Become an N-ZAP Pilot Community

The Municipal Net-Zero Action Research Partnership (N-ZAP) is inviting Canadian communities to test out our new learning tools and provide feedback.

As an N-ZAP pilot community, your municipality will have the opportunity to use any of our four resources—including the climate budgeting guide, the community partnerships for equitable local climate action guide, an upcoming financial disclosures guide, and our updated Climate Analysis Tool—and give your feedback on how the resource helped you learn more about the subject and make a practical difference in your community.

Benefits include access to cutting-edge research, peer support from other municipal staff working on similar files, and micro-credential courses from the University of Waterloo.

Register here

Sign up soon to participate in our peer-learning cohorts, exclusive to pilot communities. Applications for the first round of cohorts will close Wednesday, Oct. 15.

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What it means to be an N-ZAP pilot community

Criteria for participation:

  • Any community across Canada, at any stage of climate action work
  • Commitment to use an N-ZAP resource in your community
  • Eagerness to provide feedback on the resource and how you’ve implemented what you’ve learned

Benefits:

  • Connect with other municipal practitioners from across the country working on similar files
  • Gain access to cutting-edge research and resources as they become available
  • Free access to micro-credential courses in development from the University of Waterloo (planned to launch in the fall of 2026)

Participating in a peer-learning cohort

As an N-ZAP pilot community, you can participate in a peer-learning cohort that involves monthly sessions with guest speakers, interactive activities and peer support.

Recognizing that not every community has the capacity to participate in a peer-learning cohort, the program has two streams (as seen in the graphic below). Participants can select to participate in the stream that is best suited to them. All pilot communities will receive the invitation to apply to the first and second round of the peer-learning cohorts.

Time commitment:

  • Up to 60 minutes of active engagement per month, for eight months
  • Eighty percent participation required for full benefits

Structure:

  • Monthly meetings, including:
    • Five mandatory sessions with guest speaker presentations and interactive activities
    • Optional sessions offering additional support in a peer-to-peer setting
  • Surveys at the beginning and end of participation, with a one-hour interview at the mid-point.
A flow chart shows the process for becoming an N-ZAP pilot community. It begins with completing the pilot community interest form, with an arrow that points to the next step which is to receive a pre-survey link and complete the pre-survey, then an arrow pointing to the following step which is to receive an invitation to apply to a cohort. From that point, there are two options. If the applicant does not join a peer-learning cohort, they move on to piloting an N-ZAP resource. From there, they can take part in an optional mid-point interview. Then, they continue piloting the resource, then complete a post-pilot survey, then end by receiving complimentary access to micro-credential courses. If the application does choose to join a peer-learning cohort and are selected by N-ZAP to participate in one of the cohort, they then participate in the first half of the cohort, then take part in a mandatory mid-point interview, then participate in the second half of the cohort, then complete a post-cohort survey, then end by receiving complimentary access to micro-credential courses. If a case in which the community agrees to participate in a cohort but is not selected by N-ZAP, they are then given the opportunity to pilot an N-ZAP resource and complete the ensuing steps mentioned earlier.

Tell us what cohort(s) most interest you and stay in the loop via our registration form. We will assess applications based on motivation to participate, how well their needs line up, and level of commitment. Depending on the applications we receive, we may prioritize applications to achieve regional and linguistic diversity.

Timeline for N-ZAP pilot communities

Over the course of 2025-26, we plan to release our guides and the updated PCP Tool. In October 2025, we plan to launch our first two cohorts: climate budgeting and community partnerships. The financial disclosures and the Climate Analysis Tool cohorts will follow in the winter of 2026. We will run a second round of cohorts that will all begin in the fall of 2026.

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‍N-ZAP is a research partnership funded, in part, by the Government of Canada through the Climate Action and Awareness Fund (CAAF) and jointly led by the University of Waterloo, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ (FCM) Green Municipal Fund (GMF) and ICLEI Canada, working with 11 other academic institutions, and 8 national organizations and 15 municipal partners.

This project was undertaken with the financial support of the Government of Canada.