“Meet the CEN” is a series that shines a spotlight on the dynamic individuals who make up the heart of our Community Engagement Network (CEN). As we continue to foster collaboration, learning, and community-building within the realm of community engagement at UBC, it’s our pleasure to share the stories and insights of those who drive this essential work forward.
Meet Shayla Walker!
Shayla works for the Office of Community Engagement and is the manager of two funding programs: the Community University Engagement Support (CUES) Fund and the Partnership Recognition and Exploration (PRE) Fund. Through these initiatives, Shayla helps bridge the gap between UBC and its community partners, supporting collaborations that range from Indigenous language revitalization to pet clinics connecting owners to health services. In this interview, she shares inspiring examples of community-driven projects, valuable advice for applicants, and their unique approach to fostering flexibility and trust in grant-making.
Check out Shayla’s interview, available in both video and written formats below.
Can you tell us about the two funding programs you manage?
The Community University Engagement Support (CUES) Fund offers grants up to $25,000 to support reciprocal community-university partnerships. The fund runs on an annual basis and there’s a two step process to applying to it. The first step is submitting a notice of intent to confirm the applicant’s eligibility. The full applications are due at the end of November. People that are accessing this fund are typically looking to launch or scale a project, and these CUES projects typically run between 12 to 18 months.
The Partnership Recognition and Exploration (PRE) Fund, on the other hand, offers grants up to $1,500 to fill small gaps in community-university projects, or to test out a new idea or relationship before applying to the larger CUES fund. People that are accessing this fund are typically using it for things like paying community honoraria or travel for community meetings. The timelines for PRE projects are on the shorter side, between six months and under.
Can you share an example of what a CUES or PRE-funded project looks like?
Projects supported by both funds are incredibly varied. We’ve supported numerous Indigenous language revitalization and resurgence projects, as well as patient-engaged initiatives in the health and medical fields. One particularly cool project currently running in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside offers pet clinics for pets in need, using those clinics as a bridge to connect pet owners with human health services.
Other projects are more arts-based, such as one focused on Afrofuturism and the Black Speculative Arts Movement. We’ve also supported projects aimed at mitigating climate change, Indigenous-led wildfire management initiatives, and efforts integrating Indigenous and Western science to address challenges like fisheries management.
There’s a broad range of projects and activities supported by the funds, but I think one common thread across many of them is that they respond to community-identified needs in some way. Another shared element is the sense of friendship that underlies a lot of these projects. It’s people coming together, bringing their shared knowledge and expertise, and genuinely valuing that in the other person, organization, or community.
At its heart, it’s just friends collaborating to work on an issue and make their little corner of the world more accessible, more inclusive, and ultimately, a better place.
What advice do you have for community organizations and their UBC partners who are considering applying to these funds?
I would say plan ahead as much as possible. It’s really important to have a clearly identified community priority or need that you’re addressing. Taking the time to get to know one another before applying to the fund is essential—understanding how you work well together makes a big difference.
It’s also important to clearly explain what the community issue or project is, particularly the community-identified need or priority. Additionally, being able to articulate why it’s you coming to the project is key. What are the two people working on the project bringing to it? Whether it’s lived experience or subject matter expertise, explain why you’re the right people to take on this work.
What advice would you pass on to other UBC staff that manage community engagement funding programs?
I recommend being flexible. We all have deadlines, many of which are self-imposed, but your timeline isn’t always going to align with community priorities. Building flexibility into your work plan can go a really long way.
Also, be transparent. That’s something I really learned when I first started at UBC, coming from a smaller organization to a large institution like this. I had kind of forgotten how long things can take to work their way through the system. Being clear and setting expectations around timelines—like how long grant payments or honoraria payments might take—is really important. Transparency makes a big difference.
Back to the flexibility piece—in terms of reporting, if you can accommodate different formats, I think that’s really important. If you can waive reporting altogether, that’s even better. I know that’s a big movement in trust-based philanthropy. But if reporting is required on your end, being flexible in the formats you accept makes a big difference.
For example, we have a form where people can indicate if they’d prefer to submit a written report, do an interview, or maybe host a site visit. One format I’m really excited about is face-to-face conversations, which we’ve recently started turning into podcasts. This has been a fantastic tool because the lessons learned and tips shared in those conversations can be shared more widely. They’re not just sitting in a reporting form in a database.
I want to underscore this because one of the podcast participants we interviewed noted how much they appreciated the process. They said they felt a sense of community throughout and that it wasn’t administratively exhausting. Hearing that made me so happy because it’s something our team really strives for—to take away the heavy lifting from grant recipients so they can focus on their work, not on grant deliverables.
Being flexible really paid off for us. Now we have a great tool for knowledge mobilization, and the community or partnership walks away with an asset they can use to share their work more widely and in their own voices.
Connect with Shayla
If you’d like to learn more about our funding programs, you can learn more at communityengagement.ubc.ca. If you’d like to connect with Shayla directly, visit Our Team page on our website.