

Pharmaceutical leader AstraZeneca is joining the DSI as an Industry Partner in a new collaboration that exemplifies DSI’s role in connecting industry leaders with top-tier data science expertise from across the U of T's breadth of excellence across disciplines.

BRN IGNITE Grant 5.0

November 19, 2025 | Black Research Network

The BRN offers the IGNITE Grant annually as a small-scale fund to support interdisciplinary research led by University of Toronto Black faculty, librarians, post-doctoral scholars, clinical scientists, and medical research fellows.

Indigenous Research Network fosters partnerships to launch a global research consortium

November 14, 2025 | Indigenous Research Network

The consortium’s vision is to foster global collaboration and knowledge exchange on Indigenous-led research, ensuring that Indigenous community priorities, Indigenous research methodologies, data sovereignty and research ethics are at the forefront and respected in academic settings.

BSMI Team Presents at UTM's STTPA

November 7, 2025 | Bioeconomy and Sustainable Materials Institute (BSMI)

On October 28, 2025, Profs. Rasoul Yousefpour, Shashi Kant, Tamer El-Diraby, and Research Assistant, Yasser Elfahli, represented the BSMI at the Sustainability: Transdisciplinary Theory, Practice, and Action Conference (STTPA), held at UTM.

Current Initiatives

Learn more about current initiatives