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The UCLA Chancellor's Arts Initiative

UPDATE: The deadline for the UCLA Chancellor's Arts Initiative has been extended to January 9, 2023.

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Important Dates

  • Application Due Date: December 5, 2022 by 11:59 pm January 9, 2023 by 11:59 pm
  • Announcement of Grants: Winter Quarter 2023
  • Project Funding Period: Project funds must be used by December 31, 2023

Background

The Arts Initiative was established in 2006 as an annual program designed to foster the advancement of the arts and arts-related scholarship at UCLA. To date, more than one hundred projects across the arts and humanities have been supported by Arts Initiative funding. In 2020, the Chancellor's Council on the Arts was established to connect and mobilize UCLA' s diverse artistic communities, drawing upon their strengths in areas such as visual and performing arts, theater, film and television, creative writing, digital arts and media, architecture and urban design, dance, music, humanistic research on the arts, public arts curation and presentation, K-12 arts education, community arts, and international programs in the arts and arts policy.

The 2022-23 Chancellor's Arts Initiative will be administered through a partnership between the Chancellor’s Council on the Arts (CCoA) and the UCLA Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Creative Activities (ORCA). 

Recipients of Arts Initiative funding will continue to be featured on the Go Arts Portal, a digital platform designed to bring together the university’s arts organizations with the goal of articulating and amplifying the power of the arts to elevate and enrich lives. Through storytelling, programming, and advocacy, Go Arts deepens connections both across campus and with local and global communities. Information about last year’s grant recipients can be found here. 

Program Guidelines

  • The purpose of Arts Initiative funding is to support UCLA faculty’s arts-based research, recognizing and supporting the value of creative activities in the arts for the university, Los Angeles communities, and beyond. 
  • A total of about $150K in grants is available. Arts Initiative grants are between $5-15K (maximum award amount), with most awards made in the amount of $10K.
  • The deadline for 2022-23 Arts Initiative funding requests is December 5, 2022 January 9, 2023. Applicants will be notified of the outcome of their application in Winter Quarter 2023.  Project funds must be used by December 31, 2023.  Extensions to this grant period will be considered on a case-by-case basis and should include a clear explanation for why the work could not be completed during the initial grant period.
  • A final report and project documentation must be submitted after the completion of the grant. Program staff will provide awardees with additional information regarding reporting requirements and documentation at the completion of the grant period.. The grantee will also make themselves available to the Go Arts Strategic Communications team to develop a story for the Go Arts Portal and support any other relevant promotional and/or media relations opportunities.
  • Any arts-related focus is acceptable, and proposals that present a detailed vision of meaningful collaboration interdepartmentally, with colleagues across campus, or with diverse local community partners and beyond are appreciated, but not required.

Review Criteria

The following review criteria will be used to evaluate all proposals:

Primary Review Criteria:

  • Contribution to UCLA's Priorities: Does the proposed project advance excellent and original work, promoting the university’s commitment to generating new knowledge and new understanding? Does the proposed project contribute to one or more of the university’s larger commitments to sustainability, anti-racism, equity, diversity, inclusion, engagement in Los Angeles or globally, and other university initiatives? 
  • Reach/Impact: Does the proposed project have relevance and impact within (and potentially outside) its given field? Do the PI, Co-PI(s), or Co-Investigators have plans for publication, exhibition, or other avenues of knowledge transfer to the public? 

Additional Review Criteria:

  • Community Engagement/Partnership: Does the proposed project present a detailed vision of meaningful collaboration with diverse community partners or interdepartmentally with cross-campus colleagues? 
  • Public Awareness/Promoting Arts at UCLA: Does the proposed project increase public awareness of the arts at UCLA in a way that is consistent with its scope? Does the project have outreach, marketing, or communication plans to bring awareness to art and the project's success and efforts? How will the project help to effectively highlight arts at UCLA? 
  • Leadership Qualifications: Do the lead PI, Co-PI(s), and Co-Investigators possess the qualifications to carry out the proposed activities collaboratively with equity, diversity and inclusion in mind? 
  • Project Feasibility: Are the project activities, scope, budget, timeline in alignment with project description and outcomes? 
  • Budget: Clear and accurate documentation, itemized expenses, and quotes. Does the proposal have adequate justification for funding for requested items, has other funding been secured (or sought)? Note, additional internal/external funding in addition to the Arts Initiative grant is not required.

Eligibility

  • While this funding opportunity is open to all academic senate faculty, lecturers, adjuncts, and other non-senate faculty (including academic administrators), the PI must have a ladder-rank faculty affiliation with one of the units affiliated with the Chancellor’s Council on the Arts.
  • Visiting faculty, postdoctoral fellows, and individuals without UCLA appointments are not eligible to serve as the PI, although they may serve as co-investigators or team members.
  • Although preference will be given to proposals from faculty not previously funded through this program, prior recipients of funding through the Chancellor’s Arts Initiative may apply for a new project, provided they do not have an active award through the program.
  • PIs or co-PIs currently funded by other ORCA seed funding mechanisms (e.g., Transdisciplinary Research Acceleration Grants, Racial and Social Justice Seed Grants, and Latinx Studies Seed Grants) may not apply for the same project but may apply for funding for a different project.

Budget and Allowable Expenses

  • Arts Initiative grants will be in the $5-15K range, with most awards made in the amount of $10K.
  • Budgets should use the program's budge template (download here) 
  • The following are allowable expenses:
    • Materials and supplies directly related to the project
    • Travel, accommodations, and honoraria for campus visitors/project collaborators
    • Research assistants (undergraduate and/or graduate students)
    • Event-related expenses (e.g. venue and equipment rental, receptions, staffing, technology, office supplies)
    • Expenses related to community outreach, documentation, and empowerment (publicity, structured feedback, surveys, oral histories, documentation of community arts practices, archiving of event/project outcomes, compensation of community partners [see below])
  • Funds must be used for direct research costs such as materials, supplies, personnel (including staff and student salaries), and travel to the extent that such expenses are directly related to the proposed project.
  • Funds may not be used for UCLA-based faculty/investigator salaries or support including teaching buy-outs or summer ninths, or departmental overhead costs (indirect costs).
  • Proposed activities and expenditures must comply with all applicable university policies and procedures.
  • Proposals may involve compensating non-UCLA affiliated personnel, especially members of the local community, and an explanation of how community expertise or service is critical for the success of the project should be included in the project narrative.

Submission Process

Applications must be submitted by December 5, 2022 at 11:59 pm. January 9, 2023 at 11:59 pm.

All proposals must be submitted through the Arts Initiative application portal and include the following elements:

To be entered in the appropriate fields:

  • PI Information
    • Name
    • UCLA email address
    • Primary appointment title
    • Division/School and department
  • Co-PI Information (Name and affiliation) 
  • Working project title (Suitable for web announcement - 15 words max)
  • Requested funding amount
  • Abstract (150 words max) - This may may be used in public announcements of awardees.

To be uploaded in PDF format:

  • Project Description/Proposal - In a single PDF document, please include the following information (with section headings):
    • Working Project Title
    • Project Description (500 words max)
    • Project Impact (150 words max)
    • Activities and Timeline (500 words max): Provide a brief description of the proposed activities with a timeline
    • Alignment with UCLA Priorities (500 words max) : Provide a brief description of how the proposed activities align with the program’s interest in projects that advance excellent and original work, promoting the university’s commitment to generating new knowledge and new understanding. In addition, describe how the proposed project contributes to one or more of the university’s larger commitments to sustainability, anti-racism, equity, diversity, inclusion, engagement in Los Angeles or globally, and other university initiatives. 
    • Key Participants and Partners: List the names/affiliations of any key participants/partners who are not listed as Co-PIs 
  • CVs/Biosketches
    • Provide a CV/Biosketch for the PI and any Co-PIs. A CV/Biosketch is not required for other key collaborators, but may be included if the information would be important for the reviewers to have.
    • All CVs/Biosketches should be combined into a single PDF for upload.
  • Budget
    • Complete and upload the program budget template (download here) 

Questions?

If you have questions about the program, please email Kathleen Sprunger at orcafunding@conet.ucla.edu. 

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