Dear colleagues,

I am writing to ask your assistance with a systemwide endeavor to collect data about the many partnerships and community programs that UC administers and supports, specifically, any partnerships and programs that engage and impact the public community locally and throughout California. To submit information, please access the UC community-based programs data collection tool. This application is live systemwide. All UC Irvine affiliates with an official UC email address can use their existing campus authentication ID and passphrase to access the database.

Data collected via this application is used by UCOP Institutional Research and Academic Planning (IRAP) to inform its mission of providing evidence-based analyses and reports that inform and shape strategic planning, institutional policy creation and revision, and decision support; the annual University of California Accountability Report, and the UC in CA interactive maps to help advocates and legislators visualize UC’s reach and impact in their constituents’ communities.

We seek entry of UC Irvine programs and partnerships anywhere in California, including but not limited to such things as public health partnerships, clinics, and services; social welfare clinics; community law centers, neighborhood projects; internship programs; employment training; community volunteer programs, educational research collaboratives, partnerships with all levels of education – from preschool to community college, and arts education and outreach programs. In short, any community-based program administered by UC Irvine.

The open access to this tool is intentional for the purpose of encouraging participation and lightening the workload. How to distribute this request for input into the system is at your discretion. In the past, communicators from the individual schools, colleges, departments have been instrumental in adding the programs that are currently represented. Due to a gap since the initial data collection and the creation of this database, an FAQ document offers step-by-step instructions for validating existing programs. Outdated programs should be deleted. A training video is available to assist new users. Keep in mind that the video begins with specific UC Davis language, but all of the functions and processes are identical to UCI’s portal.

We are being asked to finalize our data by May 31, 2023. Once all campuses have validated their data, the UC in California website and its accompanying static PDF maps will be updated. The static maps will be updated annually with any new programs entered after this date, but the goal is to meet the May 31, 2023, deadline with the highest participation possible. The UC in CA interactive maps will be updated with more frequency so continuous use of this tool is recommended to increase the accuracy of the data ongoing.

Thank you all for your support and participation. We look forward to having UC Irvine well represented in this database and to exploring increased uses for the data as well.

Sincerely,

Sherry Main
Vice Chancellor
Strategic Communications & Public Affairs