From transportation plans to housing shortages, waterway management, tight budgets, and child care, Wisconsin local governments oversee many evolving challenges.
University of Wisconsin–Madison’s UniverCity Alliance program wants to support Wisconsin communities problem solve as they address their community’s goals and priorities by connecting them with university resources to jumpstart creative solutions and offer new perspectives to local issues.
The three-year program is looking for new local government partners to collaboratively develop solutions to community-identified challenges during the 2024-27 academic years.
“Year after year, we are excited to work with Wisconsin local governments and pair them with UW–Madison’s faculty, staff, instructors, and students to jumpstart their goals,” UniverCity Alliance’s Managing Director Gavin Luter said. “Our primary aim is to listen to these local leaders and find the best match for their community’s needs. We’re grateful to be working with a new cohort of counties who find value in the ways UW–Madison can help accelerate innovation in their communities.”
After applying to UniverCity, communities identify projects that would benefit from UW–Madison expertise, and university staff help shape research-to-practice questions that can be tackled by faculty and students. Then, UniverCity staff connect with faculty, staff, and students across the university and find opportunities to incorporate projects into courses, independent studies, research projects, internships, or field placements.
Students, including those enrolled in academic courses and completing internships or field placements, work on projects that are then delivered to the community. UniverCity is available to help support moving the community toward implementation in the third year of the partnership.
Since 2016, UniverCity has connected Wisconsin communities with faculty, staff, instructors, students, courses, and more during the three-year partnership. UniverCity is an alliance of interdisciplinary leaders dedicated to fostering innovation in communities of all sizes.
UniverCity has partnered with 35 Wisconsin local governments, with 18 counties and 17 cities, towns, and villages participating.
“UniverCity is making UW–Madison more accessible and responsive to a growing number of Wisconsin communities,” Luter said. “These partnerships are a two-way street: We learn from our partner communities, and they learn from UniverCity’s on-campus partners.”
The deadline to apply is Monday, Aug. 5. However, if your application falls outside of our regular timeline, please contact UniverCity Alliance staff at UniverCityAlliance@wisc.edu. Learn more about the application here.