Aligning finance with the ecological transition
Call for applications open from 22 June to 5 October 2026
The Julie Evain Prize recognises young researchers and young professionals whose work helps to better align finance with climate and environmental objectives. It is aimed at those who produce sound ideas that are publicly accessible and can be directly used by public decision-makers, financial supervisors, international institutions or financial actors.
More than just a research prize, the Julie Evain Prize is designed as a springboard: it recognises not only a piece of work, but also a trajectory, an ambition and the ability to bring ideas to the places where they can help shape public policy.
A prize in honour of Julie Evain
The Prize pays tribute to Julie Evain, a researcher and project lead at I4CE, who passed away in February 2025. Julie joined I4CE in 2018 and worked on integrating climate considerations into prudential regulation, particularly in relation to disclosure, capital requirements, transition plans and remuneration policies.
Before joining I4CE, she worked at the National Assembly as a consultant and at the Ministry of the Environment on issues relating to sustainable finance. A graduate of Sciences Po Paris, she taught at the École des Mines, the École des Ponts, the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne and the University of Bordeaux, and contributed to several expert networks, including the Climate and Sustainable Finance Commission of the French Financial Markets Authority (AMF) and the Cercle de l’Expertise à Mission.
Established on the initiative of a steering committee made up of people from Julie’s professional network, in agreement with her family and loved ones, the Prize aims to uphold her high standards: producing rigorous work leveraging useful insights, to inform public policy and decision makers.
What the Prize aims to highlight
The Prize recognises publicly accessible work that contributes to aligning financial flows with climate and environmental objectives, in the spirit of Article 2.1(c) of the Paris Agreement.
It seeks, in particular, contributions that can help bring about change: work that can be understood, taken up and used by decision-makers.
Applications will be assessed not only on their rigour, but also on their potential for dissemination, their feasibility and their relevance to European public policy.
Who can apply?
The Prize is open to people of any nationality, provided that the application is submitted in French or English.
Applications may be submitted:
- individually;
- or as a team of up to five members.
Applicants must be aged 40 or under on the closing date for applications. In the case of a team application, this condition must be met by the majority of the team members.
Legal entities may not apply: the Prize is awarded to natural persons, either individually or collectively.
By way of example and without limitation, applications may fall into one or more of the following categories:
- Academic: theses, scientific articles, working papers, scientific reports or applied research.
- Professional: public policy briefs, grey literature, reports, analyses or operational projects produced by public or private organisations, think tanks, NGOs, media organisations or financial institutions.
- Educational: teaching programmes, training resources or initiatives for the structured dissemination of knowledge.
The Jury will determine, based on the quality of the applications, the number of winners and their possible distribution across categories, up to a maximum of three winners.
A “springboard” prize
The Julie Evain Prize is not merely intended to recognise work that has already been completed. It is designed to enable a winner or a team to take the next step.
Support will be tailored to the needs expressed by the candidate in their application. This may include, in particular:
- mentoring;
- targeted introductions to decision-makers, financial supervisors, institutions or financial actors;
- support for the dissemination of their work;
- presentation opportunities;
- in-kind contributions depending on the partnerships established, for example access to documentary resources, databases or tools;
- a financial award, subject to available resources.
Calendar
Publication of the call for entries
22 June 2026
Application deadline
5 October 2026, 23:59 (Paris time)
Award ceremony
Paris Climate & Nature Week 2027, Sciences Po Paris — date to be confirmed, likely February 2027
Publication of the call for entries
22 June 2026
Application deadline
5 October 2026, 23:59 (Paris time)
Award ceremony
Paris Climate & Nature Week 2027, Sciences Po Paris — date to be confirmed, likely February 2027
How to apply
Applications must be submitted via an online form. The application pack includes, in particular:
- a summary for the general public;
- a presentation of the relevance of the work to European public policy;
- a policy brief of no more than two pages;
- a description of the methodological approach and the data used;
- a dissemination plan;
- a 6- to 12-month “springboard” roadmap;
- a CV.
The work must be publicly accessible (open access) by the closing date for applications at the latest, or there must be a commitment to make it publicly available before the final deliberation.
Contact : For any enquiries: prix.julie-evain@i4ce.org
Partners of this prize :
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