HCDE DEI Committee Mini Grants

The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee in the Department of Human Centered Design & Engineering is a group of community-elected faculty, staff, and student representatives serving as public advocates to represent the diverse needs and interests of our HCDE community.

HCDE DEI Committee Mini Grants support grassroots diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives within the department. Proposals can cover a wide range of community building, group training, and other efforts to foster an environment of equity and inclusion for all members of the HCDE community.

Mini Grant Application Form

HCDE DEI Committee Mini Grants

All students, staff, and faculty are invited to apply for DEI Committee Mini Grants of typically up to $700. Applications for greater than $700 may be considered if they demonstrate the potential to broadly impact the HCDE community. We intend to fund a maximum of two projects each year per applicant with the review panel prioritizing new applicants. Typically no more than one-third of the total budget for the year will be allocated per quarter.

Categories of Mini Grant submissions include:

Events and programming that engage HCDE community members in efforts that promote fair and inclusive practices
Recruitment and admissions support for removing barriers for talented, qualified people from all backgrounds to pursue engineering degrees in HCDE
Project-based resources for efforts to support equity across teaching, mentorship and training (e.g. toolkit materials or printing)
One-time coverage for inequitable costs (e.g. student travel visas or disability accommodations for academic conferences)

Grant applications will be considered on a rolling basis. Proposals will be evaluated based on how much potential the activity has to impact the HCDE community or a subset thereof and how strongly the activity links to HCDE's goals of climate and community, teaching, learning, hiring, or outreach. Recipients will be required to submit a short report (300-500 words) following completion of the project.

Example projects

Payment for an early film screening of a film of interest to the HCDE community
Participant compensation in disability-justice mobile apps user study
Respondent compensation for increasing diversity of participants in design studio survey
Interviewee compensation for the development of a design toolkit
Payment for equity-centered community partners in a hackathon
Field trip
Mentorship activities

Grant structures

Category	Structure	Value	Advantages
Long-term grant (renewal as a checkbox on proposal)	Grant disbursement upon successful submission Option of submitting lightweight supplement proposal at later time for successive renewal	Up to $700 each	Covers larger projects with proven outcomes that require additional funding (potentially multi-year projects) Criteria based on project performance/ outcomes and committee budget
Student Affinity Group grant	Funding set aside for each affinity group to use Proposal required but is dedicated for group’s use	Up to $1,000 each	Encourages affinity groups to take advantage of funding for events and speakers
Targeted grant	DEI Committee identifies gap and puts out call for proposals on a particular topic Disburses grant based on alignment to topic goals	Greater than $300 each	Jumpstarts proposal submissions with guidance on a topic for ideas for groups to submit for Likely requires some level of supervision/goal-checking by Committee for larger value projects

Having trouble with your idea?

The HCDE DEI Committee offers guidance on Mini Grant planning. Please reach out to the Committee Chair, Professor Daniela Rosner (dkrosner@uw.edu), with the subject line "DEI Committee Mini Grant Planning Support."