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International Policy Ideas Challenge

Global Affairs Canada (GAC), in collaboration with the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), manages the International Policy Ideas Challenge.

The International Policy Ideas Challenge draws on the network of talented Canadian graduate students, post-doctoral fellows and early-career civil society researchers to identify concrete, innovative solutions to emerging international policy challenges faced by Canada.

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About the International Policy Ideas Challenge

The International Policy Ideas Challenge offers applicants a chance to test their skills at translating academic expertise into policy language and insights. Applicants are invited to submit brief proposals related to 1 or more provided themes. GAC will select winning proposals, and researchers will be provided with coaching/mentoring as they develop their proposals into full policy briefs.

Proposals should outline a trend, dynamic or research question affecting Canadian foreign policy in relation to 1 or more of the provided themes that applicants believe need additional study. These themes are derived from GAC’s mandate and key objectives on foreign policy and international trade and assistance.

Who is eligible

The International Policy Ideas Challenge invites applications from current graduate students (Master’s or PhD level) and post-doctoral fellows at a recognized Canadian post-secondary educational institution.

Researchers affiliated with a Canadian non-profit organization (for example, a non-governmental organization or a think tank) who are within 6 years of graduation from a graduate program at a recognized post-secondary institution will also be considered.

Applicants must be Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada.

Indeterminate and term employees of the Government of Canada are not eligible to apply. Additionally, employees of GAC, including students and casuals, are not eligible to apply.

Team applications, with a maximum of 3 members, are permitted; however, a lead researcher must be identified. A team application that includes collaborators from other universities is permitted. In the case of a team application, all members must meet the above requirements.

Multiple applications, on different topic ideas, is permitted; however, applicants can only receive one award per year.

Awards

A modest financial award is granted for winning proposals. In addition, all winners will receive coaching/mentoring as a team on their research, policy analysis and presentation skills. The coaching/mentoring will include group and one-on-one sessions for which each winner will be paired with a subject matter expert.

Partnership

Global Affairs Canada is pleased to acknowledge the partnership of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council in this initiative.

2026 Challenge winners

Fatma Ahmed

Beyond the United States: Removing non-tariff barriers for Canadian clean-tech exports

Fatma Ahmed is a climate and development economist. She is currently an adjunct senior lecturer in economics at Barzan University College, Qatar, and Swinburne University of Technology, Australia. Her interdisciplinary research explores financial inclusion, energy transition and sustainability, often through a gender and equity lens. Fatma has conducted policy-relevant research on economic vulnerability, climate change and energy justice in contexts ranging from post-conflict economies to remote Indigenous communities in Canada. Her work has been published in top-tier journals and presented at major academic forums. She is also an active peer reviewer and community advocate and promoter of women’s empowerment initiatives.

Anna Manuel

Cultivating the intergenerational legitimacy of multilateral institutions through youth representation and capacity building

Anna Manuel is a recent graduate of the University of British Columbia’s (UBC’s) Master of Public Policy and Global Affairs program, where she specialized in global governance and security. She is actively involved in international nuclear policy through the United Nations Youth4Disarmament Forum and as a member of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization Youth Group Steering Committee. At UBC, Anna supports research at the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs and is a two-time recipient of the Simons Award in Nuclear Disarmament and Global Security. She holds a BA in International Relations from UBC. Her research interests include nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament, technology governance and the role of legitimacy and perception in international relations.

Brian Wu

Stronger middle powers: Opportunities in Canada-Japan relations

Brian Wu is pursuing a master’s degree in International Affairs at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, Carleton University. His research interests focus on economic security, international defence cooperation and Indo-Pacific geopolitics. His work on mobilizing opportunities in the Canadian rare earths industry has been published by the Conference of Defence Associations Institute, and his articles on EU-China relations have appeared in the Yale Review of International Studies and The China Project. After completing a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations at the University of Toronto, he spent three years working as a publicly employed English teacher on the JET Program in Kobe, Japan.

Mahole Morapeli

Middle-power leadership in civil aviation governance: Leveraging the Safer Skies Initiative

Mahole Morapeli is a master’s student at Carleton University’s Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, specializing in conflict analysis and conflict resolution. His thesis examines international civil aviation governance on conflict-zone overflight risk management, with a particular focus on how intergovernmental organizations’ institutional designs affect their responsiveness to exogenous shocks. Central to Mahole’s research is a comparative analysis of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency’s Conflict Zone Alerting System and the International Civil Aviation Organization’s Task Force on Risks to Civil Aviation arising from Conflict Zones. These initiatives, both prompted by Malaysia Airlines Flight 17’s downing, reflect the international community’s recognition of conflict zones as threats to civil aviation security and of the importance of information sharing for risk mitigation.

Matthew Sunil

Climate security integration into NATO planning 

Matthew Sunil is a Master of International Public Policy candidate at the Balsillie School of International Affairs, specializing in human security. As a graduate research fellow, his focus is on Canada’s posture amid United States-China great-power competition. He previously served as senior editor at the NATO Association of Canada, overseeing analysis on defence, security, trade and economics. In September 2026, he will join UN Development Programme Malawi as a program (minerals) fellow, supporting mineral-sector governance and extractive-industry reform. His winning International Policy Ideas Challenge proposal, “Climate Security Integration into NATO Planning,” examines how Canada can leverage its role as host of the NATO Climate Change and Security Centre of Excellence to advance the alliance’s integration of climate security.

Photographer: Eric Forget, February 2026

Sasha Mathieu

Thinking ahead: Securing critical undersea infrastructure in the Arctic

Sasha Mathieu is a master’s student in Strategic Studies at the University of Calgary, with research interests in Arctic and European security, NATO and critical undersea infrastructure. A recipient of the Canada Graduate Scholarship and the Department of National Defence’s Mobilizing Insights in Defence and Security (MINDS) Scholarship Initiative Supplement, her work examines responses to incidents involving critical undersea infrastructure and their implications for Canada. Professionally, Sasha has worked across several federal departments, including Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, where she currently supports Canada’s participation in Horizon Europe. She is actively engaged in her academic community, contributing to the planning of the Arctic360 Annual Conference and holding student leadership roles, including with the Strategic Studies Students’ Consortium (S3C). Through S3C, she was awarded a Youth MINDS grant for a project examining the future of Canada-United States defence relations from a youth perspective.

Nancy Rossi

Protection of intellectual property rights in Canadian geographical indications: An international political economy tool to be developed  

Nancy Rossi is a doctoral candidate at the National School of Public Administration, under the supervision of Professor Stéphane Paquin, where she is also a lecturer in international political economy and Quebec diplomacy. Her research focuses on the protection of agri-food and wine geographical indications in free trade agreements, as well as on Quebec paradiplomacy and the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement. The recipient of academic distinctions, she participated in the Samuel de Champlain program for diplomacy training at the Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales [National Institute of Oriental Languages and Civilizations], in Paris, France, and was a Canadian finalist in the 2025 Acfas competition titled My Thesis in 180 Seconds.

Past winners

Learn about previous years’ winners here:

Call for proposals

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