Maintaining Community Connection
Communities are about belonging, defined by a common geographic location, a shared sense of identity, a type of practice, pursuit or interest. By extension, community engagement involves groups of people coming together around shared purposes. As the COVID-19 pandemic made social-distancing and self isolation prudent, another dilemma emerged: how can we best engage communities remotely?
Remote communication technologies, social media, and other digital platforms make engagement possible for some, but not all our communities have equal access to these alternatives and the transition to virtual spaces may have hampered our partners’ ability to continue working.
In an effort to increase equitable access to technology, Public Scholarship and Engagement is offering Technology Micro-Grants of up to $250 for UC Davis faculty, researchers, and instructors working with non-university community partners to maintain engagement, stay connected and continue collaborating as best as possible under the current circumstances.
Micro-grant funding must go towards the purchase of technology equipment or software that enables virtual collaboration with non-university partners. This includes but is not limited to laptops, web cameras, short-term internet subscriptions, video conferencing software, etc. Micro-grants will be distributed on a first come first served basis; we will accept applications until funding runs out.
Interested applicants must meet the following eligibility requirements:
- Be a member of the UC Davis Academic Senate or Academic Federation from any UC Davis location;
- Be able to demonstrate an active partnership with a non-university entity that can benefit from access to technology;
- The nature of your partnership must align with our mission and goals.