Update on 25 September 2025: click here to read the two policy memos now!
The Community Power & Policy Partnerships (CP3) team of the Othering & Belonging Institute at UC Berkeley is commissioning a series of policy memos from current graduate students at UC Berkeley on the theme of Housing Policy and Systems for Belonging.
Please submit proposals via this google form, by 11:59 PST April 4, 2025.
Collectively, the contributions to this series will offer insights and recommendations for how to address housing insecurity in California in a way that builds power among marginalized communities and redefines our collective relationship to land and housing.
We hope that papers will build on existing research the author(s) are doing as a part of their schoolwork, such as class papers or capstone projects. The policy memo might adapt existing writing to speak to a broader, less academic, public. Ultimately policy memos should include concrete recommendations for action, geared towards advocates, funders, legislators, or other decision makers.
Memos might, for example, put forward:
- a bold idea that is grounded in your own lived experience or developed in community,
- a proof of possibility that pulls from case studies and models to learn from, and/or
- structural analysis that synthesizes community conditions and makes the case for policy change.
For more research guidelines, please review the Call for Papers pdf.
Eligibility & Compensation
Research memos may be co-authored by up to 3 students. All author(s) must be enrolled in a graduate program at UC Berkeley for the Spring 2025 semester.
The Institute will compensate each author $2,000 upon submission of the final paper. This will take the form of a department award, which is considered financial aid. It is important to note that this may impact your financial aid package if you have one.
For students graduating Spring 2025, the award will be part of your Spring 2025 financial aid package, so please check with the financial aid office to ensure you have room for the award in your package before submitting a paper. For students not graduating Spring 2025, the award will be part of your Summer 2025 financial aid package; please also check with the financial aid office to ensure you have room for this. For more details visit Department Awards from the UC Berkeley, Financial Aid & Scholarships Office.
Process & Timeline
- April 4, 2025: submission portal closes, OBI reviews proposals
- April 11, 2025: OBI selects papers, sends next steps to authors
- May 23, 2025: Authors submit complete drafts
- June 6, 2025: OBI suggests edits for publication
- June 27, 2025: Authors submit final drafts for copy editing
- July 2025 (date TBD): OBI formats and publishes final pieces on the OBI website, disburses stipend
Important Links
- Google Form for submissions
- Call for Proposals pdf
Please contact Maile Munro at mailemunro@berkeley.edu with any questions.
