EDI Action Fund

About the Fund

The Faculty of Medicine Equity, Inclusion and Diversity (EDI) Action Fund is administrated by the Office of Inclusion and Diversity (OID), and contributes to the Faculty of Medicine’s commitment to Excellence through Equity, one of the three Strategic Domains of Focus named in the 2018-2023 Academic Strategic Plan. It aims to support Faculty of Medicine learners in being champions of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion by transforming their ideas for initiatives into reality. It awards a maximum of $500 to applicants with successful proposals. The fund may approve a maximum of 10 proposals per year (September to August).

    Evaluation Rubric

    Please download and review the EDI Action Fund Evaluation Rubric before writing your proposal.

    Application Form

    Complete the online application form to apply.

    Blank Application Form Template

    Before filling out the online application form, you may want to record and save all your answers in this Word document.

    Final Report

    In order to receive a reimbusrment for project costs, approved receipts of the fund must complete this final report form in full. It is a good idea to review the final report before starting your project to get an idea of the information you will be asked to report back on.

    Eligibility

    The following groups are eligible to apply for the Faculty of Medicine Equity Initiatives Fund:

    1. MedSoc Ratified Student Groups;
    2. Faculty of Medicine Undergraduate Student Associations;
    3. Graduate Student Associations (including student unions and associations);
    4. Unofficial Faculty of Medicine Student Groups, and;
    5. A currently enrolled part-time, full-time or flex time Faculty of Medicine individual learner or group of learners, supported by a Faculty of Medicine Staff or Faculty member advisor. (Note that if your proposal is approved, you will then be asked for written confirmation from your staff/faculty advisor that they are acting as an advisor for your initiative.) The learner(s) can be enrolled in any Faculty of Medicine department (MD, undergraduate, graduate or post-graduate), at St. George campus or MaM, including Rehabilitation Sciences departments, Basic Sciences departments, and Clinical departments. Note that the learner(s) must be currently enrolled (part-time, full-time or flex time) at the Faculty of Medicine throughout the entire duration of the initiative.

    Although it is not required, we do encourage applicants to work collaboratively and across departments. Two or more student groups may decide to submit joint applications.

    Initiatives that will be considered must contribute to increasing equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) at the Faculty of Medicine and support the Faculty of Medicine’s commitment to EDI. Events that aim to create a profit and/or events that focus on the promotion of already existing student groups will not be considered. Events must not charge an admission fees. Each student organization may apply to the Faculty of Medicine Equity Initiatives Fund for one initiative per academic term. Please note that the Fund does not provide funding to conduct research studies. Applicants are encouraged to connect with the OID program coordinator at medicine.oid@utoronto.ca to discuss their proposals before applying.

    Equity Initiatives may include any of the following:

    We encourage initiatives that tackle the following topics as they relate to education/research/clinical practice at the Faculty of Medicine:

    • Holding a panel event
    • Designing a Zine
    • Facilitating social/networking event
    • Making a podcast
    • Developing a campaign
    • Creating a toolkit
    • A photo series and exhibit
    • Film screening and dialogue
    • Developing/facilitating a workshop
    • Running a conference
    • Or More!
    • Anti-racism
    • Decolonization/Indigeneity
    • LGBTQ2S issues
    • Gender justice
    • Disability/Accessibility
    • Challenging/dismantling Islamophobia
    • Challenging/dismantling xenophobia
    • Providing supports for international students
    • And any other topics related to social justice/anti oppression/EDI

    We encourage intersectional, innovative and creative thinking. Initiatives must incorporate social justice/anti-oppression approaches, and consider how accessibility considerations will be addressed. For example, if you propose a panel, have you ensured a diversity in speakers’ race, gender, and other dimensions of diversity? If you propose a networking event, is the venue accessible, is the target audience an underrepresented/minoritized group, and will a land acknowledgement be read? If you propose a film screening, does the film have closed captioning? Please take time to build these types of considerations into your proposal.

    Application Periods

    We encourage applicants to apply during one of the two application periods:

     

    Application Period

    Applicants Present Proposal

    Proposal Approval

    April 1 – May 8

    May 9 – May 25

    May 25 – May 31

    November 15 – January 3

    January 4 – January 20

    January 1 – January 31

    Applications that are received outside of these application periods will still be considered, but may have less chance in being approved as there is a limited amount of funding available.

    Initiatives must be completed within 1 year of the proposal approval.

    Process

    1. Fill out the online Faculty of Medicine EDI Action Fund application form in full, and submit. If you would like to consult with the OID about your idea before submitting, you can email the OID Program Coordinator at medicine.oid@utoronto.ca to set up a meeting time. It is advised that applicants review the application form and Evaluation Rubric fully before drafting the initiative proposal, so that you have a good idea of what is required.
    2.  The OID Program Coordinator will review submitted proposals for eligibility. You may be contacted and asked for further details.
    3. Applicants that submitted eligible proposals will be contacted and invited to present their initiative proposal to a panel in person. If the applicants are unavailable to deliver a presentation, the OID Program Coordinator will present on their behalf.
    4. Proposals will be graded based on the Evaluation Rubric.
    5. Proposals that receive the highest grade will be approved to receive funding up to $500.
    6. Applicants implement their approved equity initiative. Applicants may consult with the OID Program Coordinator after receiving approval for their proposal about how the OID may assist with the initiative (e.g. promotion, planning, booking space at MSB, etc.).
    7. Approved applicants must track and update progress and expenses for their initiatives. A mid-point report must be sent to the OID Program Coordinator.
    8. After the equity initiative is completed, applicants must submit all itemized receipts to medicine.oid@utoronto.ca in order to receive reimbursement. In order to receive the reimbursement, applicants must first submit a final report on their initiative’s results, impact and key learnings. The final report should be received within two weeks of the completion of the initiative.

    Use of Funds

    Funds granted by the Faculty of Medicine Equity Initiatives Fund may not be used for the following:

    • Purchase of alcoholic beverages
    • To provide payment/honoraria to Faculty of Medicine learners
    • To fund health-related research