The Agents of Change Program is accepting project proposal applications until Sunday, July 3 at 11:59 p.m. It offers students the opportunity to gain beneficial entrepreneurial experience and make impactful changes in their local communities.
The program aims to support innovative student-led community initiatives that uniquely address the social determinants of health (SDH) and United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). It offers students start-up funding, one-on-one coaching, mentorship, training and networking opportunities.
The Agents of Change Program was established by an alumni donor in 2013, driven by the goal to promote applied learning opportunities and develop students' transferable skills. A project-based learning approach is adapted by the program to foster student engagement to real-world problems through their personal, community-oriented and health-related initiatives.
Successful applicants will have the opportunity to run their projects in a year-long timeline that begins in August 2022 and ends in May 2023. Calumet and Stong Colleges will be reviewing the project proposals.
Eligibility to apply for Agents of Change:
- A York University undergraduate/graduate student returning for the academic year of 2022-23;
- Good academic standing with York University; and
- If applying as a group:
- maximum number of group members is five.
- majority of the team (over 50 per cent) must be from the Faculty of Health.
The proposed Agents of Change Initiative ideas must address the following:
- Project vision: Your vision should be specific, measurable, action-oriented, realistic, and timely (S.M.A.R.T.);
- Goals, deliverables, and timeframe: How will you implement your vision in the months to follow? What projects do you aim to complete during your timeframe?;
- Target population of the project: Who is the intended demographic for your project? Please justify the need for your initiative with research;
- Uniqueness: What makes your project innovative and unique? Ensure your project does not replicate services on campus. If services are duplicated, does your project complement or expand already existing initiatives?;
- Adaptability: Does your project demonstrate the flexibility required during this time of COVID-19? How will you work around these limitations (delivering services online)?; and
- Existing resources and required budget.
A detailed proposal guideline is available for reference.
For the past nine years, the program has achieved noteworthy outcomes and impact through more than 25 student-led initiatives focused on meeting the health-related needs of vulnerable or marginalized community members.
Past Agents of Change initiatives have covered a broad range of categories, including supporting physical and mental health, gender inequity in health leadership and homelessness. The current Agents of Change projects are innovative in addressing SDH and are actively participating in achieving the UN SDGs. Learn about past projects on the Calumet College webpage.