Before each semester, the Action Lab application matching process creates collaborative teams that will work together on research projects offered that semester. Teams begin with a question posed by a community partner, and also include a faculty fellow and about 5-7 students (combined from CT State Community College Capital and Trinity College). The Action Lab also welcomes other arrangements, such as two community organizations that pair up on a broader research question, with up to 8 students and one or more faculty fellows. See current and past research projects, and contact us if you have questions or need help with our application process.
Application timeline:
Community Partners: Applications open in June and are open all summer until September for projects taking place the following calendar year.
Students: Applications open every semester prior to advising period and course registration. This typically takes place in September-October for the spring semester and January-February for the fall semester. Apply here!
Faculty Fellows: Every semester we look for faculty fellows with expertise in upcoming project areas.
Sign up for our email list to be notified of calls for proposals and application deadlines.
Roles and Eligibility:
- Hartford community partners are broadly defined to include neighborhood groups, non-profit organizations, government agencies, social entrepreneurs, and others focused on the city. Identify a problem or question that you’d like a research team to help answer, which will improve Hartford or its role in the metropolitan region. Must be available to meet with the team at least once a month (either Tue/Wed/Thu afternoon or Wed evenings) at our downtown campus.
- Hartford Resident Advisory Board will discuss and numerically rank proposals in early March, based on their overall quality and importance to the city. The Action Lab Director will appoint this jury pool of 8-10 city residents who are active in civic life, familiar with academic research, and reflect the demographics of Hartford. Advisory Board members may not participate in a discussion of a proposal submitted by an organization with which they (or a close family member) are affiliated. After this meeting, the Action Lab will display highly-rated proposals at the top of the Apply website and may remove lower-rated ones for partners to revise and resubmit in the next round.
- Faculty Fellows are invited to apply to project teams, in order to: (1) serve as a resource for the director in-class preparation, (2) participate in a pre-semester planning meeting, and (3) join a monthly 1-hour meeting with their project team (either Tues., Wed., or Thurs. afternoons, or Wed evening) at our downtown campus, plus one additional pre-semester meeting of all faculty fellows. (The Action Lab Director will supervise teams of students on a weekly basis.) Full-time or part-time faculty, advanced graduate students, or staff with subject or method expertise, from CCC, Trinity, or other institutions in the Hartford Consortium for Higher Education, are welcome to apply. Fellows may receive $1,000 to compensate their time for one semester, which may be paid as a(n) stipend/honorarium or as reimbursement for related expenses.
- Students from CT State Community College Capital and Trinity College are invited to apply to enroll in the Action Lab course (meets Monday afternoons, 1:30-4:10pm) and to join a project team (meets either Tue or Thu afternoons from 1:30-4:10 pm, or Wed afternoons from 1:30-4:10 pm or Wed evenings from 6:30-9:00pm). Successful students will earn the equivalent 2 Trinity credits or 6 CCC credits.
- Anyone may add your name and email to receive Action Lab updates.
Contact us if you have questions or need help with our application process.