Regional Initiatives
Strategic Collaboration with the City of Kelowna
The City of Kelowna and UBC recognize the value of collaboration to support regional socioeconomic development and initiatives that contribute to a livable, prosperous and sustainable community.
A formal Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed in September 2017 to build on the existing working relationship between the City and UBC and to collaboratively explore and undertake a variety of joint initiatives.
The memorandum does not impact existing project partnerships between UBC Okanagan researchers and the City of Kelowna. Rather, the intention is to encourage further collaboration and provide a mechanism for the organizations to connect and support future opportunities.
The City of Kelowna UBCO Research Alliance
Building on this long history of working together, the partnership took a more formal step in 2021 through the Framework for Enhanced Collaboration. The framework established an associated Collaborative Research Fund, with each organization contributing $100,000 annually to leverage additional research funding for applied projects that draw on UBCO’s strengths in research and knowledge creation and the City’s expertise in service delivery, planning, and infrastructure development.
In 2025, the two institutions advanced this relationship further by establishing the City of Kelowna UBCO Research Alliance. The Alliance leverages the expertise and resources of both partners to address research challenges and opportunities that benefit the City and its citizens, and to advance City priorities through applied research and innovation. Supported by dedicated staff from both organizations, it serves as a cross-disciplinary and cross-sectoral platform that fosters collaboration and knowledge exchange among researchers, practitioners, and policymakers working in community sustainability. The Alliance engages external partners from industry, non-profits, the public sector and international organizations to broaden its impact and outreach.
To guide investment through the Collaborative Research Fund, the Alliance established a Joint Adjudication Group made up of senior staff and subject-matter experts from both the City and UBCO. The group evaluates research proposals against a consistent framework to ensure they align with Council priorities, City operational needs, and UBCO’s academic strengths. Both UBCO and the City of Kelowna have committed to extending their annual $100,000 contribution through 2029, sustaining a shared platform for research that strengthens the long-term partnership and delivers meaningful community impact.
Interior University Research Coalition (IURC)
The British Columbia Interior University Research Coalition (IURC) is a partnership between the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) in Prince George, Thompson Rivers University (TRU) in Kamloops, and The University of British Columbia’s Okanagan campus.
The IURC partnership is based on the view that these three campuses, because of their size and their proximity as research ‘neighbours’ in the BC Interior, can, by working together, achieve more and provide greater benefits to the region, the province and beyond. At the heart of this coalition is a shared commitment to participating in partnerships that focus on:
- Fostering research excellence, knowledge and innovation;
- Harmonizing resources;
- Enhancing academic opportunities; and
- Increasing benefits for communities throughout the BC Interior
The IURC will create new opportunities for the BC Interior by attracting additional talent and investment, by building on the region’s existing strengths and resources, and by creating new opportunities for economic and social innovation.
