UBC's Community-University Engagement Support fund (CUES) has invested over $500,000 to support partnerships that will benefit communities and advance collaborative research, teaching, and learning across the province. Eight graduate students are among the recipients of the 2021/22 award funding.
Launched in 2017, CUES is jointly administered by UBC Community Engagement, Vice-President External Relations, and the Office of the Vice-President, Research and Innovation. Funding is paid directly to community partners, reducing financial barriers for marginalized communities, and prioritizing reciprocal engagement. To date the fund has awarded $1,759,222 to 81 different community groups — including 32 Indigenous communities and organizations — and university partners from 10 different faculties across UBC Vancouver and Okanagan campuses.
This year, the CUES fund is supporting 27 projects, with 43% of the funding doing to Indigenous partners. Among the projects are eight graduate student co-applicants.
From Walls to Bridges: Participatory evaluation of a prison education program to support empowerment through education
Community Partner: Nyki Kish-Field, Walls to Bridges
UBC Partner: Janina Krabbe, PhD student, Interdisciplinary Studies program, Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies, UBC Vancouver
Food justice for women on parole: A participatory action community partnership
Community Partner: Shawn Bayes, Elizabeth Fry Society of Greater Vancouver
UBC Partner: Kelsey Timler, PhD student, Interdiscplinary Studies program, Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies, UBC Vancouver
Collaborative monitoring and cultural heritage management in fire-affected territories: Revitalizing roles as yecwmín̓men
Community Partner: Joanne Hammond, Skeetchestn Natural Resources
UBC Partner: Sarah Dickson-Hoyle, PhD student, Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences, Faculty of Forestry
Searching for ch’em’esh (herring spawn) in the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw’s (Squamish Nation) territory
Community Partner: Joy Joseph-McCullough, Squamish Nation
UBC Partner: Fiona Beaty, PhD student, Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science
EndoAct Canada: Activating partnership for patient-oriented, evidence-based endometriosis research and advocacy
Community Partner: Philippa Bridge-Cook, The Endometriosis Network Canada
UBC Partner: Kate Wahl, PhD student, Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Faculty of Medicine
Reviewing, enriching, and sharing an ʔayʔaǰuθəm e-dictionary
Community Partner: Jacqueline Mathieu, Klahoose First Nation
UBC Partner: Marianne Huijsmans, PhD student, Department of Linguistics, Faculty of Arts
Indigenous leadership in wildfire management: Implementing lessons learned from Secwepemcúl’ecw
Community Partner: Angela Kane, Secwepemcúl’ecw Restoration and Stewardship Society
UBC Partner: Sarah Dickson-Hoyle, PhD student, Department of Forest Resources Management, Faculty of Forestry
The art of healthy aging: A community-collaborative knowledge translation initiative by, with, and for women living with HIV
Community Partner: Junko Milton, AIDS Vancouver
UBC Partner: Shayda Swann, PhD student, Faculty of Medicine
For more information on the projects selected, and to learn how local communities are partnering with UBC faculty and students to tackle complex issues across the province - read the full CUES announcement.