The UC National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement is pleased to share the application for the 2025-2026 Valuing Open and Inclusive Conversation and Engagement (VOICE) Initiative. VOICE provides funding for UC students, staff and faculty who are interested in conducting research or coordinating programs and activities that further the Center’s mission of exploring the intersection of expression, engagement and democratic learning and considering what can be done to restore trust in the value of free speech on college campuses and within society at large.
As a VOICE awardee, you will be welcomed into a community of passionate individuals who share a common purpose of advancing the principles of the Center on their own campuses. VOICE recipients also become part of a larger UC-wide and national community of scholars, educators and activists. There are opportunities to receive leadership guidance and support from previous VOICE recipients as a new awardee.
Below are some examples of how that might be done.
- Engage in research and/or activities that promote open discourse among members of communities or participation in democracy;
- Deliver programming that addresses challenges in our current national life or discourse around past and upcoming elections; or that examines how we might strengthen and rebuild – or even reimagine – community;
- Enable conversations about peoples’ experiences and perspectives of vital social and political issues;
- Create forums for discussion about democratic processes, such as legislative advocacy or voting rights, as they relate to our social and political community;
- Offer workshops and/or symposia that focus on furthering democratic literacy and engagement.
Creativity and originality are encouraged. For inspiration, take a look at the terrific ongoing work of the 2024-2025 VOICE Initiative Awardees.
VOICE awards can be up to $5,000 and will be granted on a competitive basis. The Center will fund the VOICE awards; recipients will administer awarded projects in compliance with both UC policies and campus-specific guidance on the campus(es) where the projects take place.
Who is Eligible?
All current UC students, staff and faculty are eligible to receive VOICE funding as individuals or as members of a group, team, office or department. All project contributors must be a UC student, faculty or staff member for the entirety of the 2025-2026 academic year.
Current or former recipients are welcome to apply, but no project can be funded for more than three years. There is no limit to the number of individuals that can be included in a single proposal. The primary contact or author of the proposal must partner with a department on their campus or have a recharge account to receive funds.
Project Requirements
- Quarterly Zoom Cohort Meetings: At least one person representing each selected project must be available to attend mandatory quarterly VOICE cohort (virtual) meetings. Participation in these events serves to further community-building, knowledge-sharing and network development both within and across cohorts of VOICE awardees.
- Final Report: Each project is expected to submit a final report detailing their activities, a final budget and photos/videos documenting the project.
Application Information
Applications must be received by 11:59 pm PT on Monday, June 2, 2025. Awardees will be notified by late-July 2025. Funding is one-time only and must be used by June 1, 2026. Funds must be transferable to a department recharge account. If you are not part of a department or registered student organization, you will need to identify an on-campus sponsor through which funds can be disbursed.
If anyone has questions, they should reach out to freespeechcenter@uci.edu.
(Application questions marked with an * are required.)