Obvia supports three new initiatives under its Thematic Intervention Projects, which are designed to promote and sustain scientific intervention research through an interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral approach. This program fosters close collaboration between researchers and stakeholders around priority challenges, all within a co-creation and open-science framework.
These new Projects will facilitate the concrete transfer of skills and knowledge to the relevant actors, helping them to address the issues posed by digital technologies and artificial intelligence (AI) in their sectors.
The projects align with stakeholders’ priority themes, such as adapting municipalities to climate change through AI, leveraging geospatial digital tools to enhance inclusive mobility in winter conditions, and guiding SMEs towards responsible and ethical AI adoption with practical tools like an ethics-trained conversational agent based on social-science research.
The fourth component of the program will open in Fall 2025.
Funded Projects
Winter City: Artificial Intelligence and Geospatial Digital Technology for Inclusive Mobility in Winter Conditions
In the face of intensifying climate change, Quebec municipalities are exposed to climatic hazards while still needing to provide essential services to their populations. AI offers a lever to anticipate, manage, and mitigate these challenges, but its adoption remains hindered by obstacles such as a lack of expertise and limited access to digital infrastructures. This project aims to raise awareness and equip Quebec municipalities so that they can make informed decisions about adopting AI to combat climate change.
Main Researcher : Mir Abolfazl Mostafavi
Co-Researcher : Krista Best (Université Laval)
DISCOVER THE PROJECT
Uses and Impacts of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Municipalities to Address Climate Challenges
In the face of intensifying climate change, Quebec municipalities are exposed to climatic hazards while still needing to provide essential services to their populations. AI offers a lever to anticipate, manage, and mitigate these challenges, but its adoption remains hindered by obstacles such as a lack of expertise and limited access to digital infrastructures. This project aims to raise awareness and equip Quebec municipalities so that they can make informed decisions about adopting AI to combat climate change.
Main Researcher : Steve Jacob
Team :
- Marie-Christine Therrien (ÉNAP)
- Sehl Mellouli (Université Laval)
- Élise Paichard (Université Laval)
A PACT with Clar.IA: Mobilizing an Ethics-Trained Conversational Agent to Guide Businesses Toward Responsible AI Adoption
The A PACT with Clar.IA project responds to a need expressed directly by field partners—namely Services Triad and the Conseil de l’Innovation du Québec (CIQ)—to equip Quebec SMEs with concrete, accessible, and credible tools for responsible AI adoption. In the face of widespread shortages of resources, training, and support, Obvia has developed Clar.IA, an ethical conversational agent that provides companies with practical recommendations grounded in a rigorous social-science research corpus.
Main Researcher : Pierrich Plusquellec
Team :
- Lesly Nzeusseu Kouamou (Université de Montréal)
- Andréane Sabourin Laflamme (Collège André-Laurendeau)
