For more information on your role, responsibilities, expectations, and types of support available to you and more, please review the Agents of Change Project Lead Handbook. This document is subject to change for the 2024-2025 cycle but may provide guidance on your decision to apply for the program.
IN ORDER TO APPLY YOU MUST BE:
- A York undergraduate or graduate student in any year level
- In good academic standing with York University
- Must be available to attend the 2-day training bootcamp in July 2024 (July 24 & July 25)
- In groups of 1-5: The majority of students in the group must be from the Faculty of Health
- Global Health
- Health Policy & Management
- Kinesiology & Health Science
- Nursing
- Psychology
Please check out our FAQ if you have questions about eligibility.
To apply, please upload your completed project proposal form in the online application*. Incomplete proposals and application forms will not be reviewed. If you are applying as part of a group, you will only need to submit one application. Please assign a group member as a primary contact who is responsible for submitting the application on behalf of the group.
Application Process
Notes to keep in mind for the application:
- For the application, please follow the proposal guidelines.
- While writing your proposal, ensure you pay special attention to the following points:
- What are the main objectives of your project?
- These objectives should seek to address community needs and align with the Social Determinants of Health
- You need to clearly outline your objectives in the proposal.
- What is the specific need that you are trying to address?
- Ensure you describe how your project (backed by scientific research) will address this need,
- Ensure you have a specific target population within the community
- If you are targeting a global population, you must have a very good reason to do so. In terms of feasibility, projects that have a specific target population are looked upon favorably for approval.
- Is there something on campus that addresses the same issues, that you are trying to address?
- Please explain why your project is different than what’s available in the community and/or on campus.
- What is unique/novel about your idea?
- If there IS something that addresses the same issues, why are you doing it? Is there an added value? Please elaborate on this point in detail, as we do not want to repeat services that are already provided on campus by experts.
- Your project should target needs that are NOT being addressed in the community.
- Please explain why your project is different than what’s available in the community and/or on campus.
- Is your project feasible to complete with restrictions due to Covid-19? Is it feasible to complete within the next 8 months, taking into account your student responsibilities, workload, etc?
- Please keep the feasibility of project delivery in mind
- Note: you may recruit project members after the application approval.
- Is there a risk to the community with your project? Keep safety and security in mind;
- i.e for touching upon therapy of any kind: do you have certified personnel supervising?
- i.e when handling food, are you taking into consideration, municipal guidelines?
- What are the main objectives of your project?
- For the community partners section of the proposal, it is NOT mandatory to have contacted the community partners PRIOR to application submission.
- You can simply list the partners you plan on working with; their contact information, and how they will support your project.
- You may contact the community partners after the application approval.
- If you are struggling to develop your proposal or project idea, consider working through the attached Proposal Bootcamp worksheet, which takes you step by step through the many aspects of the proposal.
- Note: This is simply to help you develop your idea. Your application must follow proposal guidelines.
Proposal Bootcamp (2024) – May 21 & 22
To help students prepare their applications, we will be facilitating a 2-Part Proposal Bootcamp taking place Tuesday, May 21st from 5:00 – 7:30 PM, and Wednesday, May 22nd from 5:00 – 7:30 PM. Please note that this will be a hybrid event, meaning 1 day will be in person and the other will be virtual. Details to follow upon registration.
- On May 21st (virtual), the Bootcamp will provide you and your group members and opportunity to work together and develop your project proposal based on your idea.
- On May 22nd (in-person), you will have the opportunity to present your application proposal and receive feedback from a panel of experts. *
By attending the Proposal Bootcamp, students will:
- be able to take their ideas and come up with an implementable action plan
- develop their project proposal and get feedback from a panel of experts
- have an opportunity to ask questions they have regarding the application process and/or Agents of Change program in general.
RSVP HERE: https://tinyurl.com/AOCBootcamp2024
Information Sessions (2024) – March 28 & May Dates TBD
To help students prepare their applications, we will be facilitating a series of information sessions. By attending a session students will:
- be introduced to the application proposal and the process of submission
- learn how to strengthen your project proposal
- learn about the funding available for Agents of Change projects (up to $750 for each project)
If you wish to learn more about the program and the application process, attend our Information Sessions:
- Thursday, March 28, 2024 from 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM (virtual via Zoom)
- May Dates for Info Sessions TBD
RSVP HERE: www.tinyurl.com/aocinfosessions2024
Recording of a prior session in 2021 : https://tinyurl.com/AoCinfoSess
Please note some information may be outdated in this recording.
For more information, contact Waziha Kabir, Student Success Coordinator at wkabir@yorku.ca.Thank you for your interest in applying for the Agents of Change project funding.