The PICS Way

The concentric circles of the PICS logo tell a story of collaboration and impact. The circles signify our Research Partners and the Solution Seekers, the ultimate end-users of PICS findings. Our logo represents the discoveries and solutions that emerge when these two groups work together in partnership with PICS.

Our story begins – what sets PICS apart

When it launched in 2008, the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions (PICS) was the first-of-its-kind climate research collaboration between its host and lead organization, the University of Victoria, and Simon Fraser University, University of British Columbia, and the University of Northern British Columbia.

Established through a major endowment from the Government of British Columbia, PICS has always operated as an independent, non-partisan organization that is policy neutral, and technology neutral. Our goal then remains paramount today: to develop innovative, evidence-based climate solutions knowledge that is actively used by decision-makers within BC, nationally and internationally.

The PICS Way – setting a new course in collaborative research and engagement. 

With the new PICS Strategic Plan 2017-2022 as our guide, PICS now offers a more in-depth and collaborative approach than ever before. The solution seekers—decision makers within government, industry, and our communities—will not only use and benefit from our research, but help design it in the first place. PICS supports research that will help transform our economy and communities to become net-negative carbon emitters, while being ready for the opportunities and challenges of a changing climate.
 
The PICS advantage – our people, our independence, our research

  • Our network of advisors, research teams and partner organizations brings together leading academic researchers and Solution Seekers from the public, private and non-profit sectors.
  • Our stable, independent funding allows us to respond to urgent needs as well as plan ahead for long-term projects.
  • We are an impartial, trusted source of factual, evidence-based knowledge that decision makers can turn to. 

Amount
Investing up to $2.3M per year on climate solutions research

Partners
PICS partnerships unite leading researchers with solution seekers

Capacity
Building climate capacity: 100’s of graduate students and postdocs supported

Our Mandate
To produce leading climate solutions research that is actively used by decision-makers to develop effective mitigation and adaptation policies and actions. PICS has a global remit, but a focus on BC.
Partnership is part of our DNA.
Ours is a story about advancing solutions, by connecting those responding to climate change challenges with a powerhouse network of research, knowledge, experience and innovation. PICS partnerships connect solution seekers from the public and private sectors with experts from BC’s four research universities to co-design and co-develop new innovative research, and ultimately co-deliver solutions. The knowledge we create is publicly accessible and shared freely through our networks.
We are pioneers of climate change mitigation and adaptation solutions.
The convening power of PICS yields new research discoveries and higher levels of engagement, through forums, workshops and talks. Our research has helped inform public policies and private-sector investment decisions on carbon economics, vehicle electrification, forest carbon management, net-zero energy buildings, decarbonizing interprovincial electrical grids, climate resilient communities, and much more. Visit our Research and News pages to see our latest reports, tools and resources, and extensive archive.
Our urgent sense of mission.
As the need to respond and adapt to climate change grows more urgent, we are raising awareness and mobilizing knowledge, while strengthening ties and partnerships within our expanding stakeholder network.
We turn our BC focus into global relevance.
Climate change is a global problem that requires worldwide mitigation and adaptation action. With our eyes on the big picture, we aim to turn our BC-focused learnings into globally applicable solutions, knowing that planetary progress can only happen through open exchange between nations.