The Duvall Initiative
The second initiative is the Sarasota-Manatee Duvall Initiative (SMDI), a collaborative team of faculty, staff, and students that builds upon the original foundation by addressing contemporary family and community health challenges, supporting the growth of the Sarasota-Manatee region’s human services sector, and fostering innovative community-academic partnerships.
SMDI serves as the umbrella for all community-engaged activities led by the Duvall Chair and represents a strategic collaboration between the University of South Florida (USF) and community members and organizations in the Sarasota-Manatee region. Its mission is to strengthen local human service capacities and improve community health outcomes. The initiative is supported by USF through the Evelyn Duvall Endowed Chair within the School of Social Work.
Goals
- Collaboration – Leverage the resources, energy, and expertise of USF to benefit Sarasota-Manatee communities through strategic partnerships.
- Communication – Create a networking platform for community stakeholders, service providers, and USF faculty, staff, and students committed to tackling community health problems in Sarasota-Manatee communities.
- Education – Offer professional development and training opportunities for local organizations to enhance their professional knowledge and skills.
- Grant-Writing – Support community partners in identifying and applying for funding opportunities from local, state, and federal sources.
- Strategic Planning – Provide systems-level guidance to improve local human services outcomes and increase human service capacities.
- Community-Led Research – Support the assessment, design, and evaluation of strategic human service projects and programs proposed by local organizations.
- Community-Engaged Research – Conduct research that contributes to the development or enhancement of local human service capacities and community health outcomes.