Call for Proposals 2026-2027
Overview
The UCLA Bedari Kindness Institute (BKI) is pleased to announce its call for research proposals for the 2026-2027 year. As home to the UCLA Initiative to Study Hate, we seek proposals that study both kindness and kindness-adjacent topics and hate and hate-related themes. BKI welcomes a diverse array of methodological and disciplinary approaches, as well as collaborative projects with researchers across campus. The Research Innovation Fund will support projects that range in scale from $5,000 (intended as seed funding) to $25,000 during the 2026-27 academic year.
This funding cycle takes place in incredibly fraught times, with hate, polarization, and inequity on the rise. Research and interventions that address these troubling trends and aim to inculcate compassion, prosociality, kindness, and constructive dialogue are more critical than ever. With that in mind, we are particularly interested in projects that:
- Have the potential for demonstrable outcomes within one year
- Examine or pilot interventions aimed at increasing kindness or constructive dialogue across differences or mitigating hate
- Measure the efficacy of kindness- and hate- related interventions
- Involve partnerships with community organizations that implement/design such interventions
- Propose kindness-related research that has direct application to the LA Olympics of 2028.
Expectations of Grantees
Receiving a research grant from BKI means becoming an active, dedicated member of our research community. The project PI (or at least one member from the project team) must be available to attend the monthly, in-person ISH seminar to encourage ongoing and productive cross-fertilization across disciplines and methods. Applicants who cannot commit to participating in the in-person seminar on a regular basis should not apply. In addition, we expect BKI researcher team members to participate in the following activities:
- Quarterly BKI-sponsored events on campus;
- Opportunities to engage in outreach work with extramural partners that include nonprofit and governmental organizations committed to fighting hate (e.g., presenting or providing research progress, participating on panels, etc., on behalf of BKI);
- Submit both a midyear report and end-of-year report.
Guidelines
- Projects can include individual PIs or teams of researchers.
- Graduate and undergraduate students are welcome to apply with a faculty PI.
- Research teams can include researchers/team members based at institutions and organizations outside of UCLA, but the PI must be a UCLA faculty or staff member.
- Applicants should be able to articulate the real-world significance of their projects (even if your project is not applied/focused explicitly on an intervention, how might practitioners, community organizations, or policy makers apply your research to interventions?) To that end, you should identify in your proposal at least 3 community partners with whom you plan to share your findings upon completion (i.e., who is the intended audience of your research?).
- Funding can be used to support research that will result in a creative project.
- Funding cannot be used for faculty salary support. Support for students and postdoctoral scholars is encouraged.
- Funding can be used to support research travel.
- Funding must be spent in accordance with university policies.
- Unless otherwise negotiated, funding will be dispersed in September 2026 and should be spent by September 2027.
To Apply
Applications should include the following:
(1) Project Title
(2) Project Abstract (up to 200 words)
(3) Project Budget
(4) CVs of participants
(5) Name/Contact information of the department’s finance officer (who will be responsible
for receiving and managing the transfer, as well as submitting a close-out report)
Please note that all funds need to be spent in compliance with University policies and procedures. The applicant’s home department must endorse the Principal Investigator and will be responsible for managing funds.
The deadline for proposals is June 22, 2026.
For questions about proposals, please contact David N. Myers at myers@history.ucla.edu or Amalia Mora at amora@college.ucla.edu.
Student Dialogue Internship 2026-2027
Overview
The DaD Initiative is seeking four undergraduate student interns to join our team for the 2026-27 academic year! Student interns serve as key thought partners for Initiative staff and provide crucial support for the initiative’s daily operations and regular programming.
Internship Information Session: Monday May 18th 6:30-7:30 PM (virtual) RSVP Here
Projects
DaD Student Interns are assigned one major project domain, but may be asked to work on any of the following projects and responsibilities throughout the academic year:
- Thought Partners for Student Engagement: All DaD Interns serve as crucial thought partners for the initiative – a key programmatic piece as we aim to cultivate engaged student leaders to promote culture change. This includes: brainstorming programming ideas to increase student engagement with DaD; recruiting students to attend programs/activities; offering feedback on program development; running Student Dialogue Network (SDN) meetings, and more.
- Programming & Events: outreach, staffing events, greeting people, interviewing people about their experiences, helping host dialogues, or facilitating during programs.
- Operations & Administration: Provide programming and operational support to staff. This involves supporting DaD staff in managing logistical details related to event planning, including but not limited to: file organization, data entry/management, drafting communications, program tracking, calendar management; communicating with other campus entities and departments, and other operational tasks that may arise.
- Digital Communications: Graphic Design or Photography/Video Production: Support DaD’s internal and external communications processes, including: develop program flyers, writing student newsletters, blog posts, web text updates; draft parts of DaD/BKI annual reports, and other miscellaneous communications that bring our work to students from a wide array of disciplines and departments; work with staff on different digital platforms to elevate the Institute’s various activities.
- Research & Evaluation: Assist DaD staff in managing evaluation processes for program & training activities, tracking attendance and impact, collecting and analyzing post-program surveys and feedback, refine processes for evaluation; updating existing internal and external dialogue resources for UCLA stakeholders; may include curation of a monthly reading/watch list related to bridge-building and dialogue; and providing on-site event support to solicit feedback and testimonials during or after events.
Position Details
- Up to 4 positions available
- $19 per hour, 5-8 hours per week
- Must be eligible for hire under university hiring policy
- Location: hybrid, with regular in-person attendance for staff meetings or events
- Interns must be available for occasional evening and weekend events or training
- Interns must be available for the full academic year: Fall, Winter and Spring
Required Qualifications
- Undergraduate students enrolled full-time for the entire 2026-27 academic year.
- Demonstrated understanding of and commitment to the values of the Dialogue Across Difference Initiative (active listening, empathy, intellectual engagement) and the Bedari Kindness Institute.
- Experience with or exposure to dialogue or bridge-building related courses, fellowships, or other programs (e.g., Intergroup Dialogue, DaD Fiat Lux or related coursework, Bruin Bridge Builders Fund grantee, “Speaking Across Conflict” Workshop attendee, or other dialogue-related training).
- Must be able to work effectively, both independently and with a team in a fast-paced environment.
- Must exhibit excellent communication skills (written and oral), and ability to communicate with many different populations effectively.
- Must be punctual, timely, and responsive in work communications.
- Must be detail-oriented and organized, able to work with online programs and data comfortably and efficiently.
- Must be creative and a self-starter with a willingness to propose and undertake new projects to engage students.
- Must demonstrate an ability to prioritize assignments to complete work in a timely manner.
- Must be open to learning and adapt well to change.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience planning public programming or events preferred.
- Experience with digital graphic design, video production/editing highly preferred.
- Familiarity with online systems such as: UCLA Box, Microsoft Office Suite, Google Drive, Notion, Canva, Canva, Constant Contact or similar.
- Enthusiasm to work on a diverse team and grapple with differences constructively.
To Apply
Final Application Deadline: Sunday, May 31st at 11:59 pm PT
Don’t wait until the last minute! Applications will be reviewed as they are received.
Feel free to send any questions to kindness@ucla.edu.
Interviews will be held June 9-10, 2026.
