Community Engagement Impact Projects FY27
Stanford University’s Office of Community Engagement (OCE) works across units to foster collaboration with communities as we address mutual challenges and welcome the public to campus. Our priority is mission-driven work that supports Santa Clara and San Mateo counties, while we welcome visitors and forge stronger engagement on campus and across the globe. OCE leverages the expertise and resources of Stanford’s Community Engagement Hubs.
OCE seeks proposals from faculty and staff working with community partners on defined engagement projects, particularly projects that center on building healthy communities in our local two counties.
Priority will be given to defined projects to be completed in 2027 that are co-created with community partners to address identified needs felt more broadly in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties, further the goals of a Community Engagement Hub or school/department engagement effort, and lead to deeper Stanford engagement in the region. Please see previous awardees and consider local reports on regional needs: Stanford Health Care’s 2025 Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA), Stanford Medicine Children’s Health’s 2025 Community Health Needs Assessment, and the 2026 Joint Venture Silicon Valley Index.
Application Timeline
The call for proposals will open on Wednesday, August 12. Applications will close on Thursday, October 1 at 11:59 p.m. PT. and recipients will be notified before the winter closure. Preview the application questions here.
OCE will host a Zoom Q&A on Thursday, Sept. 3, 11:00 am-12:00 pm PT for interested applicants to ask questions about proposal criteria and the funding process. Please sign up here by Tuesday, Sept. 1.
Funding
Faculty and staff leadership from Stanford’s Community Engagement Hubs, and individual faculty whose projects are part of their school or unit’s community engagement work, are eligible to apply for up to $40,000 in OCE funding. Your proposal budget may be eligible for an additional $3,000 from the Haas Center for Public Service if it involves a Cardinal Course. You will need to submit a separate application to the Haas Center for Cardinal Course funding.
OCE funding is for scholar-led efforts and primarily for faculty. Staff-led projects should be embedded in the priorities and operations of the school or unit, with senior leadership involvement.
While applicants may apply for the maximum amount, we encourage applicants to articulate true budget needs to allow OCE to stretch funds and support more proposals.
Project Examples
Read more about prior awardees. OCE is most interested in projects at the intersection of community needs and Stanford’s research and education mission. Examples of engagement efforts include expanding information, community-engaged research, research practice translation, critical convenings, and more. This year we are especially interested in regional behavioral health and place-based needs.
- Shovel-ready, time-bound engagement projects (where research and education mission meets engagement); Projects that address identified needs felt more broadly in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties and deepen partnership between campus and community.
- Committed faculty or senior staff leadership for the project
- Collaboration that embodies co-creation and centers the community in new ways that advance the university’s mission of education and research
- Measurable and realistic proposed goals and expected impacts
- First-time awardees; repeat applicants may be considered for funding to transition the project to a longer-term sustainable model being adopted by their unit.
Applications are open to academic departments and Stanford’s Community Engagement Hubs, which OCE defines as the offices, centers, institutes, and impact labs that regularly engage with outside communities as part of education, research, and recreation activities. A hub’s faculty/lecturer or staff involved in the proposal may apply on behalf of the hub, but the project must be approved by the hub faculty or senior staff director, if applicable. If you’re interested in being added as a new Community Engagement Hub, contact Merry Pham.
- If you are a Community Engagement Hub, before completing your application, update your hub map entry with your current community partners, hub contacts, and featured engagements (i.e., collaborations with community partners) as possible. Hubs can submit information via this form.
- One-time funding should be utilized by Dec. 31, 2027.
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If selected, faculty director or senior staff awardees agree to the following:
- Confirmation of funding terms provided
- Provide a PTA within awardee’s home organization and management of funds
- Participation in a mid-point meeting
- Completion of a brief reflection at the end of the fund cycle (survey, story, and/or interview), final expense reports, and a short presentation upon request.
- Uphold Stanford’s Principles of Ethical and Effective Service
- Our priority is for time-bound engagement efforts with budgets that are likewise time-bound and project-specific to support the activities of the community partnership.
- Funds may be used for education and other engagement, convenings, research translation activities, honoraria, and/or services provided by nonprofit partners.
- Funds may not be used for student tuition.
- Funds are generally not intended for ongoing salary, continuing internship programs, or recurring programs.
