The Social Impact Innovation Grant Program—made possible by a generous gift from Ken Hao and Kathy Chiao—provides funding for current Berkeley students to explore and establish community-based projects that improve health equity within and across communities.
Description
A small grant program to seed multiple practice-based social impact projects developed by undergraduate or graduate students.
Objective
Encourage students to proactively identify public health challenges, engage directly with the communities affected by these issues, and devise sustainable, people-centered solutions that generate positive impact.
Eligibility
To be eligible for a grant, students must develop a proposal for a project that improves health equity—either locally or globally. The following eligibility criteria will also apply:
- Current Berkeley Student: All undergraduate, Master’s, and PhD students who are currently enrolled in a UC Berkeley degree program and will graduate in Spring 2024 or later are eligible to submit a proposal.
- Social Impact Focus: Projects must catalyze positive health-related social change through a) direct community partnership and b) direct action that improves people’s lives and promotes health equity within or across communities.
- Student-driven Project: Students are encouraged to reach out to faculty and staff to informally solicit feedback or advice on project goals and approach, but projects must be student-driven and cannot be formally overseen (i.e. managed) by faculty or staff.
- Collaboration: In the second phase of the application process (the Comprehensive Proposal due in January), students will be required to form teams of 2–4 people.
*Analytical and theory-based research (e.g. methodology development, pure data collection and data analysis, literature reviews, etc.), while important for advancing the public health mission, are not eligible for this program.
Format and Timeline
Students will submit an initial application describing their project idea in a 1–2 page concept note. These applications will be evaluated by a Selection Committee of public health researchers and practitioners, and projects with the most potential will be invited to continue in the program. The BPH program team will host a series of workshops for students to help hone skills in financial management, partnership building, ethics, team formation, and more to support students in creating a more comprehensive project proposal. The same Selection Committee will evaluate the comprehensive proposal and select up to 15 teams that will receive up to $15,000 in grant funding to implement their ideas in Spring and Summer 2024.
- Phase 1 – Concept Paper Submission (due September 24): This phase of the application focuses on defining the problem the student intends to solve and beginning the ideation process. Students whose projects are selected to continue in the process will be recognized with $500 to keep.*
- Phase 2 – Comprehensive Proposal (due January 2024): This phase of the application focuses on continuing ideation and on prototyping a solution to the problem(s) the student has identified, culminating in the submission of a Comprehensive Proposal used to award grant funding.
- Phase 3 – Implementation (Spring and Summer 2024): Teams whose comprehensive proposals are selected for implementation will receive up to $15,000 (based on the budget outlined in the proposal) to implement their idea. All grant funding recipients must provide a written report detailing the outcomes of their projects, lessons learned, and a final accounting of project expenses.
*Subject to University policy.
Evaluation Criteria
The Selection Committee will use different evaluation criteria for each application phase:
| Evaluation Criteria for Initial Application Round | |
|---|---|
| Projectizable | The proposed concept can be turned into a clearly defined project with discrete metrics for success. |
| Community-engaged | The partner community is clearly identified. The applicant has effectively demonstrated an understanding of the community and their needs and has considered ways to engage the partner community in the solutions development process. |
| Innovative | The project differentiates itself from existing services available or enhances existing services to improve or make them more accessible. |
| Impactful | The proposed solution both addresses a need for the identified audience and adds significant value for the affected community. |
| Sustainability & Scalability | The proposed project shows potential for long-term sustainability and/or expansion to service a larger audience (in the future). |
| Feasibility | The project has identified appropriate approaches and methods to accomplish the work. |
| Evaluation Criteria for Comprehensive Proposal Round | |
|---|---|
| Comprehensive | Well-thought-out idea/project proposed in application submission that meaningfully addresses each of the application prompts. |
| Community-engaged | The partner community is clearly identified. The applicant has effectively demonstrated an understanding of the community and its needs and has considered ways to engage the partner community in the solutions development process. |
| Innovative | The project differentiates itself from existing services available or enhances existing services to improve or make them more accessible. |
| Impactful | The proposed solution both addresses a need for the identified audience and adds significant value for the affected community. |
| Sustainability & Scalability | The proposed project shows potential for long-term sustainability and/or expansion to service a larger audience (in the future). |
| Interdisciplinary | Collaborative project team that includes participation from students/alumni/organizations from more than one discipline (public health, business, engineering, data science, etc.). |
Participation Expectations
All program participants must sign a document (link accessible to UC Berkeley accounts only) outlining expectations related to principles of community, behavioral conduct, risk, financial management, and other relevant issues. BPH will offer workshops to offer guidance to students in many of these areas.
Program Policies
The project team has assembled a list of policies (link accessible to UC Berkeley accounts only) to help students navigate issues related to finance, risk, branding, and more.
News and Media
Eight student-led teams win inaugural Social Impact Innovation Grants
Published February 20, 2024
More Information
Additional information was provided at a program info session held on September 7, 2023. Answers to frequently asked questions can be found here. Please direct any other questions to the program manager at BPHsocialimpact@berkeley.edu.