About Partnership for Reimagining Gainesville (PRG)
Have an idea for positive community change? Go to our online portal!
What is PRG?
Community-based Collaboration. Meaningful Impact. PRG represents an evolution of UF’s partnership with the City of Gainesville that was initiated by Senior Vice-President and COO Charlie Lane in 2017 with the funding of seven UF-City research projects with an emphasis on Gainesville as a living laboratory. PRG seeks to expand equity and inclusion to the UF-City partnership by shifting the focus of collaboration towards working with community members and organizations, and actively identifying and supporting impact-focused ideas, projects or initiatives that are driven by community needs.
This approach entails expanding partners to include the Community Foundation of North Central Florida and key community members as part of our Advisory Council. The goal is to empower community members to use their knowledge, skills and experiences to address complex social problems in the Gainesville area, thereby leveraging the resources of UF, the City and the community itself to build capacity in the community to solve issues and sustain impact through support, empowerment and self-reliance.
The significance of the PRG initiative is that it:
- aims to develop and enhance the capacity of our community to address complex social problems in the Gainesville area,
- fosters inter-organizational partnerships founded on principles of respect, transparency, and reciprocity,
- works with community stakeholders to actively identify and support impact-focused ideas, projects or initiatives driven by community needs, and
- mobilizes access to resources needed to support community stakeholders’ ideas, including micro-grants, technical assistance and mentoring.
PRG offers opportunities for community members and organizations to receive support for ideas that address issues, needs and challenges experienced within our community. Resources available through PRG include: micro-grant funding, technical assistance, social networking, access to researchers and students, links to relevant community programs or services, training materials, etc.
Why PRG?
Community Capacity-building. Long-term Impact. There are many challenges to successful engagement efforts. Large academic institutions can struggle in shaping their service and outreach activities after community needs or in sustaining impact over time to support meaningful change. PRG aims to support individuals and groups who have first-hand knowledge of the challenges in their communities, yet often lack the resources and/or support to address those issues. PRG aims to reach individuals whose voices have not been heard in the past.
To be successful in supporting the Gainesville community, the PRG model supports:
- a commitment from UF to provide support and resources beyond funding alone to build long-term impact together with community,
- new collaborations that address community needs taking their cue from community members and organizations,
- Support collaborations and activities that build capacity in the community together with key community stakeholders,
- a community-driven focus by including community members throughout the whole process… from idea through implementation and maintenance, and
- flexibility in the design and implementation process to accommodate the needs of all parties involved, ensuring mutual benefit and reciprocity are achieved and sustained.
PRG Materials:
Initiative Milestones
Establish a new Community Collaboration Platform
Establish the PRG Advisory Council
Design the PRG Application and Review Process
Set up the PRG online Portal
Start Accepting Ideas and Applications for Funding - The PRG Portal is Live!
Advisory Council Review Proposals and Make Awards to Community Members/Organizations
Evaluate and Assess Impact
Initiative Team & Partners
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Andrew Telles
Director of Collaborative Initiatives, UF
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Karissa Raskin
Civic Collaboration Specialist, City of Gainesville
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Barzella Papa
President and CEO, Community Foundation of North Central Florida
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PRG Advisory Council
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CoG
PRG Founding Partner
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UF
PRG Founding Partner
Recent Project Updates
The PRG Online Portal is Live!
The PRG Online Portal is now Live! The Partnership for Reimagining Gainesville (PRG) is a collaboration platform established by the University of Florida and the City of Gainesville in partnership with the Community Foundation of North Central Florida. Our PRG Advisory council would like to support ideas that you may have to address needs in […] READ MORE