GenCen awarded two Strategic Partnership Grants (SPGs) to MSU faculty-led research teams across five departments (English; Global Studies in Arts and Humanities; Prevention, Outreach and Education; Office for Civil Rights and Title IX Education and Compliance; Alliance for African Partnership) on campus who are leading research collaborations with institutions and partners in the global south. 

Leonora Souza Paula (English; Global Studies in Arts and Humanities) received an SPG for her project titled "AfroFutures Now Digital Archive." The project in collaboration with the Musings Lab, has been supported by SPGs from GenCen and the African Studies Center. Musings Lab, a Black women-led knowledge curation consultancy specializing in social justice and technology, brings research, facilitation, and community engagement expertise to ensure partner organizations make informed technology decisions. 

The AfroFutures Now Digital Archive is a Black feminist digital platform dedicated to ethically curating and preserving Black women’s knowledge, strategies, and solutions for past and present, local and global crises. It prioritizes ethical, non-extractive documentation and long-term preservation to support equity and innovation.  Acknowledging the historical erasure of Black women’s contributions from traditional and digital archives, the AfroFutures Now Digital Archive is grounded on Black feminist archival methodologies that ensure the communities’ direct participation and decision-making in all stages of the project development. By amplifying Black women’s knowledge, the archive will serve as a vital resource for shaping AfroFutures. 

The archive will digitize knowledge shared by Black women across diverse geographies, with a focus on the Global South.  

Laura Rugless (Office for Civil Rights and Title IX Education and Compliance), Kelly Schweda (Prevention, Outreach and Education), and Amy Jamison (Alliance for African Partnership) in collaboration with scholars at Makerere University in Uganda, received an SPG for their project, "Collaborative Global Panels on Gender-Based Violence: Prevention, Response and Leadership."  With the help of the SPG, the team will develop and facilitate three panels around Gender-Based Violence at the AAP Consortium Meetings in Malawi. Panels will be focused on policy and leadership, investigation and support, prevention education and skill-building, and will include experts in each topic area. The goal of the panels is to foster research collaborations and push policy outcomes among various regions in Africa through the AAP affiliated universities. 

The Provost and Dean of International Studies and Programs offer SPGs for MSU faculty to develop strategic, long-term partnerships with global higher education institutions (HEIs) and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). These partnerships should be centered on collaborative research between at least two departments and/or colleges at MSU and one or more global partner institutions. GenCen accepts proposals that are guided by the core principles of gender, intersectionality, and inclusion, and address at least one of seven priority subject areas. You can learn more about GenCen's SPGs and see past awardees on our website.