The Social Impact Innovation 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.
Social Impact Innovation Program
Vision
A new generation of innovative and equity-centered public health leaders.
Mission
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 the program, 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: The project lead must be an undergraduate or Master’s student who is currently enrolled in a UC Berkeley degree program and will graduate in Spring 2025 or later. Other team members must be either a currently enrolled UC Berkeley student, UC Berkeley alumni (up to one per team), or student at another university (up to one per team).
- Social Impact Focus: The proposed project must catalyze positive health-related social change through a) direct community partnership and b) direct action (such as services, policy change or products) 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: The proposed team must have 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
Interested students must fill out the Interest Form by October 1, 2024, participate in at least 6 of 9 workshops in Fall 2024 and submit an application in January 2025. Selected teams will implement in Spring and Summer 2025. More details below:
- Register your interest by filling out the Interest Form by October 1, 2024: You will share your initial idea and indicate which Social Impact Tuesday workshops you will be attending in the Fall. Attendance is required at six of nine workshops in order to apply.
- Attend Social Impact Tuesdays in Fall 2024: These will occur most Tuesday afternoons.
- Apply for the Social Impact Innovation Program by January 3, 2025: Students will apply in teams of 2–4 people by submitting applications that include the issue(s) to be addressed, gaps in any existing solutions, partnership plan, solution development process, implementation plan, timeline, budget, risks and mitigation strategy, expected outcomes, and evaluation metrics. A selection committee will evaluate the applications and select up to 15 teams to implement their ideas in Spring and Summer 2025.
- Implement social impact projects during Spring and Summer 2025: Teams whose proposals are selected will receive up to $15,000 (based on the budget outlined in the proposal) to implement their idea. All program funding recipients must provide a written report detailing the outcomes of their projects, lessons learned, and a final accounting of project expenses.
Evaluation Criteria
| Evaluation Criteria for Applications | |
|---|---|
| Comprehensive | The proposal has a well-thought-out project plan and budget, and the proposal identifies potential project risks and ways to mitigate those. |
| Community-engaged | The partner community is clearly identified and the team has understanding and knowledge of this community. The identified collaborators are interested and willing to partner. The applicant has outlined a clear strategy to engage the partner community and collaborators in every phase of the project. |
| Equity-Centered | The project outlines realistic impacts and success metrics. These impacts, if achieved, have the potential to address historical and contemporary injustices, help eliminate health disparities, and assist in overcoming economic, social and other obstacles to health. There is an explicit focus on improving health outcomes and creating opportunities for those historically excluded. |
| Innovative | The proposed solution differentiates itself from existing solutions and/or enhances existing solutions to improve or make them more accessible. |
| Impactful | The identified issue or concern is a priority health challenge for the partner community. The proposed solution has the potential to be meaningful and impactful in addressing this issue. |
| Sustainability & Scalability | The proposed solution shows potential for long-term sustainability and/or expansion to service a larger audience (in the future). |
| Team Qualifications | The project team has needed skills and knowledge to lead the project, which could include multi-disciplinary perspectives, lived experience and understanding of the partner community. |
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 will be provided at a program info session held on September 10, 2024. Please direct any other questions to the program manager at BPHsocialimpact@berkeley.edu.
2023–2024 Grant Projects
Black Lactation Matters
Black Lactation Matters sponsored ten doulas to become Lactation Education Counselors through UC San Diego and hosted a Black Breastfeeding Week Celebration event, bringing together 100 attendees including local families, birthing professionals, nonprofit professionals, local government leaders, and UC Berkeley students.
SPECS
SPECS (Sight for Pupils through Early Childhood Screening) held vision screenings at Head Start Oakland’s health fairs, hosted focus groups to understand barriers to eye care access, and hosted an eye clinic to conduct comprehensive eye exams.
Sofreh Salamati
Sofreh Salamati, meaning “sacred gathering of/for health,” hosted a series of virtual events for Afghan refugee women, centered around spirituality, community-building, and health education.The team also developed programming to support Afghan youth interested in careers in health and medicine.
Building Mental Health Policy Advocacy Capacity for Youth Advocates
Building Mental Health Policy Advocacy Capacity for Youth Advocates developed an advocacy toolkit for burgeoning advocates working to improve mental health policy, with a focus on young people in the Global South.
Supporting Childhood Literacy for BIPOC Children Through Culturally Diverse Books
Supporting Childhood Literacy for BIPOC Children Through Culturally Diverse Books conducted focus groups on early childhood literacy with families in San Francisco and provided culturally relevant and diverse books to the Children’s Health Center at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and the Claremont Primary Care Clinic at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland.
Improving Access to HIV/AIDS Services for Visually and Hearing impaired Persons
Improving access to HIV/AIDS care services was led by a team of BPH Online students located in Kenya. The team improved access and equity for health care services for Persons Living with Disabilities in Homa Bay County, Kenya, focusing on visually and hearing impaired persons.The team planned, designed, and installed health facility signages translated into Kenyan sign language (KSL) and designed and formatted HIV counseling guidelines into Braille.
Advocacy Within Tribal Governance
Advocacy Within Tribal Governance developed a toolkit and pilot training to assist their tribal leadership’s work to improve the health of their community in New Mexico. They also created a sustaining grassroots community group advocating for health.
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