The IDEA

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The Idea

Research. Action. Change.

View the Research

The IDEA: Advancement for All

The Institute for Dissemination, Engagement, and Access (IDEA) is dedicated to amplifying higher education research by ensuring that evidence-based insights reach the audiences who can put them into practice. The IDEA also showcases promising practices that can be replicated and scaled to advance learning and achievement for scholars at all levels. With a focus on disseminating scholarship that advances engagement and expands access, IDEA serves as a bridge between researchers, educators, policymakers, and communities. By translating findings into usable knowledge, the institute strengthens higher education’s capacity to foster inclusive participation and equitable opportunities for success.
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Advancing the UC Davis Principles of Community through Research, Institutional Culture & Education

Faculty Proposals Due by April 24

Learn More About the Funding Proposal Opportunity

Programs

Aggie Black Excellence

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K-16 Regional Education Collaboratives

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Promise Engineering Institute

PEI_Attendees
Publications by affiliated faculty and scholars
Inclusive Excellence on eScholarship

The IDEA Research Collective

The IDEA Research Collective is an exciting opportunity to connect with colleagues, share ideas, and collaborate on cutting-edge initiatives that make a real impact related to inclusion, belonging and excellence. The IDEA Research Collective aims to connect faculty and practitioners whose work is issue-focused, to collectively explore research, publication and corresponding funding opportunities. Faculty affiliates can enjoy a number of benefits with the goal of sparking and nurturing cross-campus and cross disciplinary collaborations, mentoring opportunities, research productivity, and visibility.

Benefits of participating include:

  • Interdisciplinary partnerships that span across campuses
  • Increased visibility for your research and projects
  • Opportunities for funding and publications 

We ask that our members commit to providing consulting support for our research initiatives and participating in collaborative discussions to identify publication opportunities that connect research and practice. We believe that the IDEA Collaborative will catalyze research efforts at UC Davis and we look forward to working synergistically with all of you.

Join the Collective

The IDEA is honored to work with the following partners:

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Research

The IDEA prioritizes research and dissemination to assess the impact of interventions and programs—establishing metrics, collecting and analyzing evidence, disseminating findings, and facilitating the scale-up of effective practices.
Join The IDEA Research Collective View Publications
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Action

The IDEA empowers partners to plan for long-term success. With a strong foundation, partners focus on taking action and shaping the future of education and opportunity—both at UC Davis and beyond.
Aggie Black Excellence K-16 Regional Education Collaborative
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Change

The IDEA advances students, faculty, and staff by advocating for outcome-driven, tangible opportunities for them to thrive, succeed, and achieve their full potential.
Give to the IDEA

History of The IDEA

Shortly after joining UC Davis in July 2019, Dr. Renetta Garrison Tull, Vice Chancellor for Inclusive Excellence began plans to establish the The IDEA. Under VC Tull’s leadership as Founding Executive Director, and in collaboration with the Office of Research, this special research unit was developed to centralize collaborations and partnerships that involved UC Davis’ existing and new recruitment, retention, and advancement programs and  interventions that connected to issues of inclusive excellence. The core mission was to centralize efforts  to conduct research, analyze metrics, scale promising practices, and broadly disseminate outcomes.  In February 2021, Professor Rachel Jean-Baptiste joined as the Inaugural Faculty Director for IDEA. In September 2022, IDEA transitioned from a center to a strategic initiative now known as The Institute for Dissemination, Engagement, and Access (IDEA) led by Chief Strategy Officer, Dr. Ebony Lewis.

 

Since its establishment on October 16, 2020, The IDEA has served as a partnership hub for several programs on campus, including but not limited to: Sacramento Area Youth Speaks (SAYS), the Cesar Chavez Youth Leadership Program, the PROMISE Engineering Institute, the ENGAGE: Professional Development & Global Engagement initiative, the Program-level Assessment Capacity Enrichment for Equity (PACE4E) program, the Redwood SEED Scholars Program, and Healthy Davis/Yolo Together. IDEA also launched its foundational campus-wide project, Aggie Black Excellence, beginning with a series of listening sessions hosted in spring 2022 with faculty, staff, students and alumni.

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