Strategic Framework Impact Fund supports six new projects

From water sustainability to mental health new projects support UVic’s Strategic Framework

Six initiatives have received funding in the second year of the Strategic Framework Impact Fund. The fund provides up to $300,000 per year to projects that are directly related to implementing the priorities of the Strategic Framework 2018-2023.

Hats-off to our most recent impact fund recipients! These innovative initiatives will make a significant impact across our university community, and confirm my initial impressions of the breadth of talent and expertise we have at UVic.
—Kevin Hall, UVic President

The call for 2021 submissions is now open. The Strategic Framework Impact Fund is open to individual UVic staff and faculty, academic and administrative units, including research centres and affiliated entities. Collaboration across faculties and administrative units is encouraged. The fund provides total funding of up to $100,000 for a single proposal; the length of the initiative may be up to three years. The call for 2021 funding proposals is open until Feb. 26, 2021. Application details are available here.

2020’s impact fund project highlights include:

The Water Sustainability Collective

Led by Caetano Dorea (Civil Engineering), this three year initiative is an interdisciplinary multi-faculty research collaboration. The Water Sustainability Collective (WSC) will engage in a multitude of water sustainability activities ranging from events to policy briefs to pursuing external funding applications. “The WSC brings together experts from across campus to tackle water related challenges facing the world today, and in our future,” says Dorea. The WSC received $75,000 from the Impact Fund. 

Staging Equality: anti-racism & de-colonization through arts-based community engagement

Department of Theatre project leads Yasmine Kandil and Sasha Kovacs will re-imagine how theatre can address issues pertaining to systemic racism, the meaning of diversity, actionable equity, and Indigenization. Their interdisciplinary team of students, faculty and community partners will build and test a new structure for theatre studies at UVic including a community-based theatre performance, led by an Indigenous artist-in-residence that addresses the Indigenous histories of the land on which UVic resides. The three-year project received $64,087 from the Impact Fund.

UVic Bounce

“UVic Bounce shares faculty and alumni stories of challenge, difficulty and resilience with the goal of supporting student mental health,” explains project lead Rebecca Gagan (Department of English). The funding will help UVic Bounce to develop and share new video stories to further the conversation on overcoming challenges and mutual support. UVic Bounce will also establish an advisory board as they continue their work. The three-year program received $51,716 from the Impact Fund.

Also funded in 2020 were: Vancouver Island Impact Investing Hub; Employee Electric-Bike (E-bike) Purchase Program; Scaffolding and Integrating Experiential Learning: Building on our strengths and learning from one another.

For detailed descriptions of the 2020 initiatives, visit the Strategic Framework website.