AF2025 - CHRISTCHURCHNZ EARLY CAREER ADAPTATION CHALLENGE!

Calling all early-career Adaptation Futures researchers!

 

ChristchurchNZ together with Christchurch City Council and the Af2025 Science Committee invites interdisciplinary teams of three early career researchers to submit proposals to tackle the city’s most pressing adaptation challenges. 

The top three team proposals will be showcased in Ōtautahi Christchurch and in an online event in April 2026. The winning team will be awarded NZD$10,000 and NZD$ 5000 for two runner-up proposals,

We’re looking for innovative, evidence-based, and forward-thinking proposals that help Christchurch communities, organisations, and decision-makers prepare for climate challenges. 

Building from the Adaptation Futures 2025 events in Ōtautahi Christchurch 12-16 October 2025, this is a unique opportunity to hone your skills and capabilities in tackling a real-world challenge that can significantly help the city of Christchurch and its communities to adapt.

Join us in reimagining and accelerating Christchurch’s Adaptation Futures!

See video Introduction here

Submission Details

  • Deadline: Friday 16 January 2025 11pm (NZ Auckland time) 
  • Format: Submit your proposal as a PDF attachment (maximum 4 pages including text/diagrams and references, 11 pt Times New Roman Font)
  • Attach a CV for each participant (no more than 2 pages)
  • Ensure the Proposal Lead was a registered AF2025 delegate (in person or online) 
  • Email to: ECRChallenge@AdapationFutures2025.com

Rationale 

Early career researchers are vital to the innovation and maintenance of new thinking and research insights and systemic transformations of practice and thinking. However, as many have noted, it takes time, investment and mentoring support to nurture a collaborative environment that strengthens and sustains research capability. AF2025 has partnered with ChristchurchNZ to offer an opportunity to extend your networks and engage in applied practical problem solving and show case your work.

Choose ONE Challenge Area

1. Adaptation and Intergenerational Inequity

Young people and future generations will face more frequent and severe climate hazards over their times—yet current adaptation policies often prioritise short-term fiscal limits and crowd out the voices and interests of future generations.

Challenge: How might we shift towards policies and investments that deliver genuine long-term benefits, acting early and decisively in urban planning for generations to come?

2. The Invisible Risks: Heat and Drought

Flooding dominates attention, but heat and drought are “slow-onset” risks that can be equally damaging.

Challenge: What tools or innovations would you advocate to help Christchurch city raise awareness and prepare for the growing threats of heat stress, drought, and water scarcity?

3. Future-Fit Small and Medium Organisations (SMEs)

SMEs form the backbone of Christchurch city’s economy but often lack the capacity to prepare for climate impacts that challenge their business models.

Challenge: How can a city like Christchurch support economic resilience  for SMEs in a changing climate? This city has an approach called  ClimateWise, but seeks practical, accessible, and actionable advice to support small businesses and community organisations in a rapidly changing climate. 

4. Understanding Risk Tolerance

Communities differ widely in their willingness to accept risk, making it difficult to decide when and how to act.

Challenge: How might we meaningfully engage communities to understand, communicate, and agree upon collective levels of acceptable risk from climate impacts?

5. Sponge Suburbs?

Green infrastructure like swales and rain gardens can reduce flooding—but are often resisted due to fears of losing public amenity.

Challenge: How can a city like Christchurch  design and deliver “sponge suburb” features that bring such visible community benefits that residents become their strongest advocates?

Background context statements

The challenges above are developed from these pitch briefs below which were composed by team leads in the Christchurch City Council:

Adaptation and intergenerational inequity: Young people, and future generations will experience more frequent and severe natural hazard events (flood, drought etc) and are likely to bear the bulk of adaptation costs, despite not having contributed to the problem. Nonetheless adaptation policies and responses remain (generally) focused towards limiting short-term fiscal exposure (particularly for government). How might we encourage a shift towards plans and policies that improve things for those generations to come, emphasising the need to act and invest early and decisively. 

The Invisible Risks: Heat and Drought: Flooding tends to get the most attention, but extreme heat and drought are growing risks for both communities and businesses. What tools or innovations could help Christchurch build awareness of "slower" climate risks (heat stress, drought, water scarcity) that don’t have a dramatic events that make people notice but are instead a result of incremental change and stresses, but still can have major social and economic costs?      

How future fit are our small to medium organisations and what is needed to equip them?  Climate impacts are coming. Large organisations in NZ tend to have more capacity to understand impacts and prepare response plans – many are required to have climate disclosures. Yet most organisations in NZ are small to medium in size (SMEs) with limited capacity to adequality address climate impacts. How future ready are SME’s in Christchurch (businesses and community organisations)? New climate resilience guidance is available for SMEs (ClimateWise) but what practical help is needed for SME’s to put these guides into practice? 

Risk tolerance: Understanding when to act is often determined by testing the community’s risk tolerance, however we know that risk tolerance vastly differs from person to person.  How can we engage meaningfully with communities on risk?  Is it possible to establish an agreed level of risk tolerance at community level?     

Sponge Suburbs: Our best defence against increasing urban flooding - a 'treatment train' of green infrastructure – is difficult to achieve due to community opposition over the perceived loss of public amenity, like converting road berms into swales. This forces authorities into large and expensive ‘end point’ treatment facilities.  How do we design and deliver these 'sponge' features to provide such clear community benefits that residents not only accept them, but actively champion their rollout?        

Submission Guidelines 

  • Team composition: Each team must be led by a registered delegate to AF2025. Teams are to be interdisciplinary and consist of no more than three early-career professionals or students (any field). 
  • *Early career is defined for this challenge as within 7 years of completing their highest research qualification, normally (but not necessarily) a PhD). (Research career breaks, for example to care for dependents, will normally be excluded from the 7 years if clearly noted). 
  • Confidentiality: all entries will be treated with confidence by the judging panel. The judging panel will consist of AF2025 Chairs & a City and Christchurch NZ representative. The Judges decision is final.
  • Format: no more than 4 pages text and figures, A4, single spaced font size Times New Roman 11point and no more than 2 additional pages of references, as endnotes (also single spaced font size 11 point Times New Roman).
  • CV attachments. Please attach a CV for each team member of no more than 2 pages. Please note the date of completion of your highest degree 
  • AI generated content and images are not accepted. AI-tools may be used to assist copy editing for readability /grammar. The author team accepts responsibility for the originality of the proposal.

Assessment Criteria

The short list and final winning teams will be selected based on demonstrated:

  • Innovation: innovative thinking that challenges current approaches and promotes change on a systemic level, toward climate resilient development in urban contexts.
  • Practicality and Evidence: Feasible and evidence-based suggestions for Christchurch’s context.
  • Equity & Inclusion: The proposal advances benefits shared across generations and diverse communities addressing structural barriers that exclude or exacerbate vulnerability of marginalized groups. 
  • Collaboration: Demonstrated interdisciplinary and cross-sector perspectives in your proposed solutions and evidence based on current best practices.

Submission Checklist 

Deadline: Friday 16 January 2025 11pm (NZ Auckland time) include

  • Proposal as a PDF attachment  (maximum 4 pages including text/diagrams and references, 11 pt Times New Roman Font)
  • Attach a CV for each participant (no more than 2 pages)
  • The Proposal Lead was a registered AF2025 delegate (in person or online) 

Email your submission to: ECRChallenge@AdapationFutures2025.com